MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY 1984

This is a report on the activities of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, as amended, and the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972, as amended. The report is for the period January 1, 1984 through December 31, 1984. During this period, NHTSA continued to meet its statutory obligation of reducing motor vehicle related deaths and injuries by regulatory actions to upgrade the safety of the fleet, enforcement actions to ensure that regulatory requirements are being met, and public education programs to enhance driver and passenger awareness and perception of the risks associated with automobile travel. NHTSA's efforts in 1984 continued to focus on a balanced approach between motor vehicle technology and driver/passenger behavioral program activities. In the highway safety area, emphasis was on reducing drunk driving and increasing the use of safety belts and child safety seats. A decision was made on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection," to require automatic crash protection in passenger cars on a phased-in schedule beginning with the 1987 model year, with full implementation in the 1990 model year. If states representing 2/3 of the nation's population enact effective mandatory seat belt usage laws before April 1, 1989, the requirement for automatic protection will no longer apply. NHTSA continued to consider other technological ways to improve motor vehicle safety. The most promising areas for improvement include side impact and frontal protection. Upgraded interior padding and structural members were evaluated as methods of improving side impact protection. Steering assembly modifications were studied to improve frontal impact protection. Priorities in the crash avoidance area included visibility, lighting and signals, brakes, and international harmonization. Emphasis in the enforcement area was on improving the capability of the agency to accurately identify safety-related defects in motor vehicles and to ensure that defects are corrected in the shortest possible time.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 1987-2

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 162 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Child restraint systems; Crash avoidance systems; Crashworthiness; Defects; Drunk drivers; Drunk driving; Education; Manual safety belts; Vehicle safety
• Identifier Terms: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Uncontrolled Terms: Programs
• Old TRIS Terms: Vehicular safety
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I10: Economics and Administration; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00496614
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: HS-807 069
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Aug 31 1990 12:00AM