Here's one for the "No shit!" file. Smart cars and other micro autos aren't safe in an accident. (Duh!)From FoxNews.com...
Small Cars Get Poor Marks in Collision Tests
WASHINGTON — Micro cars can give motorists top-notch fuel efficiency at a competitive price, but the insurance industry says they do not fare well in collisions with larger vehicles.Really? Crash tests had to be done to determine that a automobile not much bigger than the person driving it isn't entirely safe in an accident? Wow. I wonder who footed the bill for that brilliant research? Because...who couldn't see that coming!?
In crash tests released Tuesday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that drivers of 2009 versions of the Smart "fortwo," Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris could face significant leg and head injuries in severe front-end crashes with larger, mid-size vehicles.
"There are good reasons people buy mini cars. They're more affordable, and they use less gas. But the safety trade-offs are clear from our new tests," said Adrian Lund, the institute's president.
Smart cars are actually a pet peeve of mine. I don't understand the attraction. They don't look safe or comfy. There isn't enough money in the world to put any of my family members in a car that small. I have shoeboxes bigger than a Smart car! You know the boxes that knee-high boots come in? Yeah, those! Hell, Baby has a Little Tykes coupe roomier than a Smart car. In fact, they look almost identical!
It's hard to tell the difference, isn't it?
I like to be opened minded about things, so I can see a benefit to city living. Tight parking spacing. Easy to zip around parked cars and traffic jams. OK, fine. But to family 'burb dwellers? Nuh-uh. I don't get it. Give me a mom-van or an SUV anytime! My loved ones are too important.
--Mom
6 comments:
haha!
I actually like teeny little zoomy cars (except you can never see around/over the behemoths everyone tends to drive now).
-Which brings an interesting point up. The other day I was picking up my wife, and a driver of one said juggernaut had to ask me to move so she could spend a good 15 minutes trying to work her way out of a cramped parking spot. Her vehicle was clearly too large for her to competently drive.
I guess I'm on the fence here. I had to pass extensive tests to attain a CDL and drive an overly-large vehicle -meanwhile 16 year olds pile in SUVs and watch television at 80 MPH ...
This is why we bought a mid sized sedan for our teens to drive. Those small things look deadly to me too.
I don't even see how an actual person fits into a Smart car!
Lobo--I agree with what you're saying. Some people can't handle big cars, and the teens...yikes!
Debbie--I think a sturdy mid-sized car is a good idea.
I was talking to my teen daughter yesterday about this! Her friend was a Honda Fit. No way I would want my teen in one. My daughter has a larger, safer car... and I love my van. We also rented a Trailblazer for a recent roadtrip and felt a lot safer than a small car on the interstate!
I try not to stare when I see one of these little cars on the road. I don't want to embarass the driver (I think I would feel silly driving around in one of those)!
I'm waiting for the day someone invents a flying car so we can all try to kill each other in three dimensions instead of just on the flat driving plane we're on now. Yeeehaw. Won't that be fun?
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