Comments on: Is the Smart Car a Death-Trap?

By: coder58

coder58 — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:49:20 +0000

I purchased a smart car about 10 months ago and love it! I could have purchased another make and model, but I wanted something different, I drive it every day and enjoy every minute of it, I feel just as safe in my smart as I do any other car. As for driving it on the highway, I have no problems at all, I run it 70, 75 with no problems.

By: Murphy

Murphy — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 02:46:44 +0000

For those considering one of these Smarts cars or any very small cars. please consider a tecnologically advanced technology that provides great gas mileage like a hybrid or a diesel car and hasa reasonable about of room in the car and a crumple zone to help aborb impacts. A tiny car (low mass) with a tiny engine is not a technological advancement. Is it really that “smart” to drive a golf cart on a super highway. These cars may have a place where traffic speed is very low or there just isn’t that many other vehicles of size on the road. U.S. is really not a safe place for vehicles this small.

For those that already have one, don’t let a child ride in the car.

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 04:58:49 +0000

A couple points from an owner, who regularly takes his smart on the freeway . . .
-There are plenty of models that are statistically much more deadly than the smart. Why does no one make a big deal about those? What about all the SUV’s with incredibly weak roofs and a tendancy to roll? (I’ve seen this happen first hand). Not dissing SUV’s, just perplexed why no one makes as big a deal. What about older cars (pre 2000’s for example) that have far less technology to protect the occupants. No one goes around chastising people who drive older cars as people with a death wish, though they are more likely to die than a smart owner.
-The smart has ESC, which has been proven by MBZ and Honda to reduce the chances of getting into an accident in the 1st place by 30%. It is currently the cheapest car to have that feature, which is usually only available on luxury models. Luckily, some other up-coming affordable cars are also getting this as it gains popularity.
-I would not want to get in a head-on collision in any car. Even if two SUV’s hit head-on, the drivers are in mortal danger. Furthermore, a Smart being hit by a semi will have pretty much the same result for the driver as if he/she was in an Expedition.
-Head-on’s actually account for a tiny fraction of traffic fatalities in the US–the real killer is side collisions. The Smart gets the highest ratings on that test which, unlike the frontal test, includes the exact same object (a simulated SUV) T-boning the car at the same speed. The smart is safer in a side-collision than many SUV’s actually are, and the fact that the axles are so close together helps make that possible.
-So to sum it up: If I get in a headon my chances are slim in ANY car. in the more likely event that I get T-boned I’m as safe as I could be, and since the car does far better in evasive maneuvers than larger vehicles, I feel I’m in just as much danger as anyone else on the road from a real-world collision (except maybe those in brand-new Volvos). The statistics of driver deaths per model in the US so far back that up.

By: Jimmy

Jimmy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:10:45 +0000

Remember that a 7mph full stop like this is equivalent to two cars hitting head on at 35 mph. Easy to do even in the city.

And forget about it if one of these is hit by even a small SUV. My kids will never get near one.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:57:35 +0000

can i just point out to the person who wrote this article that the the presenters from fifth gear do not say you would be unlikely to survive in the smart but in any car traveling at 70mph. the forces of the crash and stoping quickly from 70mph would most likely kill you in any car.

By: david

david — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:52:51 +0000

i agree, passenger safety has taken a backseat to fuel efficiency. and the people who drive these “smart” cars have a smugness about themselves. that they are somehow more evolved than we primitive people who drive anything that gets less than 30 mpg

By: Toast for brekkie » Driving smart

Toast for brekkie » Driving smart — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:23:11 +0000

[...] on to post links to crash test videos of the little Mercedes/SWATCH “deathpod,” and an article on SMART safety, that indicates this city car wasn’t really intended for highway driving. On the other [...]

By: lauri pines

lauri pines — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:51:59 +0000

The car car itself is Ok it’s the drivers around them that make this car dangerous to be in. You have to drive defensively but it is hard to do when you are literally a rolling front seat. And on top of all that, the car is not even attractive. It is rather silly looking.

By: Janelle

Janelle — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:06:03 +0000

Thank you for the comment, Yvonne. I am sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter. I agree that these smaller cars are, indeed, significantly more dangerous. I cringe every time I watch my younger brother get on his motorcycle…

By: yvonne krause

yvonne krause — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:19:54 +0000

my 20 year old daughter loved her smart car and she researched the car thoroughly before she bought it including the 70 mph crash test. She was killed July 2, 2009 while driving her smart car. She was hit head on by a utility truck going 55. She suffered fatal head trauma, broken led, broken ribs which punctured her lung and had 10 hours of brain surgery. She died shortly after. Please these cars are deadly pick a safer car by all means.