Small Car Safety: Where Do You Draw the Line on Your Responsibility?
Ever seen a big guy picking on a small guy? Part of you is saying, "Hey, that's not fair!"
That's the feeling I had when I read the report this week from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) saying that small cars are unsafe. I know it was much more specific than just unsafe but that's the impression most people will be left with.
Small cars are unsafe. Let's face it. Cars are unsafe. When it comes right down to it, life is unsafe because no one makes it out alive. I had to do several interviews about this report and my resentment about it grew each time. Finally, I reached this conclusion.
First of all, did the report tell us anything we didn't know? You crash a C Class Mercedes head on into a Smart car and the people in the C Class are unhurt. Is that a surprise? Meanwhile, the report describes in morbid detail all the injuries to the Smart car driver.
What is the next report from the IIHS? They'll show that crashing a mid-sized car into an SUV proves how unsafe mid-sized cars are. Or what happens if an SUV is crashed into a dump truck? Or the dump truck into an earth moving machine?
Big trumps little in any crash. I get it. So the IIHS seems to say we should try to buy as much safety as we can. So we buy a Yukon in case, if we're crossing an intersection, and some idiot runs the red light and runs into us, we will be protected.
But what if we're driving the Yukon through an intersection and decide we really need to make a cell phone call at this very moment. We reach for the cell phone, miss the light and run into a Smart car. We might just say, "Did I hit a speed bump or something?" and just go on with the phone call.
In other words, we've become safer by endangering other people. Another way of putting it is, larger cars foster a false sense of security and promote reckless behavior. That's clear by watching which vehicle type has the most aggressive drivers. I have my own ideas but I'm sure two vehicle classes are crowding to the front of your mind right now.
Maybe it all comes down to this: what can we control? Some people can't fully control the car they buy because they can't afford a C Class Mercedes. So they buy the Smart and try to drive more safely. Others buy the Yukon and give away all the safety they got by texting as they drive.
Meanwhile, the sponsors of this study want us to buy larger cars so they can pay lower claims and write higher premiums on larger, more expensive cars.
Where do you draw the line?
- Posted by
- Philip Reed April 20, 2009, 2:39 AM
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- Car Safety, Smart
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- Honda, IIHS, Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, Mercedes, Smart Car, Toyota
It would appear that the IIHS wants everyone to drive around in the heaviest most expensive vehicles available. I'd like to see how that C-class fares against an M1 tank.
At a time when fuel economy and downsizing are at the forefront, I think the IIHS makes a good counterpoint -- as a reminder that there are disadvantages to downsizing other than losing some space. But like you, I fear that the message they may be getting across is instead that people should buy the heaviest vehicles they can afford. When really they should be promoting safety in smaller vehicles.
just commented on ed hellwig's video posts on straightline, i would love to see a retest with the same closing speed at impact and see how the little cars do. if we increase gas prices again to continue to push the downsizing of the automobile in american culture, then this becomes less of an issue. also, if people would only drive while behind the wheel and not try to be on a conference call, eat a burrito, read the paper and change the dvd for the kids, we would be much safer on the road. see the idle chat on driver ed.
"First of all, did the report tell us anything we didn't know?"
Yes, it did. Every time I see a Smart car, the person I'm with will likely mention how well they heard it does in crash tests.
The media (including automotive media) hits us with videos old F150's crumpling in a crash test and Smart cars staying firm. They don't bother mentioning the rest of the physics involved.
The media has a monstrous influence on what people believe. The media has been telling us for a decade that small cars are just as safe as big cars. The IIHS isn't swinging the pendulum the other way, they're simply trying to draw it back to center.
Safety is a big factor in today's car purchase decision and most people are more or less educated about the overall safety of cars. However, big SUVs and trucks will always have advantage against smaller sedans during crash. It's the weight, physics, and the h-point of the driver.
The point is that the C-class is not that huge of a car, and still the Smart gets utterly destroyed. The message is not necessarily to buy the biggest car - just think carefully about buying the smallest. And if you do, you better think like a motorcycle rider, not like a typical car driver - it's incumbent upon YOU to anticipate other drivers' stupid mistakes. I'm not saying it's fair, that's just the way it is. If you like little cars, know the risk and be prepared to drive defensively.
Where do I personally draw the line? The answer is simple: I don't.
As far as I'm concerned, it's survival of the fittest out there, folks. I know that's not a popular stance to take in our P-C society these days, where everything in life is supposed to be FAIR, but hey - it is what it is.
