My (unintentional) Saab 9-3 crash test
The car in the photo at right was, a few minutes before the picture was taken, a pristine 2007 Saab 9-3 Sport Combi. And then a car tried to zoom around me on the right as I was turning into a driveway. CRUNCH! (Larger photo here.)
Luckily no one was hurt, and the 9-3 held up well against the impact. The crash wasn't hard enough to set off the side airbags -- it was more of a side-swipe -- but it was serious enough that the door was jammed shut. Yet there was no deformation to the door's interior panel, the window didn't break, and my wife Robin, who was sitting in the passenger's seat, was completely unscathed.
The Saab 9-3 has a reputation as a safe car; the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named it a Top Safety Pick for 2007. But crash tests can't predict the results of every real-world crash, and it was nice to see that the 9-3 works as well in the real world as it does in the test lab. To all the Saab 9-3 engineers, Robin and I offer a personal and heart-felt thank you. -- Aaron Gold
UPDATE: Read my test drive of the Saab 9-3 SportCombi -- yes, the very same one I crashed -- here.
Photo © Aaron Gold
Trying to pass you on the right, eh? I hope they got a ticket. Some people should just never be given a license. Glad everyone’s alright, though.
What kind of driveway has the crash barriers I see in the background of the photo?? Glad you both are OK!!!!
SAAB’s make Volvos look like death traps.
Sorry to here that Aaron. Glad to hear you’re OK.
And thanks for sticking up for me even though I stuck it to you. That’s class.
And so, Aaron, did you use your turn signal well before the turn to let the people behind you know that you were going to turn right?
I hope you aren’t one of those drivers who finds it necessary to first turn to left side of the lane before making a righthand turn.
Did you think about pulling over to the right side of the lane (and maybe even into the parking lane) to prevent drivers behind you from even attempting to pass on the right side? Don’t give them the opportunity to hit you.
Everyone — Thanks for the good wishes!
Charlie — What you see in the background is the divider — the road was three lanes in either direction, and we were pulled over to the side (I never did make it into the driveway).
Johnster — The road had three lanes in each direction. I was in the right one, and the other two were empty. Why the driver chose to pass me on what is essentially the shoulder is beyond me. Then again, back when I was taking my 5-hour course, the instructor said “Expect the unexpected.” He was right!
So, you didn’t use your turn signal?
Johnster — Honestly, I don’t recall if I did — but if I did signal it would have been immediately before the turn, certainly not as early as I should have. We were looking for the driveway in question, and spotted it immediately before the turn. If I were writing this up as an NTSB-style accident report, I would say the other driver’s atttempt to pass on the right, in the same lane, was the primary cause; my sudden turn was a contributing factor.
Don’t let them get to you Aaron. Some people seem to think that you can always avoid and accident.
My wife and I got rear ended while STOPPED at a stop light. The light was red and we where stopped for a good 30 or 40 seconds when a kid just slammed into us.
I had people tell me that we should have been watching our rear view mirror so we could have ran the light instead of being hit!
If your turn was so sudden that they car behind you couldn’t stop in time and had to try and go around then they where tailgating or not paying attention.
Cadillac has a new vehicle to vehicle sensor system on the ‘07 Caddy CTS that communicates with other vehicles with like systems on the road. MB may have it as well. Caddy also has a lane departure warning system I think. May be worth doing a story on if possible?
Sorry about that. I’ve learned the hard way, bad things can happen when you don’t signal. There are a lot of people out there who need all the warning you can give them.
Amen to bkrell. Thanks to marketing, most people think Volvos are the ultimate in safety when, in fact, they’re not even the safest vehicles in Sweden. That honor, of course, goes to Saab. Glad to hear you and your wife are OK Aaron. I don’t envy the paperwork you had to go through! Been there, done that (twice) with press cars. Both times other drivers’ fault.
Good news, My wife owns a 9-3, and we have two kids. I have been driving it for about a year, and I am sick of it, too hard of a drive for me. I want to give it back to her, but feel she would be safer in our Hybrid Highlander, which I purchased for myself, but gave to her when it started to snow. And have yet to get it back!
She is telling me she prefers the 9-3, Also, it has been in the shop since we purchased it new in 04′. Literally a new engine at 30K But now, I think they finally found what was wrong, and It has been running fine for over 1 year, no real issues.
I want to give it back to her so I can get my softer riding car back (better MPG too) But feel she is safer in the bigger SUV?