Devastator187

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...ash-tests.aspx

Crash Test: Smart Fortwo vs. Mercedes-Benz

In test results released April 14, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that drivers of 2009 versions of the Smart Fortwo, Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris could face significant leg and head injuries in severe front-end crashes with larger, midsize vehicles.

In the Fortwo collision, the institute said the Smart, which weighs 1,808 pounds, went airborne and turned around 450 degrees after colliding with a 2009 Mercedes C Class, which weighs nearly twice as much. There was extensive damage to the Fortwo's interior, and the Smart driver could have faced extensive injuries to the head and legs. There was little damage to the front seat area of the C Class.

Smart USA President Dave Schembri said the test simulated a "rare and extreme scenario." The Fortwo has received top scores from the Insurance Institute in front-end and side crash tests against comparably sized vehicles, but it got poor marks against the larger C-Class.

"If you were to take that argument to the nth degree, we should all be driving 18-wheelers. And the trend in society today is just the opposite," said Schembri.

Glyn M Ruck

We've seen a number of deaths in Smart's in SA - In any car that size you are vulnerable if hit by a bus etc. - even in an accident with a compact sedan.

Smart is the perfect runabout in congested cities like Rome's inner city where nothing is travelling very fast.

Anywhere that speed differentials are high are a risk.

spoolIT85

Let's see how the C fair against a much bigger truck...

flagman

So I guess we all have to figure out a way to ensure that if we are in an accident, the other car is the same size/wieght as ours??? Is it "rare and extreme" to expect that the smallest vehicle on the road today in North America - the Smart - would be involved in a collision with a larger vehicle?

I've seen the crash test video and it's quite dramatic the way the Smart spins around after the collision.

It just stands to reason that a Smart, Fit, Yaris, Versa, etc. will fare the worst in an encounter with a larger vehicle, just as our C's would fare the worst in an encounter with something like a large SUV.

C300Sport

I saw the spot on CNN today and it was quite brutal on the Smart car. Although MB has spent a lot of time on crash saftey, they just can't change the physics of mass and inertia.
Hopefully, if you are in a smaller car, it will be quick and nimble enough to avoid accidents instead of trying to simply survive them.

micropower99

Smart Car =

len56

the C is actually a tank...

in the Official C Class picture thread, someone put pictures of there C, after a collision...wow

ok, here it is: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...thread-22.html

the post is by alextimeless, 3rd post on the page

WOW! 55 MPH SIDE COLLISION, and it looks perfectly fine for anyone on the inside! talk about safe

BerBer63

Smart USA President Dave Schembri said the test simulated a "rare and extreme scenario."

Tell that to the guy that gets squashed by an SUV.

aowhaus

I think it's the wrong message. It makes people think that driving large vehicles are safer, but at the cost of compact car drivers.

In real life the Smart car is a very safe car in real world driving. It was introduced more than 12 years ago in Europe and has gone through a slew of crash testing (including the infamous moose avoidance test) and with the backing of MB it's one of the safest cars per pound.

There should be regulations regarding the design of large trucks and SUVs to reduce the severity of accidents. Heck, I think there should be extra taxes on large trucks and SUVs to offset their impacts on roads, the environment, and parking accidents.
Overseas, small efficient cars are commonplace for ages and owners do not worry about such circumstances.

Glyn M Ruck

+1

fernblatt

I think I'll add "+2" to second your first reply lol

I've gotten ten kinds of heck raised about how "unsafe" the smart is. I think my big lumbering 300TD would beat it in a test of physics like was done with the C class. In real life, the Smart may be as safe in a rollover as the the 300TD, probably safer in all but corner-impact crashes (like the C class test) as the older TD has no air bags.

As for larger vehicles such as light trucks and SUV's, AFAIK they aren't required to meet the same safety standards as passenger cars, so I'd not bet my life that larger is safer. I've a friend that works in TN State DOT accident statistics section, and according to her, most single-vehicle wrecks involving SUV's are fatal, part of that appears to be due to the "bigger is better" attitude of the drivers, her reports say.

Still, most of my Smart driving is on regular roads rather than the interstate. At least on a curvy country road it does have the advantage of automatic accident avoidance, antilock brakes and other modern things. The tire stance is not too far away from that of my wagon, which makes it stick to the road quite well.

Being an experienced driver helps a lot as well, though here in the US it's too easy to get a driver's license IMHO.


Tom

RLE

US traffic is not "overseas." Of course if one sticks to the sidewalks the only hazard will be the occasional pram.

