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I need a little more protection. My wheels.

The real problem will not be the (vitally necessary) shift to smaller vehicles, it will be our failure in protecting them from having to share the roads with unnecessary trucks and vanity SUV's -- The transportation issues in American are TECHNICALLY easy, but the POLITICS are unwieldy

Great point V.

For "protection" in my little car, I let my kids talk me into adding side air bags. There are all kinds of reasons for not switching to smaller cars...none of them are good enough for me. It has to start somewhere, sometime with someone. The reasons to do it far outweigh the excuses not to in my mind.

In Sept. a big pick-up slammed into the car behind me,pushing me into the car in front. If I had been in a smart car I'd be dead instead of injured.
Small is ok,if they are built strong. They're not.
I drive a PT Cruiser

I am almost never in bumper to bumper traffic. Defensive driving is a skill that must be learned. Any time I'm behind the wheel I am very aware of all the other traffic and know what I will do if any of them lose control.It goes without saying I never text, talk on the cell or even eat while driving. My driving record gets me the cheapest insurance in the state.
How did you learn that smart cars are not built to be strong? I'd be interested in seeing the research on that.

We were stopped at a red light on route 70 at 7pm. Barely any traffic. The pick up was driven by a drunk who was going about 65 and never stopped. Sent 7 people besides himself to the hospital. There was no way to avoid it other then not be there.
Saw a program on tv where they were testing cars. Might have been 20/20 or 60 minutes.

True about the physics. The only reason the smaller cars are claimed to be unsafe in two car collisions is the disparity in mass and sometimes difference in bumper height. As the numbers of Valdez Class cruisers become fewer and fewer the disparity decreases. Physics also works against the larger higher center of gravity vehicles (SUVs) when it comes to cornering, passing,etc. as they are more likely to roll. Side airbags are a great safety advance. Some relatives a few years back bought an older larger vehicle claiming safety as the reason. However, without sideair bags it has a lower safety rating than most modern small cars. Safety ratings can be found online or from your insurance company.

Sort of related: Today Wisconsin starts to enforce seat belt wearing as a primary enforcement issue. In other words you can now be stopped for not wearing a seat belt. Prior to this they had to stop you for something else before ticketing you for not wearing the seatbelt.

NJ did that a few years back...and I never even start the car until mine is fastened.

Because I've been taught defensive driving, I always leave lots of room in front of me before I stop at a light. Grassy shoulders, medians, opposite lanes and even going through red lights when there is no traffic, are better options than just sitting there and being hit. Sometimes there is no out, but usually, if you've been trained to look for one, there is. You have to understand that it's OK to break "the rules" if it means you don't get hit.

Valdez Class cruisers...gotta love that one!

By the amazzen, I'm glad you weren't badly hurt and thanks for the tip on the research.