Tiny Smart is safe; less so for huge 15-passenger vans

Nice to see the Smart is safe but the bigger is better crowd still won't believe it.

read the article- and why no mention of the pisspoor rollover rating of the SMART? (equal to a Ford Explorer). According to the article you are almost twice as likely to die in a Smart than a traditional car. No thanks.
 
"but the vehicle lacks a traditional front-end crush zone, which absorbs crash energy in most vehicles.
Instead, the Smart counts on seat belts and air bags to absorb energy.
The IIHS noted that smaller, lighter cars like Smart are generally less safe, since they tend to fare worse in crashes with larger vehicles. In 2006, among vehicles one to three years old, minicars had 106 driver deaths per million registered vehicles, compared with 69 driver deaths in larger cars.
Minicars weigh between 2,000 and 2,600 pounds and include the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and BMW's Mini Cooper, Lund said. But the IIHS classified the Smart as a microcar, since it is 700 pounds lighter than the Mini Cooper.
When it comes to safety, "all things being equal, bigger and heavier is always better," Lund said."

I did read the article.
 
For example....
 
"Daimler AG's Smart car won top ratings in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's front and side crash tests
 
"Among the smallest cars, the engineers of the Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package."
 
the Smart got five stars for side-impact crashes from the agency. "
 
All stuff that related to the crash tests. I didn't pay much attention to the usual small car generalization they tack on the bottom. They don't have crash stats on Smarts yet but they still choose to make assumptions based on size.

I did read the article.
 
For example....
 
"Daimler AG's Smart car won top ratings in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's front and side crash tests
 
"Among the smallest cars, the engineers of the Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package."
 
the Smart got five stars for side-impact crashes from the agency. "
 
All stuff that related to the crash tests. I didn't pay much attention to the usual small car generalization they tack on the bottom. They don't have crash stats on Smarts yet but they still choose to make assumptions based on size.

I liked thetruthaboutcars headline better
 
'smart deemed safe -kinda'

"They don't have crash stats"
 
firstwagon,
I'd prefer less broken bones and internal injuries.
If you look at actual data numbers:
ForTwo http://www.safercar.gov/portal/search?model=7473
Altima http://www.safercar.gov/portal/search?model=4684
Accord http://www.safercar.gov/portal/search?model=4537
Silverado http://www.safercar.gov/portal/search?model=4634
So you live, but how long do you want to stay in the hospital?
How disabled do you want to be for the rest of your life?
 
You sure can't beat a Silverado.
The almighty Silverado even has a 5-star side crash WITHOUT side airbags.
Nontheless, the Silverado has available side airbags just for kicks!

Yeah, the thing no one mention is that when your dumb arse plows into someone in a Silverado, while you're nice and cozy, you're annihilating every other vehicle in your path. If everyone drove a Smart we'd all be safer, until we get hit by a commercial truck anyway.
 
Disclaimer: My language is used for demonstrative purposes and emphasis only. I do not intend my remarks to be a personal attack on billt9, his arse, his intelligence, or w/e vehicle he happens to drive. Let me also be clear that I am a card carrying member of the Smart hate club, for its poor size/power sacrifice to fuel economy ratio.

Of course, you need to be a proper responsible gentleman when you drive the Chevy Silverado, An American Revolution.
Look all 4 ways, accelerate slowly, let off the gas, coast, and brake early.
I'm sure the nice folks at Chevrolet check your ID for being a proper gentleman.
Subsequently, there is absolutely no risk of a 2008 Chevy Silverado plowing into a Smart ForTwo.
 
It is more likely that a hip teenager driving the ForTwo, carelessly distracted by his iPod, cell phone, and cool friend in the passenger seat, speeding and trying to rush to school to get to his exam on time because he was out late playing a drinking game bonks a 2008 Chevy Silverado on the side.
 
Alternately, a Honda Accord with side airbags has similar crash stats to the Silverado.
 
And also alternately, we would all be safer too(!) when GM wakes up and drops a nice 4-cylinder hybrid turbo diesel into the Chevrolet Silverado. Saving Earth and protecting the environment at the same time.
Ah, this is our truck.

"Among the smallest cars" -
 
translation->judged against other microcars, the Smart is safe. [NOT comparing regular sedans,trucks and suvs]
 
So if the only vehicle you will crash into is another Smartcar or microcar, the Smart would be one of the safest on the road. Unfortunately, that is not the case. In fact, even a small MINI is in a larger catagory!
 
**When it comes to safety, "all things being equal, bigger and heavier is always better," Lund said.** IIHSA, in fact says "bigger is better" when speaking to safety.
 
THE SMART HAS NO CRUSH ZONES.
 
