You can spot smart cars all around chic cities from Atlanta to Zurich. The smart car is a cute car, an environmentally friendly gem of a car. But would a tiny smart car protect its driver in a car crash? Are smart car drivers more likely to die in a car wreck than drivers in heftier vehicles?
Feather-Weight Cars
Smart cars weigh a mere 1,700 pounds and at just over 8 feet long they are less then half the weight and half the length of many popular vehicles on the road; this means that driving a smart car could leave you at a real disadvantage in a crash. The popular Ford Explorer weighs around 4,000 pounds- an imposing bully to micro cars such as the smart. Pound for pound, the smart car cannot stand up to an adversarial SUV.
Smart Cars have Skid Sensors
But what the smart car lacks in brawn it compensates for with brains. The smart has ‘active’ and ‘passive’ safety features. The active safety features include the anti-lock brake system (ABS) and the Electronic Stability Program. The Electronic Stability Program works through sensors which detect skids or swerves, so when the car abruptly veers off course the Electronic Stability Program controls the engine throttle and the anti-lock brakes and the car gets back on track. According to smart USA, smart fortwo cars also have HSA (Hill Start Assist) which works by allowing you to pull away on a hill without using the handbrake. HSA grips the brake for approximately 1 second, allowing enough time to get your foot onto the accelerator.
"A hard shell with a soft interior"- Smart USA on the Smart Car
The passive safety features include front and side airbags, seat belt sensors able to reduce slackness within milliseconds (also equipped with a belt force limiter designed to reduce pressure on the chest) and in the event of a major head-on collision, the steering column will collapse to limit driver injury. Smart USA calls their vehicle "a hard shell with a soft interior"- the car has steel bumpers at front and back. The car also has side braces installed in each door and the seats are constructed from tough component steel with incorporated headrests.
Do Smart Cars Pass Safety Tests?
Safety features are fascinating, but how does the smart car do in car safety tests? In 2000 the smart city coupe got 3 out of 5 stars in tests conducted by the NCAP (New Car Assessment Program-euroncap.com). Euro NCAP ‘provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.’ Most cars achieve 4 or 5 stars in this test. In 2005 the smartforfour got 4 stars, in 2007 the smart fortwo also got 4 stars.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (www.iihs.org) the non-profit testing and research agency supported by car insurance companies provides a rating system for cars based on crash test research. The 2008-2009 model smartfortwo scored a ‘G’ for good (out of a possible Good, Acceptable, Marginal or Poor) for the following: frontal offset test results, side impact test results, roof strength test results. The 2008-2009 model smartfortwo scored an overall rating of ‘A’ for acceptable for rear crash protection.
What Does the US Government Say About Smart Cars?
The US Federal government (www.safercar.gov) compiles a rating system for cars drawn from controlled crash and rollover test results. 5 is the highest possible rating on the scale and 1 is the lowest. The 2008 smart fortwo received a 5/5 side impact rating, a 4/5 frontal crash (driver side) rating, a 3/5 frontal crash (passenger side) rating and a 3/5 rollover rating.
Overall, the smart car does well in tests, but it appears to need improvement in the areas of rollover safety, rear collision and passenger side frontal collision safety. Smart USA feels the need to sell the safety issue to car buyers. They even have a website dedicated to just this. Safeandsmart.com is full of safety and crash testimonials from loyal smart car owners and drivers. But perhaps the best advice is simple common sense: be smart and avoid highways if you plan on driving such a tiny car.
Cicely Austin - Cicely is a freelance writer with an interest in the following: social issues, cultural matters, history, movies, theatre and travel. ...
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