National Highway Traffic Safety Administration : 1997 customer satisfaction survey

Boyle, John M., 1947-; Sharp, Kevin, M.A. · 1998 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report presents the findings of the 1997 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Customer Satisfaction Survey, conducted to assess public attitudes toward highway safety and evaluate NHTSA’s service performance. Motivated by the National Performance Review and Executive Order 12862, the survey served as a follow-up to a 1995 baseline study, allowing NHTSA to monitor changes in public perception and gauge the effectiveness of its customer service improvements. The study was administered by Schulman, Ronca & Bucuvalas, Inc., using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) with a representative sample of approximately 4,000 U.S. residents aged 16 and older. Data collection occurred between November 1997 and January 1998, yielding an 80.9% response rate. The survey covered a broad range of topics, including vehicle safety perceptions, purchasing behaviors, crashworthiness ratings, equipment standards, recalls, and the federal government’s role in traffic safety. Results indicated that while 73.7% of drivers considered vehicle safety very important in purchase decisions, only 49.2% had previously used safety information to make a buying decision. Among those who did, crash ratings and *Consumer Reports* were the most utilized sources. Public opinion strongly favored government involvement in safety regulation; 88.9% supported the federal government’s authority to require manufacturer recalls, and 74.3% deemed a national hotline for reporting safety defects very important. However, awareness of specific NHTSA functions remained low, with only 63.6% of respondents knowing that the government conducts crash tests, and just 3% identifying NHTSA as the responsible agency. Regarding safety trends, respondents believed vehicles were safer than ten years ago, primarily due to airbags and better design, but felt drivers were less safe, citing faster speeds and risk-taking. The public overwhelmingly attributed crash causation to driver error (94.5%) rather than vehicle failure. Consequently, respondents prioritized public education on speeding and drunk driving, alongside stricter government standards and enforcement. The report concludes that while the public values safety and supports federal oversight, there is a significant gap in awareness regarding NHTSA’s specific roles and resources. These findings provided NHTSA with critical data to refine its communication strategies and resource allocation to better meet public expectations and improve service delivery.

Key finding

88.9% of respondents favor the federal government's ability to require manufacturers to recall vehicles for safety defects, while 94.5% attribute accidents primarily to driver error.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 4044

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• incidence prevalence

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence, crash risk outcomes
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource