A couple of photographs from when I tried out a Sinclair C5 many many years ago. A battery powered vehicle, this was Sir Clive’s attempt to revolutionize personal transportation. Unfortunately he launched the C5 in the middle of winter, and it was beset at the outset by a number of reliability and safety concerns. Still, I remember really enjoying my trip through the Norfolk countryside, and it felt a lot safer than it now looks from the photographs. Of course, there were no large lorries about where I was using it, and I was just a reckless teenager. Still, I definitely remember wanting one.
I probably still would, if we had a road system that supported this sort of alternative transport. When I was out in Holland a couple of years ago I was really impressed with the separate lanes that existed for bicycles, rather than the odd bit of painted road that we get in the UK. I think it went a long way to encouraging people to use their bicycles, and with the right legislation, such lanes could be used to encourage alternative modes of transport like the C5. Perhaps the recent £50 Million Lottery Giveaway success for Sustrans for investment in walking and cycling UK-wide is a step in the right direction.
