Thread: Safe as Smarts!
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Old 07 May 2005, 23:18   #1
Chris
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Join Date: 14.04.2002
Location:  Somewhere in the real world.
Posts: 7,527
Talking Safe as Smarts!

As one of the wonderful people who drive a Smart car, the comment I get most of all is "something that small can't be safe" Well, eblow is a picture of a Smart.



Looks a mess doesn't it?

Now consider that the Smartie in that picture had been pushed for 2 (TWO) kilometres down the German Autobahn by a lorry!!!

Click for the story
The strangest accident of the year

Truck shoved Smart over 2 kilometers along the motorway in front of itself

In the police report it is only a "traffic accident with personal injury". One of approximately 3100, which occur year by year within the range of the motorway police Cologne. In truth it is the strangest accident of the year.

Where a truck takes a Smart "on it's horns", does not notice what has happened, and pushes the small car and driver two kilometers along the motorway sideways

A1 motorway interchange Leverkusen West. At between 12 and 12 thirty, Bayer-Lanxess engineer Andreas Bolga (4 is headed for Dormagen. He follows the sliproad onto the A1 direction West. From the rear Truck driver Klaus B. from Birresborn approaches with his 20 tonne Mercedes Actros.

B. wants, according to the police report, to overtake another truck, but he can't make it, so pulls back into the right (slow) lane. As he does, he hits the Smart that has just joined the carriageway, on the rear quarter, spinning it in front of the truck

Andreas Bolga (married, two children) tells. "I had a regiment of guardian angels. When my car suddenly turned, I stepped fully on the brake. But the travel continued at 90. I only noticed then that I was stuck sideway on the radiator of the truck, and was being pushed sideways along the road. I heard the tires screeching. through the sunroof I saw the truck driver, who didn't react."

How was that? Klaus B. actually admitted to the police later, that he thought he felt an impact. " but I thought perhaps I had have burst a tire." He did not see the small Smart (1.51 m wide, 2.5 m long) from his seat approximately 1.80 meters high. Because on the Rhine bridge there is no hard shoulder, Klaus B. continued driving two kilometers over the bridge up to the exit Cologne Niehl.

There the 2 minute horror journey is finally ended. Bolga was shocked: "Only there I noticed that I still had my foot on the brake." When Brummi driver Klaus B. steps out, he says only, surprised: "How did you get there?"

By a miracle Bavarian engineer suffered only light bruises and whiplash injuries. For the truck driver the accident (total damage: 5000 euro) has no criminal consequences. A police officer said: "only a case for the insurance."

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