Thomas's story
I had had my new Smart for only two months when I was attempting to go around a left turning SUV at an intersection. He was waiting for oncoming traffic, which I thought was coming towards us head on. I was wrong. As I cleared his front end, I saw the 200 GMC SUV that ran the light. Though I slammed on the brakes, it was too late.
The GMC hit my Smart just behind the driver’s side mirror, tossing me like a rag doll and turning the car ninety degrees. I got out of the car to discover the front tire bent into the wheel well at 45 degrees. The tie rod had broken and absorbed much of the impact. Most of the rest of the force was taken by the safety cell, bending the door frame just a bit. There was damage to the panels on the whole of the driver’s side. The impact was in such a spot that none of the airbags deployed yet I came out of the crash only having bruised ribs.
I am glad that I was in a Smart with such a superb safety design. When people ask if I feel the Smart is safe, I can tell them that I know it is.
Thomas Wiegand Rochester, NY