The Chicago Tribune reports, “The Smart Fortwo, the smallest car sold in the U.S., received a ‘safety concern’ warning from the federal government because the driver's door opened in a side-impact crash test, increasing the possibility that occupants could be ejected in an accident.”  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) actually awarded the Smart car respectable scores in its testing.  But according to agency spokesperson Rae Tyson, the NHTSA issues a safety concern when “things happen during the test that didn't affect the final ratings but we feel consumers should know about.”  He added, “We felt we couldn't ignore this.”

In its Wheels blog, The New York Times adds, “In a frontal crash test, the Fortwo got four stars for protecting the driver and three stars for protecting the passenger.”  In the side-impact test that raised the concern, “the Smart got the top rating -- five stars -- for protecting the head and chest of the dummy belted in the driver’s seat.” But it is very unusual for a door to be forced open during testing, so the agency issued the concern notice despite the fact that the test dummy showed little sign of injury.  Smart spokesman Ken Kettenbeil told the Times that the automaker’s “engineers were reviewing the test results but it appears the door opening was an anomaly.” 

Autoblog comments, “Anyone who has laid eyes on the tiny two-seater will probably tell you that safety is a major concern considering that the average vehicle size in the U.S. is much larger than in the Fortwo's native European market, and the thought of being in one that's sideswiped by a Suburban is not pleasant.”  Autoblog posts videos of both tests here, and adds, “we're actually impressed with how well the Fortwo handles blunt impact trauma thanks to its safety cell. Being as small and lightweight as it is, however, the car surrenders to inertia and quickly heads the opposite way when struck.”

Kicking Tires cautions that the Fortwo's rollover rating "was also just three stars, a rating usually reserved for large SUVs. (Three stars is the rollover score the 2008 Ford Explorer got.)" 

If you’re still curious, the British outfit Fifth Gear has conducted its own safety testing of the Fortwo.  Video of that test can be found on YouTube.

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