Elk vs Smart Car -- Car wins, sort of

"Bob LeDrew" (bobledrew1)
07/19/2016 at 09:55 • Filed to: Elklopnik, smart car, car crashes, holyshitanelk, elk, wildlife

I’m not sure I would have predicted !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Dude hits an elk in his Smart car on a four-lane highway, rolls several times, and ... a few cuts and bruises. The car? Not doing so well. But still.

DISCUSSION (15)

Mercedes Streeter > Bob LeDrew
07/19/2016 at 10:02

That’s a first gen model too (not officially sold in the states), only two airbags!

The cars are designed to sacrifice themselves for the occupants. Pretty much most crashes over 15-20mph will be fast enough to total the car.

Now the convertibles? Sadly not as safe..The safety cell concept doesn’t work as well in a non-solid roof configuration. :/

CB > Bob LeDrew
07/19/2016 at 10:04

I saw your title and went “this is in Canada, isn’t it?” Yup. Canadian problems, man.

I’ll always be impressed with how well these things stand up in collisions.

smobgirl > Bob LeDrew
07/19/2016 at 10:07

Yikes. I hit an elk at 65+ mph in my 6th gen Civic and both car and elk survived. Granted, the Civic probably doesn’t roll as easily as a Smart.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Bob LeDrew
07/19/2016 at 10:14

It’s that Tridion (R) Safety Cell.

atrombs > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
07/19/2016 at 10:19

I remember watching crash test videos back when the Smart Car was pretty new, and was amazed at how that safety cell stayed intact. The rest of the car would be trashed, but that cell would look like it just rolled off the factory floor.

Stapleface > Bob LeDrew
07/19/2016 at 10:25

Smarts are incredibly good at protecting their occupants in a collision. I always wondered about whiplash though. I imagine with a car so light, the potential to bounce around and change directions is pretty severe. I would think you might get more injuries/bruising from after the initial collision until the vehicle comes to a rest.

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
07/19/2016 at 10:30

I remember seeing photos of an accident in NYC(?) where a Smart was sandwiched between an E-series van and a large IVECO box truck, the box truck had rear-ended the smart at a stop light and pushed it into the back of the van. the initial picture was of the box truck and van nearly touching each other and a small piece of the smart car visible in between them... it looked bad... then the next picture was of everything pulled apart... the Tridion cell was completely in-tact and undistorted, and there was a smart-car-shaped indentation in both the rear of the van and the front of the IVECO. like slamming a walnut between two loaves of Wonderbread....

Mercedes Streeter > Stapleface
07/19/2016 at 10:32

I can’t speak for the first gen car in the picture, but I do know the second and third gen cars fight whiplash by controlling tension on the seatbelts. That and the car tries its hardest to divert energy away from the occupants. Of course, different story for the convertibles...

just-a-scratch > Bob LeDrew
07/19/2016 at 11:27

That’s a win in my book. It looks like the people could've walked away. I'm not sure about the elk. They're stout animals though.

Elk vs. car happened to my friend’s aunt. An antler came through the windshield and impaled her. She died of the injury.

CobraJoe > Bob LeDrew
07/19/2016 at 11:33

This is why I always stand up for the Smart car when others start talking down on them and the owners for driving such an unsafe car. That’s just pure ignorance.

Of course, there are plenty of other reasons not to own a smart car, but safety shouldn’t be one.

Bob LeDrew > just-a-scratch
07/19/2016 at 11:51

Yes, the driver had cuts and bruises.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Bob LeDrew
08/10/2016 at 16:42

If a total loss counts as a win...

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mercedes Streeter
08/10/2016 at 16:43

Why anyone would want a car without a roof, or with a window in the roof, is beyond me. I just bought a used ‘13 Impala with a moon roof and I don’t think it will ever be opened, except maybe for flatulance extraction.

Mercedes Streeter > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/03/2016 at 18:16

My smart has a polycarbonate roof. Most of the benefits of a moon roof, zero of any of the other issues!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mercedes Streeter
09/03/2016 at 22:44

I was just thinking of you today; there was a story about a Smart and I realized I hadn’t seen any of your comments in a few weeks.

Are you well?