A wise man once said "I cannae change the laws of physics!" In other words a Miata might pass government standards but I still would not want to be in one about to be hit by a speeding Escalade.

Like everything else, they are only as dangerous as the person operating them.  They are an inanimate object.

They are small cars. While they may get good safety ratings, it is important to remember they are being rated good for their class. 

A 5 star small car and a 5 star pickup, for example, get the same grade. But the small car would be the worse for wear in many cases. Sometimes not...but many.

Maybe your girlfriend just doesn't want her man to be seen driving a Miata 😆  

They do be fun cars, cheap parts, easy tunability and all that. The problem for me is I ain't trust nobody else on the road especially here in Cali. 50 percent drives like they got someplace to be and if they get there a second faster it will change their entire life. The other half drive 5 miles under the 65 mph speed limit on the fast lanes. With that kind of inconsistency.... Yeah nah. No wonder their be accidents left and right here. Everytime I go on the 85 highway there be at least 1 nowadays, it's literally insane.

i would not want to drive one in traffic everyday

the only safety issue that i can think of is being able to see and be seen in traffic

Mazda Miata

Toyota 86 or subru brz 

Are all safe cars it really depends how the person drives the car. If he drives like a manic he is not only danger to himself but also to people around him.

Fun fact to convince ur friend girlfriend. 

The cars I mentioned only have 2.4l inline 4 engine that only put out 200 hp on base version. So technically they are two door coupe not sports car.

Miatas are more like leisure cars. I wouldn't purchase one for daily life stuff as they are too small to be practical. In term of safety, again, they are too small to be safe.