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UPDATE 2-U.S. favors voluntary steps to improve SUV safety

(Updates with additional testimony)

By John Crawley

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The top U.S. auto safety regulator said on Wednesday he would let carmakers voluntarily improve the safety of sport utility vehicles but left open the option of forcing them to make changes if necessary.

Jeffrey Runge, who heads the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told a congressional hearing the industry can move more swiftly than government on safety improvements and that is how he wants to proceed.

"I bet they get there before we get there," Runge, a former emergency room physician, said of separate efforts under way by his agency and the industry to reduce the risks of rollover and other hazards of the bigger, more powerful SUVs sharing the road with smaller passenger cars.

Runge moderated his tone on the issue but did not retreat from the prospect of government action if he was not satisfied with industry efforts. He said the agency would continue to lay the groundwork for potential regulation as well as formulate suggestions for the industry to follow. Federal rules can take several years to put into practice.

"We will be moving in parallel and we will be watching them closely," Runge told the Senate Commerce Committee. "Hopefully it can be done without huge regulation."

Saying he would not let members of his family drive lower-rated SUV models, Runge nevertheless said some sport utility vehicles are as safe or safer than some passenger cars.

Congress also appears willing to let automakers take the lead in developing safer SUVs.

"We will be interested to learn whether any safety issues that may exist concerning SUVs can be resolved voluntarily by automobile manufacturers or whether uniform federal safety standards are necessary," said Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and committee chairman.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, said he was skeptical the automakers would cooperate effectively. But his Virginia counterpart, Republican George Allen, boasted to Runge that he was proud to own an SUV and was perfectly comfortable letting his family drive one. He cautioned against "nannying" the industry and would not welcome regulation.

Wednesday's hearing marked the first close look at auto safety by Congress since the Firestone tire saga. That episode involved the recall of millions of defective tires in 2000 and 2001 after tire blowouts and tread separations were linked to 271 deaths. It prompted Congress to approve landmark safety legislation.

There are 22 million SUVs on U.S. roads, about 10 percent of the total number of vehicles.

But America's love affair with SUVs, which began in the early 1990s, has cooled in the past three years with flat sales and the emergence of smaller, more car-like SUVs.

The industry has recently acknowledged sport utility vehicle safety concerns about rollover and the potential dangers of size difference.

Government figures show the rate of fatal rollovers for SUVs is almost three times the rate for passenger cars. More than 2,100 SUV occupants were killed in rollover crashes in 2001. About half were not wearing seat belts.

Auto makers have agreed to explore short and long term strategies to improve safety. For instance, they are looking at enhanced head protection systems to protect passenger car occupants in rollovers.

An analysis of government data by an insurance industry group that covered rollover and other types of crashes showed that SUV fatality rates have fallen sharply in recent years and are now almost even with passenger cars.

But the analysis also showed that because of their size and stiffness, sport utility vehicles can cause considerable damage to smaller passenger cars in certain crashes.

The average weight difference between a light truck, which includes SUVs, and cars is 1,100 pounds. And SUV frames are higher than passenger car frames and twice as stiff. Statistics show there are 16 car driver fatalities for every SUV driver fatality when an SUV hits a car.

Addressing this, the industry said it might authorize design changes to both SUVs and passenger cars. There is no timetable, but car makers have promised to work quickly.

General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. have already made some SUV design changes.