Status Report, Vol. 24: 1989

Volume 24, Number 12 • December 9, 1989

The cost of trauma: $180 billion for 57 million injured

'Devastating impacts' seen for disabled and their families

Bill to require helmet and seat belt use receives broad support

New NHTSA chief pledges quick action on light truck safety

NHTSA says higher speeds boosts deaths by 21 percent

Strong enforcement rewards Hawaii with high belt use rates

Institute objects to additional tinting of car windows

GM phasing out seat belt tension relieving devices

NHTSA to issue criteria for test dummy of 6-year-old

Safety inspections

New requirements for vans, pickups, and utility vehicles

Dealers warned NHTSA still investigating showrooms to ensure cars equipped with detachable safety belts are connected

Mature driver course: does it really help?

Cars equipped with air bags and 3-point belts have best results

Volume 24, Number 11 • November 25, 1989

Many cars performing better (or worse) than predicted

Volume 24, Number 10 • October 21, 1989

Air bag discount: for cars equipped with air bags or automatic belts, Nationwide Insurance raises its personal injury protection premium discount

Drinking drivers and the risk of a fatal nighttime collision

Study finds onboard vapor recovery systems increase fire risk

Belts and lives: NHTSA estimates that seat belts saved 4,573 lives in 1988

Safety advocates: Insurance and consumer groups form a coalition to promote vehicle and highway safety

DOT seeks national transportation policy for the 21st century

Injury prevention: study offers ways to meet the challenge

All mechanical air bags: Toyota will soon make an all-mechanical air bag system

Agency reviews truckers involved in fatal crashes

Exception would permit use of new air bag design

California lowers the legal threshold for declaring a driver under the influence

Weight of car plays large role in protecting occupants

Secretary of Transportation asks the nation's governors to put the brakes on speeders

Volume 24, Number 9 • September 23, 1989

Auto makers find it's good business to sell safety

Automatic belts still not attached in many showrooms

Higher speed limits: 29 percent more deaths on rural interstates

US Department of Interior will soon publish a final rule requiring motorists on roads within the National Park System to wear safety belts

Institute petition: NHTSA grants petition asking the agency to prohibit detachable "automatic" safety belts

Fact sheets available

Radar ruling says GEICO may not refuse to insure drivers who own radar detectors

Board urges adoption of administrative license suspension laws

Hurley joins Institute as vice president

Two alcohol sensors perform well in Institute tests

Volume 24, Number 8 • August 26, 1989

Front end, energy-absorbing truck guards reduce the risks for motorists

Safety research

Study shows heaviest trucks pose most danger for motorists

NHTSA reviews a decade of crash test results

Eurobag: an air bag possibility for the aftermarket

Doctors treating more minor facial injuries in crashes

Review of fatal crashes confirms air bags can reduce occupant deaths

New child restraint protects child from birth to age of 10

Properly used child restraints reduce fatality risk

Researchers find risk of fractures increases

Researchers compare side impact tests with collisions in the 'real world'

Tests examine seat belt systems in side impacts

Belt system offers uniform protection in all seating positions

Leg shields for motorcyclists? Two studies clash

Pedestrian protection

Two-year study begins on improving truck visibility

In a variety of tests, four antilock brake systems perform well

Vehicle conspicuity

Volume 24, Number 7 • July 29, 1989

Training may reduce tickets without affecting collisions

The family driveway: an ominous statistic for children under 5

Discount offered

Drinkers can hoodwink devices designed to prevent driving

19-city study shows driver belt use continues to climb

National driver register information

'At least 20 percent of fellow truckers using illegal drugs'

15 states enact laws to issue licenses under commercial license program

Preuss joins Institute

NHTSA to require lap and shoulder belts in rear seats

General Motors recalls 1.7 million cars to fix cruise control

Michigan residents favor tax hike to pay for DUI programs

NHTSA: pre-1977 school buses need to be replaced

License suspension

Law enforcement groups team up to bring down speeding

Importing vehicles

Ford announces voluntary recall of 518,000 vehicles

Ford's air bag lines

Volume 24, Number 6 • June 17, 1989

Surgeon General offers steps to curb drinking drivers

Institute criticizes FHWA on preempting state safety rules

Research confirms that radar detectors do influence speed

NHTSA distances itself from a research report

Belt law passed

Belts unfastened

Quick action urged on safety standards for multipurpose vehicles

Legislation calls for state helmet laws and belt use statutes

After 2-year study, Texas reinstates its helmet use law

Percentage of kids riding in restraints triples in 8 years

Study finds seat belts in school buses are not cost effective

No to detectors

Rollover crashes: problem for military utility vehicles too

Car exhaust fumes taking lives needlessly

Volume 24, Number 5 • May 20, 1989

Action urged on antilock brakes and driver fatigue study

The youngest and oldest drivers are the highest crash risk

Two new films

Overextended and understaffed, FHWA is caught in a muddle

Study finds 44 percent of seat belts in taxis to be inaccessible

Belt laws saved

Lawmakers see need to bolster safety rules for trucking

Helmet use laws: researchers discover an unexpected benefit

Fisher-Price recalls 1.5 million child safety seats

Link to injury

Panelists outline safety issues for '90s

Volume 24, Number 4 • April 22, 1989

Agency defends delays and urges Congress not to set deadlines

NHTSA to check showrooms to see if belts are attached

Radar detectors: ally of the law-abiding?

Automatic restraints: all new cars must be equipped

Mirror standards for school buses may be revised

Bus comments: NHTSA seeks comment of fuel system performance requirements for buses

NTSB warns governors to get rid of old school buses quickly

Private buses

Sudden acceleration linked to driver pedal misapplication

GM air bags

Group asks states to rescind laws banning daytime running lights

NHTSA is conducting GM defect investigation

Appalled by deaths, Lautenberg seeks rollback of 65 mph

Volume 24, Number 3 • March 18, 1989

NHTSA urged to enforce rules on automatic belts

Vehicle crash injuries: leading cause of death for kids in U.S.

Belt proposal to require front seaqt occupants to wear safety belts

Laws raising the alcohol purchase age have reduced fatal crash involvement by 12 percent

Suspending licenses of DWI offenders has significant benefits

Larger trucks: a growing concern for highway officials

New fact book

Institute: NHTSA distorts facts on bumper standard

Commercial drivers under 21 have many more fatal crashes

More effort needed to recall drivers' multiple licenses

11,000 lives saved by safety belts

Volume 24, Number 2 • February 25, 1989

All small 2-door 1989 cars sustain damage in low-speed tests

Institute: classify all passenger-carrying vehicles accurately

Automatic slack adjusters urged for all new heavy trucks

Institute: crash testing a must for rear seat belts

Number of motorists drinking and driving declines, poll says

'Keep on looking', film for kids 9-12 years old responsible for 20 percent decrease in pedestrian crashes for that age group in Milwaukee

Feeding grounds protect deer - and motorists

FHWA sets rules for safety inspections of trucks and buses

Volume 24, Number 1 • January 28, 1989

Institute attributes over 200 deaths in '87 to higher speed limit

NHTSA reports deaths up 16 percent due to 65 mph speed limits

Drivers now faster on roads not considered for 65 mph

Ignition interlocks may bar drunks from road

Head restraints proposed for light trucks and vans

Whiplash problem

North Carolina's seat belt use law is a success

GM belt available

Booster seats

Government, industry must join forces to reduce truck crashes

Local strategies to solve problems with congestion crashes

Nonusers keep seat belt use laws from reaching the optimum