The opinion “UAW strike may hasten Detroit’s decline” in the Wall Street Journal by Clifford Winston tortures the history of automotive safety. Winston (Citation2023) wrote:
Government policies that have reduced auto makers’ competitiveness include inefficient safety and environmental rules and mandates. Regulations mandated installation of various safety devices, such as shatterproof windshields and energy-absorbing steering columns, that raised auto makers’ costs but didn’t reduce overall highway deaths. Legislation required auto makers to install air bags on both sides of the front seat by 1998, increasing costs and risking the safety of smaller passengers.
NHTSA also required seatbelts in vehicles starting in 1968 (Federal Register Citation1966). However, the motoring public ignored them with only 7% seatbelt use in a 1979 study (Morris, Clark Citation1980). This prompted NHTSA to require automatic crash protection (or passive restraint), which evolved into various automatic seatbelt designs or airbags (Kratzke Citation1995). After years of vacillating on passive restraints, Secretary of Transportation Elizabeth Dole reached the practical decision to require automakers to install airbags and manual seatbelts and to encourage States to pass seatbelt use laws (Dole Citation1985). This resulted in regular seatbelt use and supplemental airbags that have proven effective in preventing death and injury. NHTSA (Citation2009) found airbags and seatbelts saved 28,244 lives through 2009 with 51% effectiveness in preventing fatalities and 52% in preventing serious injuries. However, there were 292 driver and right-front passenger deaths from inflating airbags from 1989-2003. This prompted NHTSA (Citation2001) to issue advanced airbag requirements that have essentially eliminated the early problems.
In the 1980s, President Reagan directed federal agencies to manage health and safety risks sensibly with cost-effective regulations. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) found that automotive safety regulations, such as the EA steering system and airbags, were among the most cost-effective of all federal agencies (Morrall Citation1986). NHTSA developed a HARM metric based on the frequency and severity of injury to prioritize automotive safety initiatives (Malliaris et al. Citation1982, Citation1985). The government and industry pursued HARM reductions through the 1990s-2000s. This sensibly managed cost-effective improvements in occupant protection. The approach was used in setting priorities for rear impact safety (Viano Citation2023).
Government regulations have improved automotive safety and they are cost effective (Morrall Citation1986; Graham et al. Citation1997; Kahane 2015). Today, vehicles have crashworthy structures, advanced airbags, pretensioning seatbelts among other features improving crash protection. Today, vehicles are equipped with Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) among other features preventing crashes. None of the government safety regulations influenced the relationships among the industry, government and UAW. None influenced the competitiveness of the Detroit auto industry, since they applied to all vehicles sold in the US. Mr. Winston’s article distorts the effectiveness of government safety regulations.
Editor, Traffic Injury Prevention
ProBiomechanics LLC, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
[email protected]
Acknowledgments
The Wall Street Journal opinion appeared in the 9-22-23 paper. An earlier version of this Editorial was sent to the Wall Street Journal as a “Letter to the Editor” on 9-24-23. There was no response from the Wall Street Journal. I sent the letter to Dr. Winston on 9-28-23 and copied principals in the Brookings Institution. There was no response from the Brookings Institution or Dr. Winston.
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References
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