National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 1995 Customer Satisfaction Survey
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Summary
This report presents the findings of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 1995 Customer Satisfaction Survey, conducted to assess public attitudes toward federal traffic safety services and to inform agency performance evaluations. The survey was administered by Schulman, Ronca, and Bucuvalas, Inc., via telephone interviews with 4,003 randomly selected U.S. residents aged 16 and older between November and December 1995. Data were weighted to produce national estimates, with a response rate of 73.5%. The results indicate strong public support for a federal role in traffic safety. A large majority of respondents deemed it very important for the federal government to conduct public education campaigns, research vehicle safety and highway design, regulate heavy truck safety, and mandate improvements in vehicle safety features. Specifically, 67.3% believed the government, rather than manufacturers, should set crash safety standards, and 89.3% favored the government’s authority to require vehicle recalls for safety defects. Regarding crashworthiness, 59.4% of respondents believed vehicles are safer now than ten years ago, citing airbags and better manufacturing as primary reasons. Conversely, 93.9% attributed most accidents to driver error rather than vehicle failure. Public perception of information sources and regulatory mechanisms revealed significant gaps in awareness alongside high demand for transparency. While 75.7% of drivers ranked vehicle safety as very important in purchase decisions, only 2% identified federal agencies as their primary source for safety information, preferring auto dealers (62%) and *Consumer Reports* (22%). Although 63.2% knew the government conducts crash tests, only 4% correctly identified NHTSA as the responsible agency. Similarly, while 73.4% considered a national hotline for reporting safety defects very important, only a small percentage were aware of its existence or had used it. Respondents also expressed strong support for standardized safety regulations across all states and for government financial support of driver education. The study concludes that the American public views the federal government as a critical actor in ensuring traffic safety, particularly through regulation, standard-setting, and consumer protection. However, the data highlight a disconnect between public expectations and awareness of existing NHTSA services, such as crash testing and defect hotlines. These findings suggest a need for improved public communication regarding available federal resources and reinforce the mandate for NHTSA to prioritize public education and enforceable safety standards.
Key finding
A large majority of the public supports federal government involvement in traffic safety activities, including crash testing, setting safety standards, and requiring vehicle recalls, while only a small percentage were aware that a national safety hotline already exists.
Methodology
survey
Sample size: 4003
Provenance
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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.
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- Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes
- Methodological Resource: dataset resource