Summary

Not surprisingly, the speed upon impact and crash types are the most important factors in the risk of injury to drivers. Driver age and safety belt use are also important, although automobile weight and driver gender have less influence. Safety belts greatly reduce injury risk, but their effectiveness is not the same in all crashes; they are more effective in single-car crashes than in multivehicle collisions. Air bags reduce injury risk in frontal impacts, but air bags alone are less effective than safety belts alone. In equivalent car crashes, women drivers and older drivers are more likely to be harmed than men and younger drivers. GAO found that safety belts are less effective overall for women drivers than for men drivers.

GAO found that: (1) the most important determinants of driver injury in car crashes are speed at impact, the type of crash, safety belt use, driver age and gender, and automobile weight and size; (2) injury is more likely in high-speed crashes, one car crashes, frontal crashes, and rollovers; (3) occupants of heavier and larger cars are less likely to be injured, but those cars pose a greater danger to persons in multivehicle crashes; (4) heavier cars offer more protection in one-car nonrollover and multivehicle crashes, but occupants of these cars are subject to more injury in rollovers than are occupants of lighter cars; (5) although safety belts reduce injury risks overall, they are most effective in rollovers, single car crashes, and frontal crashes; (6) air bags are only effective in frontal crashes and are less effective than safety belts alone; (7) although they are involved in fewer crashes overall, female and older drivers are more often injured than male and younger drivers are in similar crashes; (8) safety belts are not as effective for women as they are for men; (9) female and older drivers are involved in more multivehicle crashes and male and younger drivers are involved in more single car crashes; (10) older drivers tend to be involved in more side impact crashes; and (11) the government and manufacturers are working to improve automobile safety for each category of driver.