June 5, 2008 – Roof Strength of Vehicles Questioned by Lawmakers
June 5, 2008 – U.S. auto safety regulators told lawmakers on Wednesday that they need more time to develop a tougher standard for vehicle roofs. Automobile industry experts said more time is needed to ensure that adding more weight and headroom to vehicles would not lead to more roll overs. Some regulators and lawmakers, as well as safety and consumer groups have aggressively pushed for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require stronger roofs as a measure to help reduce deaths and injuries in rollover crashes. Rollover-related deaths account for approximately 25 percent of all U.S. traffic fatalities.
Senator Tom Coburn, R-OK, believes that this is an important issue where lawmakers have the opportunity to make a real difference. He spoke during a hearing by a senate subcommittee on consumer affairs, insurance and automotive safety.
In 2005, the NHTSA proposed that it require automakers to build passenger vehicles with roofs able to withstand a force equal to 2.5 times the vehicle’s own weight, in the event of a rollover crash. The current standard is 1.5 times a vehicle’s weight, set back in 1973. The agency was criticized for the proposal, which led them to announce in January that it would consider a standard tougher than a 2.5 strength-to-weight ratio, as well as possibly requiring automakers to test both sides of the vehicle instead of just one.
The agency said at the hearing it is still working to ensure a higher standard does not add too much roof weight or headroom that could actually cause more rollovers to happen. They are concerned that the balance between increased roof weight and rollover propensity could become upset if the standard is too high, and to ensure that the proper balance is indeed reached, they need more time to investigate. The administration gave no idea as to when they might be ready to propose a new standard to lawmakers.
According to law, however, NHTSA must update its roof standard by July 1st of this year. Lawmakers at the senate subcommittee hearing said NHTSA should focus on getting the standard right even if it takes more time, suggesting that the deadline may come and go before a new standard is proposed.
Some lawmakers said they were concerned about language in the NHTSA’s proposed tougher standard that would protect automakers from state product liability lawsuits if the manufacturers met the new standard. One senator, Ckaire McCaskill, D-MO, asked why NSHTA should have the ability to crush the rights of states. The president of the advocacy group Public Citizen told lawmakers that the preemption clause would leave victims uncompensated and remove incentives to improve safety design beyond the newly proposed requirements.
Auto industry advocates said carmakers have already taken voluntary actions to mitigate rollover injuries and fatalities by adding electronic stability control, improving side impact protection and adding safety belt reminder systems. Significantly increasing roof strength requirements, they contend, does not have a proven potential to save lives.
Rob Strassburger, vice president of safety for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said his group’s research shows “no relationship” between the vehicle roof strength ratio and the risk of serious head, neck or face injury for vehicle occupants who are properly belted in.
Senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat from Arkansas who chairs the subcommittee, said he would want to see more information from NHTSA indicating its performance measures would translate into real results. He added that if the new rules don’t make a major difference in improving safety and preventing deaths, nothing much has been accomplished.
