The Smart ForTwo is finally being offered in the US and it is selling way beyond expectations, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has raised a concern about how the car performed in recent tests.
During the side impact test of the Smart ForTwo the driver door unlatched and opened, this means that the driver or passenger could be ejected from the vehicle in a similar side impact. The ironic part is that NHTSA still gave the ForTwo a five-star safety rating (its highest rating) for being able to protect its occupants in a side impact crash.
Rae Tyson, a NHTSA spokesman, said the rating is based on the level of protection that the vehicle provides to occupants, but it wanted to note a potential safety implication.
“Given the amount of attention on smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in general and this vehicle specifically, we wanted to try to get the vehicle tested and the results out there as quickly as possible,” Tyson said.
In front impact tests the Smart ForTwo received four-stars out of five for the driver and three out of five for the passenger.
Full Story: Detroit News
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