Personal "Crash Test"

[Chassol]

"It seems, that when he turned from Fitzhugh onto Bryan (which is a 2-lane street cutting through residential areas at that point), he thinks he glanced down at his new iPod that he got for his birthday and, according to what the witnesses told me, he just barely glanced the curb and the car went flying. I saw the mark on the curb…maybe 4″ long about 25 yards from the intersection. The telephone pole that stopped the car was another 20 yards down the road."

What do you think hitting a pole at any speed does to any car?
I'm surprised there is so "little" damage to the smart.

Just my two cents................

Chassol

[SuperGeek]

Why, after hitting a curb so badly as to smash the rim in, did the car travel 20 more yards? I'm fairly certain that hitting a curb won't destroy braking capability. I think some facts are missing. Like speed, for instance. At 40mph you don't "barely glance" anything. The smart could have jumped the curb, causing loss of control for 2-3 seconds of freak-out time. Any other car with 15" wheels would have done the same and hit the same telephone pole but with more force.

As to being "totalled" I don't see it... I see a damaged rim, tire, and front-right corner areas. Depending on forces in play, the car might be repairable as long as the tridion cell isn't damaged beyond repair. Any other car has a frame and crush areas that would have impacted and would still look as bad on the inside. The difference is the smart's plastic exoskeleton pops off in large pieces and shows its guts.

Now cars are less safe than a Harley? Yeah, that's an emotional response if I ever read one. Close your eyes on a Harley long enough to jump a large curb (proportional to tire size) and see how well you keep control on only two wheels. Then tell me there's no frame damage when you hit the pole doing 30mph.

[bull8042]

Originally Posted by Chassol

".... I saw the mark on the curb…maybe 4″ long about 25 yards from the intersection. The telephone pole that stopped the car was another 20 yards down the road."

I overlooked this the first time through, but it just reinforces my point. Traveling 30 - 40 mph, a "glancing" impact is going to leave a mark a heck of a lot longer than 4"!
This guy is a dufus as are the rest of the individuals at the scene IF they truly share his opinion. He is a smart hater!!!

[gukin]

That's funny, my nephew was "Just Riding Along" and he "lightly brushed a curb", this resulted in detonating both air bags, blowing his AC condenser, radiator, ripping off the control arm, and severely bending the unibody on his '98 Ford Taurus we'd sold him eight months prior.

Quite shocking how fragile cars are?

[mews]

6'2 and 130 lbs? hmmmm.......

[DallasHarley]

Originally Posted by ShoshTrvls

The writer of the article seemed more concerned about how the car fared in an accident than how the driver did. Personally, I'm more concerned about whether the car's occupants can be repaired after an accident than whether the car can be repaired.

To address some of the comments on this thread:

The driver will be fine. He's a bit sore but he has no body fat as there were no side airbags to cushion his fall when the car went on it's side.

To the person that thinks the car is salvageable -- it's not. What the photos do not show is the drivers side of the car. The safety cage is dented up due to toppling onto it's side and it's already been classified as totaled by both the dealership and the insurance company. If the driver could have salvaged the car, he would have.

I understand that everyone is a critic and it's real easy to judge from the safety of your computer monitor; however, I was actually there unlike the rest of you -- I'm the friend he called right after the wreck.

I saw the small mark on the curb, the witnesses came up to me and told me what they saw and the driver blew clean on the Breathalyzer that the cops gave him.

For the record, the witnesses said he slowed down to make the turn onto the street and had just begun to accelerate when the curb came into play. The intersection is question is NOT a major one so one has to slow down in order to make the turn.

I might still be interested in a Smart but this situation definitely gives pause for thought.

[DallasHarley]

Now cars are less safe than a Harley? Yeah, that's an emotional response if I ever read one. Close your eyes on a Harley long enough to jump a large curb (proportional to tire size) and see how well you keep control on only two wheels. Then tell me there's no frame damage when you hit the pole doing 30mph.

SuperGeek, you're right in that if I rode my bike 30mph into a curb it would cause damage.

But imagine being on the same bike and some lady looks right at you and then proceeds to turn right into your bike. Thankfully, your engine guard and highway pegs protect the bike yet completely destroy her plastic bumper. So, at least on that occasion the bike won the battle with the car and she was in perfect condition....same can't be said for the car.

As for the Smarts...I'm not anti-Smart. It'd be nice to have a car that I could fit into the same parking space as the my bike. But I do have concerns regarding how it would hold up in a wreck. And I think after what I witnessed last week with my friend's car, that's justifiable.

[DallasHarley]

Originally Posted by limey

The counter opinion would be that if you weren't driving a smart, the odds are that the car may well not have rolled in the first place. Cars with more extensive crumple zones will deform and absorb more of the energy when you hit a guardrail.

While the fact you survived is a testament to the strength of the smart, the fact that you rolled several times is a testament to its relatively poor stability.

Thank you for posting this. The concept of the car rolling is the exact thing that has us so mystified here after the single-car wreck.

Yes, the airbag deployed. Yes, the cage prevented him from being more injured. But rolling from such a minor situation?!

Even the cops were shaking their heads at trying to figure out how it could have happened. They are at many accident scenes and know what to look for. They took reports from the witnesses, Breathalyzer ruled out any intoxication and proclaimed my friend sober and said it just defied reason for it to have rolled.

[SmartDE]

Originally Posted by DallasHarley

Thank you for posting this. The concept of the car rolling is the exact thing that has us so mystified here after the single-car wreck.

Yes, the airbag deployed. Yes, the cage prevented him from being more injured. But rolling from such a minor situation?!

Even the cops were shaking their heads at trying to figure out how it could have happened. They are at many accident scenes and know what to look for. They took reports from the witnesses, Breathalyzer ruled out any intoxication and proclaimed my friend sober and said it just defied reason for it to have rolled.

Glad to hear he was ok after the accident.

You claim to be a eye-witness in that article and speak as if you saw the whole thing unfold and happen. In fact you also mentioned that he called you after the accident, so, wouldn't it be, Witness to after accident, damage of the smart?
He said, she said;, Since you did not see it, and your friend said he just glanced hit the curb, sure you are going to listen or believe him.
I would also scratch my head like the police and experts, a glancing hit to the curb from what the driver says.
Even with a eye-witness that saw the whole thing, that wasn't in his car to see his speed, hard to judge the speed of which it had hit the curb.
I can see if it were a 5mph, maybe 10mph, to wonder in disbelief.

Is is possible that he was going 30-40 or faster, hit at a 45-50 degree angle, hit the pole and curb same time, wheel impact forces wheel right turn, and the momentum/force, tips the car to it's side? Tips, not rolled, Maybe?

Puzzled by, you say this car rolled, and are using quotes from a different accident that the other driver was going alot faster in the range of 60-70
mph and rolled it a few times.

Plently of vehicles flip and roll if you go fast enough and turn and lock the wheel one way or another, even with a greater wheelbase than the smart.
Heck, one could probably duplicate this single car accident and get it up and over to it's side.

Really when I think of it, the story should have been, "Good thing he wasn't driving his motorcycle, he made a smart safe choice".
But, then again, he wouldn't have played with an Ipod on his bike and kept his eyes on the road.
Don't blame the car for driver error.
Once again, glad he is ok!

[WNCsmart4two]

Originally Posted by Dunerunner

That little car is something!! Glad you are OK!! But, damn! Now the reserve and wait again! Maybe you could get their insurance to buy a Brabus and inport it as a replacement rather than you having to wait a year for a car?

I think Heavens your OK. What a testament to the smart. I think Penske ought to use this and the pictures for a litte PR and EXPIDITE you a new smart!!