Posted on 07/28/2008 11:52:22 AM PDT by BenLurkin
It's a problem that has baffled German engineers, auto industry experts, Kern County road engineers and, most importantly, Samuel Wattles of Rosamond: How do you make a left turn in a new Smart Car? Wattles waited a year and a half for his Smart ForTwo - a tiny, two-passenger car that gets more than 40 miles per gallon - only to find that the lightweight vehicle wasn't heavy enough to set off the sensors that activate left-turn signal lights at intersections.
At least, that's what he thought was going on when he picked up the car July 20 in North Hollywood and drove it home to Rosamond.
"I was going down Rosamond Boulevard and got to Sierra Highway and got in the left turn lane," Wattles said. "I waited for four rounds of signals, and everyone else was gone, but I'm just sitting there waiting for a signal.
"I had to wait for a (standard-sized) automobile to come. And when a car came behind me, the signal changed."
Another time, he got tired of waiting, backed out of the turn lane and got to his destination by going around the block.
"You're not supposed to back out of a lane," Wattles said, "but I wasn't going to turn against a red light."
Wattles believed weight was the problem, assuming the signals that trigger the left-turn signals are weight-sensitive.
Not so, said Sal Gomez, a traffic engineer with the Kern County Road Department.
(Excerpt) Read more at avpress.com ...
If he is right, then motorcycles would having this problem every time.
Hah! I tried that once.
I ended up pointed in a differnt direction, waiting for a car to trigger the light so I could go straight.
Maybe another right...
They are essentially a roll cage with wheels, pretty safe actually.
I drove something slightly bigger in Europe, when gas is over 6 bucks a gallon, who the hell cares what the car looks like.
I’d love to get a scooter for going to work and back, why waste money?
"For vehicles 1-3 years old during 2006," reports IIHS, "minicars experienced 106 driver deaths per million registered vehicles compared with 69 driver deaths in large cars."
That is the real answer. And since we are discussing highway driving, I guarantee you that an 18 wheeler would smash that Smart Car like a bug, safety cage and all.
“I hope you weren’t trying to prove they are safe”
What is your problem? You posted about concerns about the safety so I posted a video that showed some tests for people to be informed.
Yes, it is quite apparent that the passenger would of been severely injured in that wreck in the later half. That being said about any mid size below vehicle would have turned out the same results if not worse(especially those crappy Daewoos).
I'm seeing people around here start to do that. If you're only commuting a few miles on surface roads in the city, it makes a lot of sense. Probably not feasible when it's raining or snowing, but we also have good public transit available so I suppose that would be a good backup on those days.
The tough spot is middle-class people who live in the outer suburbs but have to commute 40 or more miles each way. They've got to be feeling the cost of gas these days.
There are just too many people now that believe we truck drivers should trade them in for smaller cars or worse, ride motorcycles. I've even been called a stupid show-off that is just trying to act macho by one poster merely because I drive a truck. They even went on to say "Some of those people aren't the sharpest saws in the garage anyways". Now that's offensive, LOL!
I just could never sacrifice my family's safety over a few dollars worth of gas.
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