Michael A. Schafer Blog

Auto Accidents

11/22/2008
Mike Schafer
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How Safe are Smart Cars?

Anyone who has a teenage girl has undoubtedly heard “Isn’t that cute?” whenever they see a Smart Car. The Smart Car is classified as a micro car and is the smallest car sold in the United States. The vehicle weighs only 1,800 pounds and is 8'8". When looking at this car one of the first thoughts is about it’s safety should it be involved in a car accident.

In a report released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety the Smart Car offers a “good” level of safety in front-end and side-impact crashes. “Good” being the highest rating in testing scores. In rear crashes it scored the second highest score of “acceptable”. The tests administered were of speeds in the 30-40 miles per hour range making the Smart Car better suited for urban driving where high speed crashes are less frequent. It should also be noted that even though this car received “good” ratings a larger, heavier car with lower ratings may still be safer. Bigger and heavier is always safer. In a truck vs. car accident the truck almost always wins.

The popularity of these vehicles is widespread, the Smart division of Daimler has received over 30,000 requests for this particular two-seater. If you are thinking about this as a possibility you will want to check with you insurance agent to see what the rates will run. This is a good practice before buying any vehicle.

For more information on Louisville, Kentucky accident attorney Mike Schafer go to www.mikeschaferlaw.com.

Labels: Accident, attorney, Daimler, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Kentucky, Louisville, micro car, Smart Car,