Safety on snow

[bc]

How much of a problem is the light weight of the Insight when driving in the snow? I have had mine for 7 months (and loved it), but 10 minutes into the first snowfall of the year, a truck hit me and spun me into a guardrail. I'm pretty sure that the car will be totaled, but now I'm hesitant to buy another one because of the way that it went flying across the road with the slightest bump. Would I be better off to go with another car if I have to drive in snow often, or was my accident just a freak thing?

[Hambone]

In terms of accidents, the truck vs. Insight is a matter of weight, the truck probably had over two tons of it, the Insight has less than a ton. You can figure which way the momentum and inertia is going to travel in that arrangement.

In terms of winter drivability, the Insight does as well as any small car I've ever had. As long as the snow hasn't built up above the ride height of the Insight, I've been able to navigate my way anywhere I needed to go. Once the snowfall has gotten above say 6 to 8 inches though, I'm pretty much sitting tight until the plows come through. That's pretty much the same as my other small cars I've had in the past though, Honda Civic and a Subaru GL-5.

[jsanford]

...who has totalled a car or two in the past, in the case of car vs. truck flying out of the way isn't always such a bad thing. Having the engine block in your lap (or the truck's) is a lot worse.

Sorry to hear about your accident, but consider this: you're hear on this forum posing this question. Many would say the car therefore did its job.

Size doesn't always matter. I've known of a few people who died in minivans and SUVs, strapped in their seatbelts and/or child seats. A lot of it is how the forces are distributed through the body of the car.

[Yves M.]

This is tough. To me, it looks like you already made your mind at changing for an other car model. I do not know what I would do if I was you.

When I look at me past, I always bought a big 4x4 after being ran into by an other driver
1977 Firebird-> boom -> 1980 Cherooke
1989 Taurus -> boom -> 1990 Cherooke
But I always came back to a car. I sold the 1980 Cherooke 360 V8 because a month of gas cost more than the car payment of the Taurus.

I drive in snow from December to April. I am among the ones who says "Absolutly no car should drive in snow without snow tires, it should be illegal" I never had a problem yet. I always have snow tires.
It is actually not true. I did past through a red light when I had put my 4 season tires too early and we received a snow fall in April 2004

Did you have snow tires and did the truck have them

You will always find a larger vehicule than you. If you impact it, you will be the most vulnerable one. If you buy a Hummer 1, you could be hit by a bus or a tractor trailer.

If you are OK now, than the car was good. I am sure that if you had a slightly larger car, you would have slipped on the snow also.

Good luck with your next car or truck.

[Billy]

The way your Insight handles in snow has nothing to do with the weight of the car. It has to do with weight distribution front to rear, tire tread and traction, brakes, steering, and most of all the driver. For example, for many year I had a honda crx hf, which is roughly the same size as the Insight and 120 pounds lighter than the Insight. It had terrific traction and balance in the snow. It was a super-good snow car. The Insight has slightly less ground clearance in the front, so you don't want to drive through real deep snow. If you like you Insight, keep it. But don't get rid of it just because you THINK it is not a good snow car..... Billy...

[Foxpaw]

I don't quite see the relationship between "good in snow" and "spinning into a guardrail as a result of being hit by another vehicle." Unless your vehicle has treads, your course is pretty much always going to be diverted (possibly resulting in a collision) if another vehicle impacts your car, be it an Insight or an armoured personell carrier.

[Guillermo]

Sorry to hear about the collision.
The key is to avoid collisions not hope to survive them.
Taking advanced driver training courses and using winter tires are the most important things anyone can do to significantly reduce the chances of ever experiencing another collision again.
Take an advanced winter driving course and you will amazed how much you will learn about avoiding collisions. And you will amazed how much your driving skills improve practicing driving exercises with expert driving instructors with ice racing experience.

[bc]

Foxpaw, even though the truck hit the back of my Insight, it didn't hit all that hard and it still made me spin 920 degrees. I know that the truck hitting me had nothing to do with Snow handling, but I don't think that most cars would have gone that out of control from a little bump. Still, I'm glad to hear that other people haven't had major problems in snow because I love the Insight and just want some assurance that it shouldn't be any major problem if I buy another.

On the bright side, I was regretting buying a CVT instead of a manual transmision, so I can get the one that I want now (assuming a dealership around me can get order one).

[ethicalpaul]

Originally Posted by Billy

The way your Insight handles in snow has nothing to do with the weight of the car.

I think you've overspoken. Certainly the overall weight of the vehicle has an effect in snow handling.

[Yves M.]

I had a heavy 4x4 and the handling in snow was very close to the one on a dry street. Compared to all my other cars.

In 6 or 8 inch of snow, at a stop I could floor the gas pedal and accelerate as fast as on dry pavement.

This made my remember my first truck. From 4 mpg to 9 mpg in Winter and while in 4x4. That was not cheap on gas. Here are some pics I just found of when I towed my 5000 pound boat without brakes on the trailer:
http://www.insight.100freemb.com/tanzer75.html
I just made that page