Posted on 07/11/2017 12:48:34 PM PDT by Conserv
Last night I passed a fatal accident involving a smart car.
The smart car was rear ended and then sent flying....
eventually ending up on its side. The driver of the smart car was killed.
http://wgxa.tv/news/local/warner-robins-police-investigating-deadly-two-car-accident
It’s my understanding it has some advanced traction and stability management systems. This thing makes sense in Europe, no sense here at all. I don’t know why anyone would buy one, they’re not even the highest MPG.
F = M A
The very worst drivers in NorCal are 1) Prius, 2) Mini, 3) BMW, 4) Asian female, 5) any black car.
The best is me. Just stay out of my way and we’ll get along fine.
I study kinematics (the science of mechanism of injury) and have watched tons of crash test films. And the Smart Car is horrible. The energy of the collision is not dissipated as would be the case with a larger car with crumple zones. What happens is that the energy travels all through the body of the car, turning it into a giant ping-pong ball.
What that means is that even if you survive the first collision, your car may bounce into other cars, or oncoming traffic, or off a cliff, or whatever.
Or (as one disturbing YouTube video shows), the energy may simply eject you from the car.
Maybe we should force liberals to drive them.
Reminds me of an old George Carlin bit, where he said that when you’re driving everyone who is going slower than you is an “idiot”, and everyone going faster than you is an “a**hole.”
... and the speed limit on Watson Blvd is only 40, so the driver of the vehicle who hit the small car was probably doing no more than 50.
I tend to go about 45-47 mph on Watson.
Whenever I drive my smallish car, it doesn’t really matter how slow and careful I drive. It seems that any turns I make or stopping I do is as if I’m driving Mach 1, with all the energy being transferred to my stuff on the passanger seat goes flying.
It’s the pace of velocity change...in a collision all the energy is transferred to the low mass vehicle, which will then change velocity very quickly - much quicker than a larger car.
53 mpg mandated by government will kill a LOT of people. You’ll get the lightweight version of the “smart car.”
Not even the highest MPG with far less practical, usable interior space and I believe they require premium gas.
The only argument in their favor is in very dense urban environments with limited parking options, but even then different a parking space setup would be required. Seems as if nose-in rather than parallel parking packs them in more densely in the same physical space.
Alas indeed. The Smart Sport was a glorious thing; saw a bunch in Germany. AFAIK discontinued before significant numbers reached the USA.
I think that list is correct and in order.
I have friends who think kt is rascist to point out horrible and dangerous driving by Chinese.
I inform them it is a universally observed truth and it is cultural.
That is: Cultural Chinese are horrible drivers, while American Chinese are well...American and drive like everyone else.
And it doesn’t even get that great of gas mileage- My old 2003 Honda Civic manual shift hatchback got about 45 miles to the gallon.
I wish I still had that car- I needed to get rid of it for a 4 door when the kiddies came along. It had over 300,000 miles and ran like new.
My mountain bike is a 29er hardtail, pretty big wheelbase. Just for fun, I lined up the back of that bike with the back of a Smart Car. The car was only about 2 1/2 feet longer than the bike.
If you can still recognize the deformed metal as previously being a smart car, then no, not normal.
I know someone who bought one, took one drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and then sold it.
Wind over the bridge made it totally unstable.
1500 lbs
>A motorcycle has the benefit of being able to get out of its own way. It’s fast and agile. Smart car is neither. It is a target.
As a motorcycle rider I can tell you that motorcycles are not agile. Making rapid movements at high speed on them can be very dangerous as it doesn’t take much bad road to knock your bike out of control. Secondly drivers don’t see you at all on a bike. I’ve had so many people tried to merge into my bike. Riding a bike is about the most dangerous legal activity you can do in the US. It’s also great fun.
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