Parents of teenagers....a Smart Car? Really?

[mkel34]

Not sure what crash test videos you were shown but go to youtube and search for smart car mercedes crash. I get nervous on the highway when one is next to me while I am in my gas guzzling enviroment hating monster suv.

 

[everylastbreath]

In reality, the Smart cars safety cage is quite stout. In an accident with a larger vehicle, the Smart car tends to get pinballed, but the occupents tend to be safe inside the safety shell. The Smart car received a four star rating for frontal impacts and a five star rating for side impacts.

I don't believe this, I saw a show (20/20 or Dateline) in which they did crash testing with these cars and in a frontal collision the entire engine was pushed into the passengers. no way do they have any stars for especially front impacts, and side, haha- no way- you could hurt the driver by kicking the door...

I don't care if they were giving them away FREE, I wouldn't drive one or be driven in one.

I don't think they should even be legal to drive on roads that speed limit is over 30, there is NO WAY I would ever let any of my kids drive one.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

My dad and I discussed this the Friday night. He's going on and on about their safety, and I was like, yeah, but what if they were hit by a Yukon??!

Conversation ended. Small cars just aren't safe where we live, it's big-honkin SUV country. I feel small in my minivan comparatively.

 

[FireDancer]

I don't think they should even be legal to drive on roads that speed limit is over 30, there is NO WAY I would ever let any of my kids drive one.

Well, going by this logic motorcycles shouldn't be on the road either.

 

[Christine]

I don't think they should even be legal to drive on roads that speed limit is over 30, there is NO WAY I would ever let any of my kids drive one.

I felt the same way as you did when I first saw them. I still would not buy one. As I said, my coworker owns one and I've been in it many times now (and have gone over 60 in the thing). It's really quite sturdy, stable, and fine. My only fear in it is that I have the sensation that other vehicles cannot see the car when it is along side traveling. I feel like it is always in the blind spot.

 

[ols386]

Well, going by this logic motorcycles shouldn't be on the road either.

I would certainly think a motorcycle is less safe than any vehicle.

I can't imagine that I'd buy/drive a smart car. They can talk about how safe they are, but I'm not buying it.

 

[everylastbreath]

Well, going by this logic motorcycles shouldn't be on the road either.

No, with a motorcycle you at least have a chance of being thrown in a collision, Smart car would be equivilent to being TIED to your motorcycle. No Comparison. smart cars give a sense of security that motorcycles don't. IMO

 

[Hoodie]

I don't believe this, I saw a show (20/20 or Dateline) in which they did crash testing with these cars and in a frontal collision the entire engine was pushed into the passengers. no way do they have any stars for especially front impacts, and side, haha- no way- you could hurt the driver by kicking the door...

I don't care if they were giving them away FREE, I wouldn't drive one or be driven in one.

I don't think they should even be legal to drive on roads that speed limit is over 30, there is NO WAY I would ever let any of my kids drive one.

Maybe they meant 4 and 5 stars out of 10?

 

[princessmom29]

The laws of physics do not demand that the smaller car would be crushed. In reality, the Smart cars safety cage is quite stout. In an accident with a larger vehicle, the Smart car tends to get pinballed, but the occupents tend to be safe inside the safety shell. The Smart car received a four star rating for frontal impacts and a five star rating for side impacts.

Last year, we bought my wife a Smart cabrio to use as a second car. I have no qualms about the purchase.

NOTHING I have read says this. I would like to see the souce. Every recent report i have read has given a rating of poor when tested against anything larger than a compact. You cannot honestly believe that the cage in a car than small and light can offer substantial crash protection. It would have to be much heavier and less fuel efficient to provide a safety cage that has any hope of staying intact versus a full size vehicle.

 

[luvmy3]

The laws of physics do not demand that the smaller car would be crushed. In reality, the Smart cars safety cage is quite stout. In an accident with a larger vehicle, the Smart car tends to get pinballed, but the occupents tend to be safe inside the safety shell. The Smart car received a four star rating for frontal impacts and a five star rating for side impacts.

Last year, we bought my wife a Smart cabrio to use as a second car. I have no qualms about the purchase.

What was the speed at which those were tested and got those ratings?

As far as the physics, you definitely want your car to be crushed that way it takes the force of the accident and the passengers don't. However you do not want it to be crushed so badly that you end up crushed with it so while the safety cage may be quite stout at 30MPH, what happens to it in a 60MPH crash?

 

[dislaney]

I don't think your truly safe in any vehicle driving the way that teen was.

Personally I don't think I'd want my teen in a smart car, but I definitely want them to drive safely no matter what car they are driving.

 

[FireDancer]

No, with a motorcycle you at least have a chance of being thrown in a collision, Smart car would be equivilent to being TIED to your motorcycle. No Comparison. smart cars give a sense of security that motorcycles don't. IMO

Being thrown in a collision isn't really a plus considering that many places don't mandate helmets.

