Posted on Friday 13 July 2007
DaimlerChrysler’s tiny Smart car is a popular model for tackling Europe’s tight inner-city streets and exorbitant fuel prices, but in the US, where it’s common to see 4,500 pound SUVs, fears are rising that the minicar won’t stand much of chance in a serious accident with one of these Goliaths of the road. This hasn’t stopped more than 20,000 Smart fans in the US pre-ordering the car before it has even arrived or before it has even been tested by the America’s National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
The American version of the Fortwo will be slightly larger than its Euro cousin, measuring in at just 8.8 feet in length and a little over 5 five in width and height, reports Associated Press. Its tiny stature means the new minicar tips the scales at just 1,700 pounds, a featherweight against vehicles like the Ford Explorer, which can weigh up to 4,606 pounds.
Despite DCX’s praise of the car’s safety package, which includes a stiff safety cell, antilock brakes, several airbags and seatbelts pretensioners, Russ Rader of the Arlington based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, warns that in an accident “the laws of physics can’t be repealed,” adding that “even with modern safety features like multiple air bags, people in small, light cars are always at a disadvantage in crashes”.
It doesn’t matter how many airbags, structure cells, and frames made of unobtanium you have, even with zero intrusion into the cockpit, in a crash with a car twice the wieght (say a Mustang even, God forbid an SUV) you will not only be DE-celerated, but AC-celerated BACKWARDS, causing your internal organs to pile up inside your body and head, ripping things and killing you.
A basic lack of general physics knowledge will kill a lot of people who think small cars would be a wise choice in the US. In Europe, ok, there’s mostly smaller cars, but here there’s an SUV as every third vehicle. I don’t agree with it, but that’s how it is for now.
And for those who would say these are made for city driving, fine, but there are SUV’s there as well. There are only about 2 cities that move slowly enough to make sense, NY and SF, the others are all huge sprawling freeway metropolises. I am not going to be the first to sacrifice my safety or that of my family for the green cause, thanks. Just make my normal sized car run more efficiently. Turbos, higher compression direct inject with some ethanol, great! Today’s technology should easily get a normal car into the 40-50mpg range without driving a go-kart…
Life is dangerous. Either live or stay inside.
I would drive one of these around town.
Then when you and my normal sized car (3000 pounds) accidentally collide, you can spend the rest of your life in pain, or crippled, or brain damaged, or best of all dead while your family sues the hell out of me.
But be very happy you saved some gasoline.
Get real, this thing is a death trap.
americans are such idiots. why do you need a 3 ton offroader in the city?
3000 pounds is not three tons, idiot, it’s 1 1/2.
But it’s still twice what that smart car wieghs. Read the whole thing before sprouting off.
Because we are free to make our own stupid decisions. Go back to Communist Russia and drive Tabant, SUROK!
You are right Surok, we are stupid….we granted you a visa!
Hey Gus-
Why don’t you read up on the smart car before you run your mouth? Open your mind to the possibility that small cars can be safe. Since you are such a physics expert, I am shocked that you used the word “deceleration” since in the physics world, there is no such term.
Americans are idiots. Drive an SUV, let the planet slowly die. Its not freedom, its sheer arrogance.
No matter what size vehicle is driven, it is the driver’s responsibility to drive safely, confidently and decisively.
That precept is from the Institute of Advanced Motorists in the United Kingdom. If you take its advanced driving course, you will find that in a Smart or any other car, you will never feel unsafe, lacking confidence or intimidated by others’ behavior on the road.
I own a Smart in London and have never once experienced any of the above. We also have large vehicles, and the Smart’s size is not in question.
The vehicle is safe, achieving 4-star Euro NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) status, 5 being the highest. Smart tested a ForTwo in the Euro NCAP off-set impact test, with a Mercedes C Class. The results were startling, the ForTwo sustained damage almost identical to the C Class, meaning, it is as safe as the C Class.
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The Smart has set the trend for outstanding auto design, fulfilling requirements of quality personal transport in the world’s congested cities, providing low emissions and ultralow fuel consumption. The car,is huge fun as well.
Of concern is not the safety abilities of the Smart ForTwo, but the inherent and proven poor safety characteristics and handling dynamics of SUV’S in general.
The ForTwo has far superior dynamics than those of SUV’S. Additionally all Smarts are equipped with ESP-Electronic Stability Control programme, anti lock brakes with , EBD-Electronic Brake Force Distribution, Tridion Safety Cell-High Tensile Multi Layer Steel Cell of enormous strength, Hydraulic Brake Assist programme. Seat Belts with belt tensioners and belt force limiters, Safety Seats, Crash Elements to front and rear, full size passenger air bags, thorax and head air bags.
Whilst great weight and size appear to provide a sense of safety, today through advanced design and engineering as the Smart proves, this is not the case.