Summary: GAO conducted a review of small car safety because of concern about the issue and because of disagreement over alleged safety problems. GAO reviewed numerous research studies as well as analyzed accident data gathered from New York, Michigan, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Few conclusions concerning current or future smaller car safety problems have been unanimously agreed upon by the vehicle and highway safety experts and the automobile industry. Major issues concern whether smaller cars are in more accidents, how well they protect occupants during accidents, and the adequacy of roads to safely contain smaller cars. GAO found that many studies concurred with New York and Michigan data indicating that smaller cars were not overrepresented in total vehicle accidents when compared with the numbers of smaller vehicles registered in those states. However, smaller cars were generally overrepresented in single-vehicle accidents with guardrails and, to a lesser degree, median barriers. When smaller cars collided with larger cars, smaller car occupants received from 2 to 4 times more severe and fatal injuries than the larger car occupants, according to NHTSA and New York data. NHTSA and New York data did not agree on the performance of smaller cars in collision with each other. New York data indicated that in single-vehicle accidents, the smaller the car, the more severe the injuries. Michigan and some NHTSA data showed no consistent trend between occupant injury and all classes of car injuries and fatalities in the heaviest cars. New York data indicated that severe and fatal injuries were more prevalent with smaller cars than with larger cars in single-vehicle collisions with utility and light poles.
