[Maverick1]

I was just wondering what color were the Elises that have got into traffic accidents so far? I am asking because the car as we all know is on the smaller side, and difficult to see for some other drivers.
I am going to be placing my final options order including color sometime in December, and thought that a bright color like yellow or orange might be easier to see than say the darker ones like black, brp, grey, blue etc. I know that darker colors are harder to see at dusk and dawn than bright ones.
Cheers

 

[The Stig]

Lazer blue

 

[Stan]

Accidents I have heard about where the Elise was hit by someone include BRP, LB, MB, RG, GG or ST. Mostly darker colors. But some of those could also be size related as far as vision factors go.

A bright color and a loud exhaust and horn might be a good idea. With about 6 years of Lotus driving experience (Europa / Elise), I think that things like this help a bit. You need to stay alert in general and not park in problem spots.

 

[Mean TT]

I have found that there is a much higher tendance to get run off the road in an Elise. People just don't seem to see it as well as other cars. The horn is so meak too, that I think a lot of people think it is coming from far away. Who knows. I think the best thing to do is to get HID lights when they become available for the cars. They penetrate through rain a lot better. The fact that they are mildly abnoxious to other cars is bad for them, but good for you.

Then again, you could always get a giant orange flag and put it on the car....

 

[MattG]

There was a Chrome Orange Elise that got crunched in a parking lot. Brighter colors don't seem to help.

 

[Allan Gibbs]

Also, we don't know what the circumstances of Robert's accident are, either.

 

[II-soon]

I agree bright colors will not help that much. The Elise is simply too low. That makes it hard to see to lazy people who don't turn their heads and rely on only mirrors.

My accident occurred at 2 P.M. on a bright sunny day. There are too many dumb drivers out there who think they're the only ones on the road.

 

[Ralbertina]

Size Elise Vs Miata

From a height perspective, is there much difference in the height of an Elise compared to a Mazda Miata with its top down? I just don't seem to recall much, if any, issues with regard to the Miata's size and accidents. And, I thought the Elise roughly corresponded in size to a Miata.

 

[Maverick1]

Bright colors...

Brighter colors would probably be more helpfull at night.
Cheers

 

[mikester]

Re: Size Elise Vs Miata

From a height perspective, is there much difference in the height of an Elise compared to a Mazda Miata with its top down? I just don't seem to recall much, if any, issues with regard to the Miata's size and accidents. And, I thought the Elise roughly corresponded in size to a Miata.

6 inches shorter, 3 inches lower.

I have a second-generation Miata, and I think it's down to a similar driving style (pro-active, attentive, slightly aggressive (better than passive))

 

[bboersma]

Color is probably only a factor in less than 5% of accidents.

The other 95% would be due to idiotic drivers.

 

[JonOrangeElise]

This is the right thread to ask this question: Is it me, or does it seem like an inordinately high number of Federal Elise's have been involved in accidents/collisions/what have you? My mental count tells me that 8-12 elisetalk member cars have already been hit with enough force to cause serious damage.

Does anyone have a count of the total number of collisions reported on this board?

(And let's keep in mind that Elisetalk represents just a subset of total Elise owners...)

Does this car's current collision rate meet or exceed that of the average car?

I just don't get it. The car is small, but hits essentially the same profile as a Miata. Do Miatas get crunched as often?

signed,

disturbed, but not yet worried...

 

[Stan]

Jon...some of the hits were from the driver backing into something or curbing the front air dam, etc. Not sure if those count as normal accidents or not. 2-3 people hit road debris such as Randy.

 

[LotusLust]

2-3 people hit road debris such as Randy.

Randy has been reduced to road debris???

 

[Allan Gibbs]

I did a quick thread reading through the "Elise Experience" and "Rumors" section and did a search for "accident."
Here's what I found:

1. Scraps to lower front clam shell = 9 people
2. Car rolls backwards and hits front clam shell = 1 person
3. SUV backup into Elise = 1 person
4. Elise rear ended = 1 person
5. Elise attacked by autocross cone = 1 person
6. Elise hit by thrown up tire = same person
7. Person make u-turn in front of Elise = 1 person
8. Father looses control and son backs into Elise = 1 person

Did I miss one?

Total accidents with other vehicle: 4
Time since the Elise has been on sale in U.S. = 4 months.

 

[Barney Jr]

There's only one solution: buy a louder exhaust

www.elise-shop.com does sell HID conversions for the S2 elise btw, they might be compatible?

 

[Surferjer]

You missed mine: car backs into Elise in parking lot.

Minor damaged, but back in the shop for finishing touches.

Randy has been reduced to road debris???

rotfl rotfl

 

[Stan]

>>>2-3 people hit road debris such as Randy....<<< >>>Randy has been reduced to road debris???<<<

Ooops!

 

[ChrisB]

I did a quick thread reading through the "Elise Experience" and "Rumors" section and did a search for "accident."
Here's what I found:

1. Scraps to lower front clam shell = 9 people
2. Car rolls backwards and hits front clam shell = 1 person
3. SUV backup into Elise = 1 person
4. Elise rear ended = 1 person
5. Elise attacked by autocross cone = 1 person
6. Elise hit by thrown up tire = same person
7. Person make u-turn in front of Elise = 1 person
8. Father looses control and son backs into Elise = 1 person

Did I miss one?

Total accidents with other vehicle: 4
Time since the Elise has been on sale in U.S. = 4 months.

Just to normalize those numbers, how many of these would not have even been mentioned here if the car were equipped with 2.5 mph bumpers like all the rest of the cars it is being compared to? (not a judgement, just a question)

 

[Allan Gibbs]

You missed mine: car backs into Elise in parking lot.
Minor damaged, but back in the shop for finishing touches.
rotfl rotfl

I got you as the "SUV back into Elise." It was an SUV, right?

In regards to Chris question:

1. Scraps to lower front clam shell = 9 people
>Not an issue if we had some type of lower clam shell protection.

2. Car rolls backwards and hits front clam shell = 1 person
> Bumpers probably would have help. I don't know if this had something to do with size. If it was an SUV, the person probably would have still rolled back.

3. SUV backup into Elise = 1 person
> I think the Elise's size is a factor here.

4. Elise rear ended = 1 person
> I don't know enough detail about the accident to make a guess.

5. Elise attacked by autocross cone = 1 person
>Clearly the cones fault.

6. Elise hit by thrown up tire = same person
> Could have happened to any car. Damage would probably have been on the hood instead of window.

7. Person make u-turn in front of Elise = 1 person
> The Elise owner said he was about 10 feet behind the car that make the u-turn from the middle lane. I think this is probably because the Elise was in the blind spot rather than just the size.

8. Father looses control and son backs into Elise = 1 person
> Driver error.

These are just my guesses of course.