Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Jeez. Some of you people act as if driving a Smart will lead to certain death. I wonder if you lot who have so much contempt for the "unsafe" Smart have similarly look down your nose at motorcycles.
Jeez. Some of you people act as if driving a Smart will lead to certain death. I wonder if you lot who have so much contempt for the "unsafe" Smart have similarly look down your nose at motorcycles.
Motorcycles are very dangerous are they not? No one is looking down their nose at anything, we are just discussing the cold hard facts of life.
I fight wildland fires, I have lost good friends in that endeavor. I have not stopped doing what I love.
You apparently miss my point. I do not wish to die, I wish to live life to the fullest and not cower in a corner for fear of dying.
In my business we assess risk, mitigate it and continue on. Life is full of risk and I, for one, refuse to live in fear.
To each his own, certainly. I choose to accept risk, defeat it with skill and understanding, and enjoy all the fruits that life has to offer.
That includes driving 'death traps' and enjoying the thrill of mastering the skill necessary to AVOID accidents and not just get from point A to B, but to relish the journey.
Other folks can cocoon themselves in behemoths if they want, not me.
Smart was made for urban areas of Europe. There are a lot of small cars. And in comparison to them Smart is very safe. In urban area the speed is relatively low so Smart can manage accident with bigger cars like MB "E" class. But when you go outside the city speed increase (e.g. in Germany 62 -75 mph depend of the driver), normally with the Smart you will be a bit slower. And if you have a serious accident at this speed it is much more likely that you will survive in a MB "E" or "C" class.
If you have an accident with a US truck at these speeds (60-70 mph) all depends of the truck. If it is new truck the truck drive may survive if it is old you will die in both vehicles. Because if 800kg crash in a truck at a combined speed of 100 mph you will be death.
With lower speed I would rather be in a new US truck. I would rather be also in an old US truck but I am not sure if it is better than a Smart. Safety in old vehicle is very bad.
With lower speed I would rather be in a new US truck. I would rather be also in an old US truck but I am not sure if it is better than a Smart. Safety in old vehicle is very bad.
Most deaths in car accidents in the USA are single vehicle. 59%. There is no vehicle that comes out ahead statistically in all accidents. If you roll a vehicle for example you are most likely going to live in the smart because it's engineered to survive it. If you roll almost any heavy truck or SUV in this country, the roof collapses because the pillars can't handle it, and you are crushed or severely injured. it's a common injury that isn't addressed in most vehicles because there hasn't been a standard for it. In fact, the only ones that I am familiar with that do this test are the ones made by Mercedes which includes the Smart.
No need to believe me. Go to a junk yard and look at the number of vehicles with crushed roofs.
@lumbollo: For single vehicle accidents Smart is relatively safe.
When smart was introduced in Europe MB promote its safety very much. They said that Smart is safe like an MB "E" class. After some months MB "A" class was introduced and it was a flop in safety. The car just rolls over when some test drives was made in Sweden. "A" class MB is like a Smart only bigger.
I think all European cars can manage "the roof test". I saw high speed roll over's with a normal Renault Laguna and the passenger come out without a scratch. It would be nice to see what happens to a Nissan's or Toyota's truck that is sold here in Europe.
Fact: A less massive vehicle on a road with more massive vehicles puts the driver of the less massive vehicle at a higher safety risk than the driver of the more massive vehicle in vehicle-to-vehicle collisions.
I fight wildland fires, I have lost good friends in that endeavor. I have not stopped doing what I love.
You apparently miss my point. I do not wish to die, I wish to live life to the fullest and not cower in a corner for fear of dying.
In my business we assess risk, mitigate it and continue on. Life is full of risk and I, for one, refuse to live in fear.
To each his own, certainly. I choose to accept risk, defeat it with skill and understanding, and enjoy all the fruits that life has to offer.
That includes driving 'death traps' and enjoying the thrill of mastering the skill necessary to AVOID accidents and not just get from point A to B, but to relish the journey.
Other folks can cocoon themselves in behemoths if they want, not me.
Ok fine, you want one as a toy, you've already made that abundantly clear.
No one is cowering in fear here, your creating that observation. The latter portion of this thread has been to discuss the actual safety of a smart car.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
