Local News

Smaller Cars, Less Safety? Crash Test Questions

While Some Cars Did Well, US Made Micros Raised Concerns

One Expert Grades US Micros "D or F"

CBS4 News I-team Investigation

WASHINGTON (CBS4 News) ― Like so many other drivers, Mike DeSantos needs to stretch his bucks and his gas mileage as far as possible.

"Right now I'm just trying to save on gas," Santos said.

Like so many other drivers, the Kendall resident thinks about all the small cars on the road, getting better mileage than his truck.

"It's more economical to have a small vehicle now-a- days with the gas prices."

But still, some local drivers aren't so sure small cars are really the best option around south Florida. Federal officials insist newer small cars are a lot safer than older models.

"Right now we know the 2006 vehicles that are being sold offer dramatically better protection than the 1996 vehicles," said Steve Kratzke, associate administrator of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration in Washington, DC.

But some insurance industry insiders are not so sure.

"Real world data tells us smaller vehicles have increased fatality rates and insurance claims data tells us they also have increased injury claim rates," said Raul Arbelaez, Senior research Engineer for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, located outside of Washington.

The institute has just started an extensive program of testing 'mini-cars' for safety, after watching sales skyrocket.

"We are interested in these vehicles because they are becoming very popular in the marketplace right now rising fuel costs are driving a lot more people to this category, " said Arbelaez.

CBS-4 News traveled to the Institute's crash test track outside of Washington, DC for an exclusive first-hand look at the latest series of engineered accidents, focusing on the new, smaller cars.

It took just seconds to crash test a new, '07 Hyundai Accent, one of a number of cars lined up for destruction at the Institute's test center.

After the crash, the engine was pushed up into the engine compartment, and one could clearly see how the impact cracked the windshield. There was no sign of the dummy's head or body hitting the windshield, but inside, you could see the dummy's head had hit the airbag, where the impact of this accident was absorbed.

Engineers found a possible concern: the dummy's head hit the steering wheel harder than they expected, and the dummy's left leg also suffered an impact.

Arbelaez says the crash readings could mean potential injuries to a real driver.

"Probably not life threatening but some risk of serious injury is possible…both to the head and to the legs...yes".

Hyundai says after its' review of this test, it expects the Accent will get an "Acceptable" front crash rating, just a notch down from top honors.

Hyundai says the accent earned 5-star top ratings in its' recent federal crash evaluations, and in a statement to CBS4 News, said, "Of course, Hyundai would prefer to have received the highest IIHS rating, but we are very confident that the Accent GLS performs very safely for owners, drivers and passengers." The company added, "Accent has an excellent real world safety record."

As a group, said Insurance Institute engineers, the latest small car tests and the problems they are finding were not expected.

"I can't say I was surprised," said Arbelaez. "We kind of expected it." He added that he was 'disappointed', "Some have received our worst rating."

"As a vehicle gets lighter, there is less structure, less mass to protect that occupant," Arbelaez said, "and so until manufactures start to make some changes I believe that we can expect most of these small cars will not perform too well."

The testing program has revealed some bright spots. Honda's civic got a best in class for it's crash testing from the institute, and fellow Japanese automaker Subaru also got top honors.

But no US small cars have yet been named best in their class.

Joan Claybrook of Public Citizen believes American carmakers should receive a bad grade for their small cars. "a lousy grade, a very lousy grade...maybe a "D" or an "F"."

Federal safety officials insist the latest, high-tech systems like side airbags are making new vehicles safer than older ones, but some safety technology is still an extra cost option. There's a growing concern budget- minded shoppers, looking for bottom-line bargains, may not be willing to spend extra money for an extra measure of safety in their smaller cars.

Mike Jackson, Chairman and CEO of auto retailer AutoNation said, "My experience in the market is the American Public at this point doesn't understand the value of that, they're not doing it, and I'm telling you they should".

Claybook agrees. "I would say spend the money even though it's going to pinch you in other ways and save your lives and save your kids."

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)