THE SMART HAS A ROLLOVER RATING EQUAL TO A LARGE SUV. That is worse than just about every single production car avail in the USA.
Why is rollover such a big issue with SUV's yet totally ignored when reporting about the SMART?
 
Sorry not drinking the Smartcar Kool-aid...

Absolutely right cruiserhead1. These tests need to stop being "against other vehicles of similar size", since there will be a large proportion of collisions in which the vehicles aren't the same size. When the Smart can score as well in tests against larger vehicles I'll be impressed. Maybe vehicles should be tested against EACH size class of vehicle, with ratings for each result. Then folks can make a smart (no pun intended) decision when buying.

actually, I misspoke. The crash tests are against fixed barriers. They do not test crash into other vehicles. If they did, the Smart would fare much worse.
 
When they say, "Among the smallest cars" they mean that compared to other micro cars, the Smart does well. HOWEVER, it does not hold up compared to the safety larger vehicles provide. Remember, even a MINI COOPER is in a larger category .
 
It is this "white lie" that Smart is trying to hype up- "Look the Smart is safe!...[under breath]..(relative to other microcars but not compared to compact or larger, nor the stability of a suv or the gas mileage to make it worth it). I hope people READ THE FINE PRINT
 
I would never allow my fiance in a Smart and I have nothing against small cars. I love the FIT, I love the idea of great mpgs in a smart package. Prius, go! Hybrids, intelligently designed compacts, love the MINI style, etc, etc. Be different, it's great, i'm all for it.
 
What I don't like is hype wrapped in a glass house, totally inappropriate for the US market. Trying to sugarcoat crash tests and "spin" them to make the Smart look much safer than it actually is.

"Maybe vehicles should be tested against EACH size class of vehicle, with ratings for each result"
 
Interesting idea. I'm curious to see how an Accord will do when tested against a semi.

"Interesting idea. I'm curious to see how an Accord will do when tested against a semi."
 
A lot better than a Smartcar against a semi.

You have to evaluate the Smart against other cars in its price class, because that is the real alternative.
 
So compare to the Fit, Versa, Aveo, etc.

Well, the story is about the IIHS tests, and they don't test for rollover (yet).
 
It did well in the tests, but the big caveat is that this car is so small that in a 2-car collision, you'll almost certainly be on the short end of the stick!
 
I compromise by buying midsize cars with side airbags and a 4-cylinder engine. Then you can have reasonable safety AND fuel economy.
 
About that Silverado 5-star NHTSA side test rating: although forces on the dummies' heads are measured, the "star" rating depends only on the pelvic and chest injury scores. Does that make sense when the greatest proportion of deaths in side impacts are from head injuries?

Even if the smart car was the safest thing on the road, I wouldnt touch it. I dont see the point in paying $17K so you can drive a rolling phone booth in a country where parking is generally not a problem. Even as far as fuel economy is concerned, most of its competitors get pretty good mileage, and if even if its less the tradeoff is worth it.

>>>Interesting idea. I'm curious to see how an Accord will do when tested against a semi.
  
A couple of weeks ago I saw a mid 90s Accord that had been rear ended by an Avalanche. The entire trunk had been mashed into an area about 8 inches long. And all four doors were able to open without any help! None of the three people in the Accord had obvious injuries. The so called "smart" could not have faired nearly so well. Oh, and the Avalanche had a busted radiator, broken front axle, and all the front body panels were mangled, the driver was being put into an ambulance, and he had to cut out using the jaws of life.

The reason I brought up the Accord and the semi is I saw an Accord that was t-boned by a semi. The car was ripped in two, the occupants ejected and both died.
 
Due to the nature of the cage-like structure in the Smart, it would not have ripped apart. It would have been batted like a ball and it's a guess as to whether or not the occupants would have survived.
 
But at least they would have had a chance.

laughable comparision firstwagon.
 
All cars have a 'cage-like' structure around the occupants. The Smart highlights it with silver paint and now it's indestructable?
 
If a Smart got t-boned by a semi, it would have much less chance for survival than an Accord.
 
The side impact crash tests, the IHSA prove that. The idea that the Smart would harmlessly bounce away like a ball is so laughable. This is not a cartoon. It's real life with real people.
 
Look at the photos and videos of the Smart in side crash tests. Why did it not harmlessly bounce away from the impact?
Maybe because here on Earth, when the IHSA says, "when it comes to safety, bigger is better" they mean it from experience.

Cross-posting from another thread, here's a document discussing real-world fatality rates, not only to the driver, but to the driver of the other vehicle in the crash. It also discusses rollover risk.
 
http://www.theicct.org/documents/LBNL_FE&Safety_2006.pdf
 
Page 28 of the PDF has the best chart (labeled as page 22 of the report), but there's lots of other good information in there as well.