Our family car is an 08 Sequoia. If I get in an accident with it and kill or injure someone simply because they chose to drive a smaller car for whatever reason, what can I say other than it sucks to be you. By the same token, if I get creamed by an Excursion, I'm not about to go blame the driver of the Excursion for my bad luck.
I know it's rare to see someone not point the finger at someone else for one's issues these days, but that's the way I am. Always have been and always will be.
In theory, it's safer for a small car to crash into a big car than into a solid object, if the closing speed is the same. Think of the solid object as an infinitely-heavy car... a 6,000 lb SUV is better than that! It's also safer because two vehicles braking reduce the closing speed more than in single-car accidents. Single-car accidents are more common, especially among SUVs.
Theory can break down in practice when bumpers don't align, and that's one thing that DOES piss me off about SUVs. I don't want them banned, I don't care if people drive heavy vehicles that aren't really my thing, but bumpers that align is a reasonable request, imo. Even big rigs have crash bars at bumper level. I'm also in favor of graduated license requirements per vehicle weight, but that's not going to happen.
I drive a Miata. Its death rates aren't all that high, and based on my research I'd say it's only side impacts in which I'd be at a higher than normal risk. I accept that. Sometimes I drive a heavy duty pickup at work, and knowing that I can cause more damage, I drive a little differently. I expect that courtesy out of others.
I have invented a way to make small cars safer in collisions. It solves the problem of small cars being less safe than large cars.
Making cars smaller and lighter is the easiest way to get better fuel economy.
Please evaluate my ideas and contact me if you have any interest in them.
www.safersmallcars.com
The point is that the C-class is not that huge of a car, and still the Smart gets utterly destroyed.
****
The Smart was designed to purposely self-destruct. Much like how a very light and small F1 racing car blows up into pieces in crash in order to protect the driver. It's the only way that it CAN be safe, really.
The advantage here is that it does better than the competition. The disadvantage is that any crash completely totals the car. It's basically you get in any crash and the car sacrifices itself and you get a new one to replace it. Don't bother with fixing it - just get a new one.
Oh - about it doing better...
C300: 3560lbs (auto)
Smart: 1808lbs (Passion)
1.96X weight difference (1752lbs)
Heaviest midsize vs smallest mini tested. The Fit is 1.4x the weight of the Smart, for comparison. A fairer test would be the Smart vs a Fit.
Accord: 3373(EX, auto)
Fit: 2575lbs(Sport, auto)
1.3X weight difference (798lbs)
The Fit had worse injuries.
Oh - interesting tidbit - my father's huge late 90s Park Avenue weighs 30lbs less than that C300. That's an enormously heavy vehicle for its size.
plekto, I agree that the Smart does extremely well for it's size. Kudos to them for making it as good as it is, but...
The much smaller crumple zone results in much more rapid deceleration. This increases the likelihood of severe injury or death.
The lighter weight means it gets pushed backwards, resulting in much more rapid deceleration. This increases the likelihood of severe injury or death.
The smaller cabin results in more rapid deceleration. This increases the likelihood of severe injury or death.
The above assumes the Smart does everything it claims to do. Other tests have show more concerning results.
Other tests have shown the Smart to tumble off, bouncing like a ball.
Other tests have shown a failure of the passenger compartment to remain intact.
I don't fault the vehicle. It does pretty well, considering what it's up against. I do fault the claims that the Smart is as safe as a mid-sized car. People buying these things need to understand that they're not. Safer than a motorcycle? Lots! As safe as a Malibu? Not a chance.
Phil summed up my feelings beautifully, but there is another point to be made.
This study, and others like it, assumes the accident will happen. Fine, buy the biggest car and let Physics help you through.
But Physics has a lot to say about crash avoidance. The smaller, more nimble car can steer around situations that bigger vehicles can't avoid, and they have a lower tendency to roll over during said maneuvers. They generally stop in a shorter distance, as well.
Look at our test data. Bigger SUVs, like yankeez's Sequoia, generally pull less g's on the skidpad, go through the slalom at a lower speed and use up more feet to stop than passenger cars. (The smart is a bad example--that one is bad news all around.)
Do these factors cancel each other out? It's hard to say precisely; statistics do not provide a tally of near misses or reductions in crash severity.
Physics suggests that crash avoidance is an offsetting factor in the question of mass and safety. For that reason, I do not feel I am putting myself or my family in undue jeopardy by buying a smaller, more efficient car.
sorry small car lovers. too many distracted drivers out there, too many poor drivers out there.
i am not going to put my family in a compact or sub-compact car.