Our Other Storm Chase Vehicles

[Dan Robinson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6t-yyoU8s

At the end of the video, though - they say that anyone in that type of crash would likely not survive due to internal injuries caused by the deceleration forces transferred to the driver. Intact frame after collision=impact energy transferred to occupants.

I did a quick Google and found this. This crash did not involve a Smart Car, but a similarly-sized VW:

http://www.car-accidents.com/2007-auto-crash-story/3-19-07-smart-car.html

As practical as one of those seems, I'll stick to a larger car.

 

[Tyler_Costantini]

I never really thought about it but mass has a huge impact.

That little car has a low mass so a crash at speed is much less energy then a big heavy car, of course the big car may have more protection.

Either way the Smart car looks like it held it's own.

I'm really shocked how many chasers put down small energy efficient cars (global warming or not) gas is pricey!

Btw I drive a SUV, I still think smaller lighter cars are the future.

 

[Dan Robinson]

The mass of a car isn't the problem with the Smart Car when it comes to a collision with a barrier. In that case, the main issue is the tiny crumple zone at the front of the car. That means that more of the impact forces of a frontal crash will be transferred to the passenger compartment. It doesn't matter if you're driving a car that weighs half a ton or a truck that weighs ten tons - if your body goes from 70mph to zero in a couple of inches, you won't survive due to massive internal injuries. The crumple zone in the front of a car is what slows the bulk of that deceleration, and the Smart Car has a very tiny one that isn't going to do much good. The frame of the car being intact is actually a catch-22 - it means that the impact forces were absorbed by the occupants of the car. The airbag and such a tiny crumple zone are not going to help with anything more than a minor fender-bender.

Like I've heard some highway safety experts say about the Smart Car, "you can't repeal the laws of physics". The small mass of that car will be a factor in collisions with larger vehicles. It's like hitting a soda can with a truck. I have a feeling that when the Smart Car is finally released in the US, it will not only get the lowest crashworthiness rating from the IIHS, but will see the highest crash/fatality ratio of any other car on the road. Certainly not a car I'd want my family to be in.

The places where I'd see this car being optimal is somewhere like downtown NYC or LA - where traffic moves slowly and space is at a premium. Everywhere else, it's going to be a death trap on wheels. I hope I'm wrong though.

 

[Robert Edmonds]

I was reading and I believe it doesn't actually get that much better in gas mileage for being so small. I read on CNN it only gets 40mpg. Last year I was driving a toyota paseo and got 35, and when I lost my A/C darn close to 40. Given this I'm staying with larger and safer vehicles.

 

[Shane Adams]

I'm trying to picture that car with a bunch of weather instruments on top of it. Of course it probably won't move if it did.

I'm picturing what it would look like after a collision of over 25mph.