What are your chances of survival in one of those Smart cars?

Question

I've actually seen them being sold in car dealerships around my city. I haven't seen anyone brave enough to buy one yet. I really want to take pictures of one of those cars after it's been hit by a Chevy 2500 HD the rednecks in my town love to drive. It will not be pretty. The car will probably be halfway to Beijing after that accident.

Answer 1

they are actually extremely safe!! i watched this whole show on them when they first came out and they did these fake accidents to see how it would hold up ...in some cases the full size family care would be crumbled and the smart car would have a dent!! they are very safe :) and cute!

Answer 2

Don't think its not safe because of its size. It is actually a very safe car when you take into account how it was built. It's actually safer than many larger cars out there. The outside of the car is built to crumple around the inside, so the inside is protected.  Don't believe it? See it for yourself..



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU...

So if you got hit by a Chevy 2500 HD in one, you might actually have a pretty good chance of walking out of it.  

Answer 3

They look like a beer can to me. Think the drivers chances of survival are slim to none if it hits my  GMC 2500.  

Answer 4

Depends on what hits you. A bicycle, yes you'd survive. A Hummer, no you'd probably die. I wouldn't count on living if you get in a fairly serious car accidnt in one. And yes, i'm sure if a chevy 2500 truck hit it, the smart would end up in China. I'd say your chances of surviving are probably 2%.

Answer 5

The Smart car has the best crush zones and chassis bracing in the industry, they've taken it to a whole new level.  

The Chevy 2500 doesn't even *HAVE* crush zones.  I'm serious, go look at a parts catalog for the the C/K pickups and all the front clip parts.  See how it all just unbolts.  The only way the 2500 has to absorb impact forces is to pop those little 1/4" screws holding the front clip together.

Smartcar hits a 2500, you're very likely to find the relatively intact Smartcar monocoque sitting on the lap of the dead 2500 driver.

Answer 6

I didn't think they looked very safe either, but I'm told they have roll bars in them

Answer 7

Take a baseball bat to an unopened pop can and swing away. Now picture that the can is your Smart car and the bat is a Chevy 2500HD.

Any questions?  

Answer 8

They are actually fairly safe.  They have the most advanced air bags and everything, and they have passed NHTSA crash testing.  

Size isn't everything.  I don't know why Americans have this obsession with big cars.  

Answer 9

The Smart car is actually one of the safest cars on the market.  Your chances of survival in one are as good as in any other car in a similar accident, and much better than in many cars, including better than in many much larger cars.

Answer 10

How safe is determined by how much crash energy the car can absorb and keep from the driver (or extend the time over which the energy hits the driver, i.e. airbags), not by how well the car holds up in a crash (the opposite in fact). This is best done with lots of foldable metal (or any material that will take energy and deform). As is obvious, the Smart car does not have much foldable material in front of the passengers and therefore cannot absorb much crash energy and is therefore relatively unsafe. A car that holds up well in a crash (doesnt deform much) will transfer more energy to the driver (think of the egg drop science project). FYI: A roll bar protects your body from a roof cave-in during a roll and would only help otherwise if it kept material from hitting you.