Speeches by National Highway Safety Bureau Acting Director Robert Brenner: 1969

Brenner, Robert · 1969 · ROSA P / United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration

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Summary

This document comprises testimony delivered by Robert Brenner, Acting Director of the National Highway Safety Bureau, before Congressional committees in March and April 1969. The primary objective was to report on the implementation of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and to justify appropriations for fiscal years 1970 through 1972. The testimony addresses the Bureau’s progress in establishing federal motor vehicle safety standards, enforcing compliance, managing defect recalls, and addressing the safety of used vehicles. Regarding regulatory development, the Bureau had issued 22 safety performance standards by 1968 and six new standards in 1969, covering areas such as seat belts, tire dimensions, and regrooved tires. However, Brenner noted that initial standards relied on existing technology, while more complex issues like vehicle stability and handling required further research. The Bureau was also developing consumer information regulations regarding stopping distances, tire load, and acceleration to promote market competition and informed purchasing. On the enforcement side, the compliance program was described as a "token effort" due to limited resources and the absence of dedicated testing facilities. Consequently, the Bureau relied heavily on consumer complaints, news reports, and contracted laboratories to identify non-compliance. A significant portion of the testimony focused on defect notifications and recalls. Since the program’s inception in September 1966, manufacturers had issued 360 safety-related notifications involving over 11.2 million vehicles. Approximately 2.5 million of these recalls were prompted directly by Bureau investigations. The Bureau was conducting surveys to assess owner response rates and planning an automated information retrieval system to link vehicle inspections with defect data. Additionally, the Bureau addressed tire safety, reporting that compliance testing had led to the recall of over 80,000 tires from manufacturers like Mohawk and General due to failures in high-speed and endurance tests. The testimony also highlighted the critical gap in safety coverage for the 100 million used vehicles on American roads. A 1968 report concluded that half of these vehicles had safety deficiencies due to deterioration or poor maintenance. The Bureau advocated for mandatory periodic vehicle inspections in all states, estimating that such programs could prevent 3,000 to 15,000 annual fatalities. Finally, Brenner outlined long-range research initiatives, including the Experimental Safety Vehicle program and the proposed construction of a Vehicle and Highway Safety Proving Ground and a Driving Simulation Laboratory. He concluded that while progress had been made, achieving the Act’s goals required substantial increases in personnel, funding, and facilities to support comprehensive research and enforcement.

Key finding

The National Highway Safety Bureau had issued 28 federal motor vehicle safety standards by early 1969 and processed over 11.2 million vehicle defect notifications, while identifying that approximately half of the 100 million used vehicles on American roads were deficient in safety performance.

Methodology

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Provenance

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Topics

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• regulatory evaluation
• comparative international
• naturalistic crash near crash
• incidence prevalence

Information type

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• Applied Guidance: standards test procedures, countermeasure evaluation
• Empirical Findings: crash risk outcomes