By Leftlane Staff
Tuesday, Nov 22nd, 2005 @ 9:47 am

Safety groups yesterday reiterated concerns over a proposed regulation to require stronger vehicle roofs, saying it was inadequate for protecting motorists in rollover crashes. “The agency should go back to the drawing board and develop a far more stringent and effective test,” said Joan Claybrook, president of watchdog group Public Citizen. Claybrook previously spoke out on the issue, stating that manufacturers have the ability to make roofs stronger without adding a significant amount of weight. Bob Lange, General Motors’s top safety official, wrote that the changes “are quite significant and will consume large amounts of engineering, manufacturing and capital resources that are not now comprehended in our product cycle plans.” NHTSA has estimated that the rule change will cost the industry $88 million to $95 million a year and save 13 to 44 lives annually, in addition to preventing 500 to 800 injuries. A jury last week ordered Ford to pay $61 million to the parents of a 17-year-old who died when the Ford Explorer in which he was riding rolled over.

1 Comment
  

LeftLane

Login

  • LeftLane

    Copyright © 2005 - 2012 Left lane News.
    All rights reserved.