Safer-Car Legislation In U.S.

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31097, 28 June 1966, Page 24

Safer-Car Legislation In U.S.

(Nt. Press Assn.—Copyright) WASHINGTON, June 26. The Commerce Committee of the United States Senate has approved legislation designed to reduce highway deaths by forcing the car industry to build safer cars. Unanimously approved by the committee was a safety package which would impose much more stringent controls on the car-makers than President Johnson originally requested. “It’s a lot tougher now,” said the Democrat chairman, Senator Warren Magnuson. “I think the industry will be able to live with this and they’ll be happy later on that we passed this bill.”

Basically, the bill is aimed at preventing death and injuries caused by the “second collision,” in which motorists are banged about inside their vehicles after a collission or other impact. , The bill would require that interim vehicle safety standards, dealing with design and construction, be set by January 31, 1967, affecting 1968 models.

These temporary standards, to be determined by the Commerce Secretary, probably would be those already in effect for cars the government buys each year. Existing Federal standards, set by the General Services Administration, require seat belts, improved padded dashes, energy - absorbing steering columns and other features already met by the “big four”—General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and American Motors. The current legislation would affect all cars sold in the United States, including imported models. Revised and even more stringent standards, reflecting Federal research in the field, would be set on January 31, 1968. The industry would be required to implement the standards between six months and one year after they were set. Although the committee rejected the industry request that the time be left open, the bill would permit the Commerce Secretary to grant time extensions for certain major innovations. Car makers failing to comply with the standards would be subject to civil penalties including fines of 1000 dollars (£N.Z.356) for each car found to be in violation. The maximum would be 400,000 dollars for a series of related violations. As requested by the industry, the committee dropped a

provision to provide criminal penalties for individual car executives. The measure also would require thorough notification of car owners if a defect were found in their cars. Manufacturers would be required to notify the Secretary of Commerce and the car

owner of the defect—be ft strictly related to safety or merely something like a bad Windshield wiper. The bill follows a crusade against unsafe cars by the American lawyer. Ralph Nader, whose book. “Unsafe At Any Speed," has become a best-seller.