C300Sport

That is certainly the truth.


I had a Smart convertable for 4 days while they waited for a couple parts the last time I took my car in. I put a couple hundred miles on it and have to say it was pretty stable and solid feeling...comparitive to it's size anyhow...
Even an almost 90 MPH run on 285 felt pretty good. If they could give it a better transmission and maybe a few inches more crush/storage space, it would be a little more liveable (daily and in collisions).

chokaay

I'm surprised they gave you a Smartcar as a loaner when you brought your C300 in! Talk about an "unfair" trade...

Honestly, if it were me, I'd be nervous driving in a Smartcar on U.S. freeways at 90mph. The smallest vehicle I'd drive on U.S. freeways is probably the C230 Kompressor 2-Door Coupe (or equivalent). You never know when "something" may happen (cross fingers)...

jturkel

no chance i'd ever be caught in one. not worth my life, or the risk. i would flat out reject one as a rental for my car and prefer to be placed in almost anything else.

i dont care what safety standards say or do not say. i know physics and understand simple things like force, momentum, and impulse. no way, jose.

Peabody

I was walking in Sophia last year and I saw something like a Ford Fiesta run a red light and hit the driver's side door of a BMW X5. The messed up thing was that the little compact car actually picked the X5 up off the ground and flipped it onto the sidewalk landing on its roof right at my feet. By the time I dragged the bleeding occupant out of the X5, the two who were in the Ford were already out of their vehicle and on the sidewalk, panicked but without a scratch. Traffic accidents are anything but predictable I think.

EDIT: Correction and clarification.

C300Sport

Honestly, I was joking with the rental girl that I wanted a convertable...alluding to the SL63 sitting by the desk. She laughingly said she could get me a convertable but it had to be a Smart. I hadn't driven one yet so I thought what the he!!, and said OK...didn't relize it would be for most of the week...lol. While I was waiting, they did offer to switch me into a C but I was enjoying the change...kinda between my C and my motorcycle.

BenTrovato

There's a big difference between driving in Europe and North America. In Europe you can feel totally safe in a smart car. In North America a smart car is like an ant at Woodstock.

fernblatt

Motorcycles are quite popular here in the US too, including sport bikes with several-hundred horsepower engines.

Unlike the smart car, I don't hear a daily outcry against motorcycles and discussions about how dangerous they are. There are states that don't require the riders to even wear a helmet!! Regardless, I hear cries about how dangerous the smart is *even in 'pocket rocket' motorcycle forums* when the subject comes up.


It's almost an instant knee-jerk reaction that smart are OMG, DANGEROUS, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!™ It doesn't seem to matter where it's mentioned.

In my particular part of the US, most pocket rockets weave in and out and between lanes, usually many mph over the speed limit.

When someone can explain to me how someone on a motorcycle, even a sane motorcycle, is more safe than someone in a smart, I'll gladly sit back and listen.

It's *driving skill* that keeps you alive one the road, regardless of vehicle size. Indeed, physics and dumb luck may make larger vehicles "seem" safe, but every motor vehicle can be turned into a lethal weapon with an unskilled driver - from moped and scooter to semi tractor to anywhere in between.



(Even bicycles! About half I see on higher speed secondary roads are driving with the flow of traffic - which is how you're *supposed* ride. The rest drive against traffic or attempt to ride in the gravel beside the road!)

So, BenTrovato, I can't say I totally *disagree* with your comment. But I'll take it further to say anyone driving a vehicle smaller than a pickup or SUV is taking their chances on the road. It's the American Way.

AMGTTV8

first of all, these types of accidents only occur 1% of the time if you look at the data.

furthermore, any car equipped with esp has a 50% reduction in probability to be involved in an accident as a result. therefore, the smart has a .5% probability of being involved in such an accident.

then, there is the issue that the closing speed used in these tests waas DOUBLE what the IIHS uses to conduct their normal tests for crash worthiness, as noted on the window stickers - both cars were traveling at 40 mph (80 mph total.) if i may remind us all that the thing has 5 star crash ratings front and side, and 4 at the rear.

you should look at the videos of the yaris and fit, see how they reacted. the windshield on the smart survived - the other two didnt even have a-pillars after the accident and just look at how the doors buckled...

the iihs simply wanted to do a study of seeing if big things perform better than small ones in a collision - DUH...did they really need to waste money and perform tests to figure this out????

even if the laws of physics say that the smart will be conquered by a much more massive object, i say that the way the thing performed is nothing short of remarkable.

go throw a $100k s-class against a bus and see what happens...