An American Auto Safety Tragedy - Automotive Safety Analysis

People Safe In Rollovers February 2007
Immediately after General Motors' vehicles failed the two drop tests
on September 6 and 7, Ed Klove of Fisher Body prepared a proposal of a
Roof Crush Test Procedure. (DBD - 40) P.O. Johnson of Fisher Body (and also a
subcommittee member) presented Klove's proposal to the SAE Impact
and Roll-Over Test Procedures Subcommittee on September 29, 1967.
Klove's proposal stated its advantages: "more impressive numbers are
obtained - three inches crush for 6000 lb. load. (A six inch vehicle
drop height allowing eight inches crush is not impressive)." (DBD - 41)
Fisher Body now realized that all their vehicles would not even meet a
drop height of 6 inches. (DBD - 42) Klove's proposal dared to pose the question,
"Who can say that it does not provide as good a measure of vehicle
safety as does an inverted drop test?" (DBD - 43) It was Klove's idea to suggest
this test procedure as an alternative method of showing compliance.
(DBD - 44) Fisher Body's nickname for the Static Crusher was "GOLDFINGER."
(DBD - 45)
On December 8, 1971, NHTSA adopted General Motors' proposal
(one that GM's vehicles could already pass) (DBD - 47) and announced that
FMVSS 216 was being created as a temporary alternative to FMVSS 208
rollover testing. (DBD - 60) The December 11, 1971 NHTSA News Release
read: "The new standard is intended as an alternative to Standard No.
208 rollover test, and will become effective on August 15, 1973. After
August 15, 1977, Standard 216 will no longer be a substitute for rollover
test of Standard 208, and is expected to be revoked by then." (DBD - 61)
On August 15, 1977 NHTSA did not revoke FMVSS 216 and substitute
it with the rollover Standard 208 as was originally planned. In the last 35
years there has been no dynamic rollover requirement implemented for
FMVSS 208 or any other federal motor vehicle safety standard and there
have been no upgrades to FMVSS 216 other than extending the same
passenger car roof strength requirements to light trucks and vans in 1991.
(DBD - 62) The result is what you see on the following pages. The auto manufacturers
are aware that there is no occupant survival space built into the
design of these vehicles in the event of a rollover accident.
It is not just 10,000 deaths and 16,000 seriously injured in rollovers
each year, it is entire families that are torn apart in a split second for each
of these deaths and serious injuries. This is truly an American auto safety
tragedy.