egmCarTech

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has found a safety concern in side-impact testing for the new 2008 Smart ForTwo micro car. NHTSA is saying as a result of side-impact the driver or passenger can be ejected about 8-feet from the vehicle.

However, the government still gave the ForTwo a five star rating for side testing due to its ability to protect the driver and passenger from serious injuries in a crash. What the heck does that mean? Well according to Rae Tyson, NHTSA spokesman, ratings are based on the level of protection a vehicle provides to the people in the car, however, the government still wanted to adress the possible safety hazard of the people being ejected from the car. Right.

Safety concerns due to the size of the small Smart, don’t seem to be scaring buyers away from the car. Smart dealers in the U.S. are asking for about 15,000 more units of the ForTwo and say that they are flying out of the showroom with more options than originally expected.

 

Source: Detroit News

[tags]Cars, Car, Auto, Automobile, Vehicles, Technology, Auto News, News, Automotive, Smart[/tags]

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