SubZero Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 These ultra small vehicles, they save space, easy to maneuver, economic,.....But what about safety? Check out the video, both small cars do well at 70mph crash.But what about the occupants?Most accidents are against other vehicles, notice at the beginning of this video when the Smart crashes against a larger vehicle. They crash, the Smart comes to a full deceleration and then starts being pushed back by the larger vehicle which is still decelerating.Even though both car cabins stay pretty much intact I think the larger car occupants have a much better chance at suffering less injuries. Something to keep in mind when purchasing your next car, both may have a 5 star safety rating but they're not equal! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iKGfo1wmOM&feature=related 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strang3majik Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 I honestly didn't think a smart car could do 70mph...lol But, I surely wouldn't want to be in one while it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bag-O-Chips Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 i've taken a smart fortwo to 90 mph... it was an experience lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomad Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 In my opinion, Smart Cars and other ultra small car should only be driven on city streets where the speed limit is less than 55mph. That is where the benifits of there size will really shine. Unfortunatley, most of Amercian cites use the Interstate highways to communte 10-20 miles everyday.These tiny cars look out of place to me out on the highway/ freeway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vbrad511 Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 I'll take a 75 Impala over a Smart car any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 one of my neighbors bought one last yr,, she was realy upset when i ask'd when they were going to deliver the REST of her new car , she hardly ever drives it , our road is too rought for it to travel and if it rains it would sink lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzord30 Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 Out in the country.... Driving my Volvo Wagon I feel like a small smart car next to everyone SUV and diesel trucks lol. What I wonder is how well would a side imact from say a F150 do to the smart car at like 35mph.... I have a feeling the bumper would be going right into the smart cars drivers head... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzord30 Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 one of my neighbors bought one last yr,, she was realy upset when i ask'd when they were going to deliver the REST of her new car , she hardly ever drives it , our road is too rought for it to travel and if it rains it would sink lol lol Somone to live on your road and buy that car....... not so "SMART" lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance_S Posted December 26, 2011 Report Share Posted December 26, 2011 one of my neighbors bought one last yr,, she was realy upset when i ask'd when they were going to deliver the REST of her new car , she hardly ever drives it , our road is too rought for it to travel and if it rains it would sink lol LOL, Yeah, like I always say "they are smart, right up until a suburban hits you, then....not so smart". Especially when you can buy a full size older diesel mercedes for the same money and have a full size sedan and get the same gas mileage. Smart cars are death boxes. I would never put one of my family members in one, that is for sure, I don't care it the car got 300 mpg, it's not worth the life of my child. L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliber308 Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 Dangerous cars, period. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 in her defence the county did send us all a letter 2 yr ago stateing that they plan'd on paveing our road ,,but i guess they didn't mention what year they were gona do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubZero Posted December 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 in her defence the county did send us all a letter 2 yr ago stateing that they plan'd on paveing our road ,,but i guess they didn't mention what year they were gona do it Why would they pave because of her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strang3majik Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 If you are in a head on collision in one at, say, 50mph, thats about the equivalent of that concrete block test at 100mph. So...that'd defintley be unsafe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanta Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 I drove a boosted one down a highway. So. much. fun. They're meant for inner city travel, as are a lot of other cars ( e.g. hybrids, electric cars and such ) where semis and 70mph+ speeds really arent achievable. People who drive them on the highway and such, really aren't buying them for what they were truly designed for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance_S Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 Fanta, I would agree with you, the only problem is that most of the countries accidents happen at lower speeds (35 or less), because of all the stop and go. There is a higher rate of accidents at slower speeds than faster. With that being said, even at slower speeds, if someone runs a red light in their tahoe because they were texting or what not, and T-bones the smart car, even at 35 mph, it's still going to run over you like a ruble strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanta Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 Whether you like it or not though, that's the direction cars are going. Scion just introduced the smart car's competition. http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/04/009_scioniqyc_opt.jpg Scion iQ Mitsubishi I believe is introducing one as well, and an electric car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchi934 Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 If you are in a head on collision in one at, say, 50mph, thats about the equivalent of that concrete block test at 100mph. So...that'd defintley be unsafe. as illogical as it seems, this is false. Its like hitting a brick wall at 50mph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 as illogical as it seems, this is false. Its like hitting a brick wall at 50mph. With 2 cars of equal mass I would say you are correct. But a "dumb" car vs a truck or suv I don't think that's true. Not only will the dumb car rebound from the collision but the suv will shove it hard in the opposite direction. Just look at car vs car then car vs semi. Cars get even more mangled when hit by a semi because the truck weighs so much more it imparts more force. I think that's the case with suv vs dumb car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strang3majik Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 With 2 cars of equal mass I would say you are correct. But a "dumb" car vs a truck or suv I don't think that's true. Not only will the dumb car rebound from the collision but the suv will shove it hard in the opposite direction. Just look at car vs car then car vs semi. Cars get even more mangled when hit by a semi because the truck weighs so much more it imparts more force. I think that's the case with suv vs dumb car Thats what I was getting at. If you hit a larger car heading the opposite direction, not only will the smart car be stopped, it will be pushed in the complete opposite direction, thus giving the occupants far worse whiplash then by simply hitting a static object. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzord30 Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 I wonder about its side impact being your like 2 inches in the seat from the side of the car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 I wonder about its side impact being your like 2 inches in the seat from the side of the car... The cage or frame of the car surrounds you like a roll cage in a race car. It's incredibly strong and will protect you from being crushed in an accident. But there are almost no crumple zones on the car so almost all the impact force is transferred to the human occupants. That shock will most likely kill you in a high speed accident. I watched a video on dumb car crash tests a year ago. It was concluded that in a 70 mph head on collision the vehicles cage would protect you but the shock transferred to you from the accident was likely to cause a 90% mortality rate or higher. Conversly a prius had a better survivability rate because it had better crumple zones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarquestRescue Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Well they have been out for a while. What are the crash injury statistics and insurance medical and liability rates verses bigger cars.rates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PDX87Starion Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Well duhh, small cars aren't as safe as larger mass vehicles. But they are still safer than getting hit on a motorcycle.People are aware of this when they buy them. But what are ya gonna do... Drive a bus around? Who cares how small they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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