This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 9:48 pm and is filed under Smart Car Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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10 Responses to “What are your chances of survival in one of those Smart cars?”
By Evelyn S on Jun 12, 2009 | Reply
I didn’t think they looked very safe either, but I’m told they have roll bars in them
By lipstick2756 on Jun 13, 2009 | Reply
they are actually extremely safe!! i watched this whole show on them when they first came out and they did these fake accidents to see how it would hold up …in some cases the full size family care would be crumbled and the smart car would have a dent!! they are very safe
and cute!
By Wayne O on Jun 13, 2009 | Reply
They look like a beer can to me. Think the drivers chances of survival are slim to none if it hits my GMC 2500.
By Matt on Jun 14, 2009 | Reply
Depends on what hits you. A bicycle, yes you’d survive. A Hummer, no you’d probably die. I wouldn’t count on living if you get in a fairly serious car accidnt in one. And yes, i’m sure if a chevy 2500 truck hit it, the smart would end up in China. I’d say your chances of surviving are probably 2%.
By kaelsiemion on Jun 15, 2009 | Reply
How safe is determined by how much crash energy the car can absorb and keep from the driver (or extend the time over which the energy hits the driver, i.e. airbags), not by how well the car holds up in a crash (the opposite in fact). This is best done with lots of foldable metal (or any material that will take energy and deform). As is obvious, the Smart car does not have much foldable material in front of the passengers and therefore cannot absorb much crash energy and is therefore relatively unsafe. A car that holds up well in a crash (doesnt deform much) will transfer more energy to the driver (think of the egg drop science project). FYI: A roll bar protects your body from a roof cave-in during a roll and would only help otherwise if it kept material from hitting you.
By imaka2003 on Jun 15, 2009 | Reply
The Smart car is actually one of the safest cars on the market. Your chances of survival in one are as good as in any other car in a similar accident, and much better than in many cars, including better than in many much larger cars.
By G35_Tuner on Jun 16, 2009 | Reply
Don’t think its not safe because of its size. It is actually a very safe car when you take into account how it was built. It’s actually safer than many larger cars out there. The outside of the car is built to crumple around the inside, so the inside is protected. Don’t believe it? See it for yourself..
So if you got hit by a Chevy 2500 HD in one, you might actually have a pretty good chance of walking out of it.
By Wolf Harper on Jun 18, 2009 | Reply
The Smart car has the best crush zones and chassis bracing in the industry, they’ve taken it to a whole new level.
The Chevy 2500 doesn’t even *HAVE* crush zones. I’m serious, go look at a parts catalog for the the C/K pickups and all the front clip parts. See how it all just unbolts. The only way the 2500 has to absorb impact forces is to pop those little 1/4″ screws holding the front clip together.
Smartcar hits a 2500, you’re very likely to find the relatively intact Smartcar monocoque sitting on the lap of the dead 2500 driver.
By Mud Killer on Jun 20, 2009 | Reply
Take a baseball bat to an unopened pop can and swing away. Now picture that the can is your Smart car and the bat is a Chevy 2500HD.
Any questions?
By gomanyes on Jun 23, 2009 | Reply
They are actually fairly safe. They have the most advanced air bags and everything, and they have passed NHTSA crash testing.
Size isn’t everything. I don’t know why Americans have this obsession with big cars.