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Ron Mathis definitely has safety in mind in his design and engineering. They have crash tested the X-Prize version of the VLC, and it does great. I think that Oliver Kuttner mentions the specifics in the video above.
The shape of the car (elongated diamond) has everything to do with it - deflection away from the object and this means the time available to come to a stop is much longer and this minimizes the peak forces.
Also the shape is structurally robust. The wheels and their support structures are able to absorb and dissipate energy.
More weight means more energy to absorb. In a majority of all types of crashes, higher weight is a disadvantage, and only in a one or two types of two vehicle crashes does weight help. And those are helped by the deflection, and the "space" provided by the outboard wheels and long nose.
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