I would hypothesize that a majority of fatal Smart Car accidents would be fatal motorcycle accidents but the revers isn't true to the same extent. Many low angle accidents (merging onto a freeway for example) are more survivable in even a crappy little Smart Car then on a bike with no protection at all (especially with no helmet).

All that being said I would drive neither a Smart Car nor a motorcycle.

What was the speed at which those were tested and got those ratings?

Front end crash tests are done by crashing a vehicle going 35mph into a fixed barrier. 5 Star means that a standard adult sitting in the front seats has a 10 percent or less chance of injury.

More crash details are available here.

 

[bumbershoot]

The laws of physics do not demand that the smaller car would be crushed. In reality, the Smart cars safety cage is quite stout. In an accident with a larger vehicle, the Smart car tends to get pinballed, but the occupents tend to be safe inside the safety shell. The Smart car received a four star rating for frontal impacts and a five star rating for side impacts.

Interesting.

Front end crash tests are done by crashing a vehicle going 35mph into a fixed barrier. 5 Star means that a standard adult sitting in the front seats has a 10 percent or less chance of injury.

More crash details are available here.

Thanks for that.



A way to help the little cars be more safe would for those in their "tanks" to actually pay attention.

One time in the 90s I drove up to Seattle in my Jetta. I drove home from the dealership there in a new-at-the-time Bugg (I spell it like that b/c that's how the paperwork/sticker spelled the New Beetle nickname). People saw me just fine on my way up, and I drove exactly the same. People somehow managed to not notice my BRIGHT BLUE car on the way home, b/c they just weren't paying attention, even though I was driving the exact same way (and I'm a safe driver). (by the way, the New Beetle is as small as I would want to go...I'm not going to be getting a smartcar any time soon...mainly b/c it can't carry our camping equipment!)

I've been with my brother as he drives his Durango; he is very safe and sees *everything*. I've been in smaller SUVs with less attentive drivers who just ignore the smaller cars, leaving them to fend for themselves...that's frightening. And that's what I felt I was experiencing driving home in the Beetle...the owners of bigger cars just don't care, it seems. I learned to put even MORE space around me as a cushion from that experience.

So if the bigger cars would actually notice the smaller cars around them, we'd all be safer. (I now have a Grand Marquis, so people give me space on their own, figuring I'm one of those old fogies who can't drive OR a cop, LOL)



Lastly, if the guy was going 80, how on earth did you have time to see that he was actually texting? Going that fast, how could you see his age that well? And CAN smartcars go 80?

 

[luvmy3]

Front end crash tests are done by crashing a vehicle going 35mph into a fixed barrier. 5 Star means that a standard adult sitting in the front seats has a 10 percent or less chance of injury.

More crash details are available here.

Thanks. I guess if one was always going to travel at 35MPH then it would be a safe car, but since that isn't an option for me then a Smart car would not be a smart option

 

[princessmom29]

Thanks. I guess if one was always going to travel at 35MPH then it would be a safe car, but since that isn't an option for me then a Smart car would not be a smart option

And if you were gonig to be the only one on the road. Most accidents involve another vehicle, and the smart car didn't fair well at all against another car.

 

[sbell111]

I don't believe this, I saw a show (20/20 or Dateline) in which they did crash testing with these cars and in a frontal collision the entire engine was pushed into the passengers. ...

The lesson there might be to not believe everything they show you on Dateline.

Either way, if you believe that I lied about the car's safety ratings, Google it.

 

[sbell111]

I don't believe this, I saw a show (20/20 or Dateline) in which they did crash testing with these cars and in a frontal collision the entire engine was pushed into the passengers. ...

Here's my problem with this statement:

The Smart car's engine is in the back of the car. There is no way that a front end collision is going to drive it into the passenger compartment.

 

[Longsx3]

When we lived in Germany, I saw the results of an Autobahn accident that involved a smart car, the Passenger Compartment was intact and the occupants walked away.

 

[luvmy3]

Here's my problem with this statement:

The Smart car's engine is in the back of the car. There is no way that a front end collision is going to drive it into the passenger compartment.

Perhaps she meant that the engine (area) of the other car was pushed into where the passengers of the smart car were?

http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2009/04/video_smart_car_jarringly_stup.html

or this one
http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...&sigi=11p0bmvcs&sigb=122cc9gd0&fr=yfp-t-701-s

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

We saw a man on the interstate driving a smart car a few weeks ago. He was probably in his mid to late 40's. He was dodging in and out of traffic, passing on the right, going 80 mph. Honestly, I didn't know they went that fast. This guy was driving recklessly, to say the least. And I think we can safely assume this guy had 20 years plus driving experience. So it's not just teens, but I just knew that a few miles up the road, he would be wrecked and run over by an 18 wheeler. Didn't happen, but horrible drivers come in all ages. I would not trust an unexperienced teen driver to drive a smart car. Well, that's a blanket statement and unfair, so let me just say I would not want my daughter driving or riding in a smart car.