Ron's story
In late March, 2009, while traveling on Highway 70 out of St. Louis to Columbia, Missouri, my 11 year old son and I were driving our red and silver 2008 smart in the slow lane. Highway was fairly crowded. Three vehicles in front of us, in the passing lane, a newer red pickup truck was carrying two large boxes in the bed. Suddenly one of the boxes became airborne and landed in the middle of that lane. Though the truck was a fairly good distance in front of the car behind him, the size of the box and the grouping of the other cars caused two of them to hit and our car to be forced off the road and down an embankment. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride came to mind.
Down one side of the embankment, then up the other side and onto the wrong shoulder of a parallel county road. Fortunate that there was no fence separating the highway from the county road. All cars pulled over to make sure everyone was alright. I walked up the embankment to check on the other folks involved. The people in the car that pushed us off the road were extremely apologetic and they were astounded that the smart responded so quickly to the situation... keeping us unharmed and untouched. As we began to exchange phone numbers (in case of undercarriage damage to the smart), we saw the red pickup truck leaving the scene with the two boxes re-loaded.
Though he had a huge head start, I advised the rest of the cars who were waiting for the police that I would "catch" the red pickup and get the license number for police. Since our smart was now on the county road, we needed to continue on that road until the next highway entrance. As we sped down that road, my son excitedly pointed out what appeared to be the truck in a Food Store parking lot, securing the boxes. Apparently they had taken the next exit, and circled back to where they would not be recognized from the highway. Bad news for them.
In our Inspector Clouseau colored smart, we pulled into the parking lot and asked them if they were alright. They quietly muttered that they were just re-fastening a loose load. As I left, I noted the license number and immediately called one of the people waiting for the police. I now call my son Jacques in honor of his Clouseau-like assistance.
In retrospect, it's seldom mentioned anywhere that a car that is half as long has much less chance of being hit, or hitting others. You don't hit other cars as fast as you would with a longer front end. Other cars don't hit your rear as fast as they would if the smart was longer in back. On collisions from the side, there is an even chance that they may miss you altogether in the front or the rear. Seldom mentioned, but factual. In the case of our near miss, I'm quite sure that a lengthier front end would have caused us to get hit. Very close call, but we are certain the smart car's handling and size saved both my son and I from serious injury... in fact, any injury, or even damage to the car.
Ron Gaus, Kirkwood, MO.