Seems the so called "Smart Car' can't make left turns.


It's a problem that has baffled German engineers, auto industry experts, Kern County road engineers and, most importantly, Samuel Wattles of Rosamond: How do you make a left turn in a new Smart Car? Wattles waited a year and a half for his Smart ForTwo - a tiny, two-passenger car that gets more than 40 miles per gallon - only to find that the lightweight vehicle wasn't heavy enough to set off the sensors that activate left-turn signal lights at intersections.
At least, that's what he thought was going on when he picked up the car July 20 in North Hollywood and drove it home to Rosamond.
"I was going down Rosamond Boulevard and got to Sierra Highway and got in the left turn lane," Wattles said. "I waited for four rounds of signals, and everyone else was gone, but I'm just sitting there waiting for a signal.
"I had to wait for a (standard-sized) automobile to come. And when a car came behind me, the signal changed."
Another time, he got tired of waiting, backed out of the turn lane and got to his destination by going around the block.
"You're not supposed to back out of a lane," Wattles said, "but I wasn't going to turn against a red light."
Wattles believed weight was the problem, assuming the signals that trigger the left-turn signals are weight-sensitive. Not so, said Sal Gomez, a traffic engineer with the Kern County Road Department.

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