Tuesday, April 13, 2004

What they said: Reaction

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“We have to tackle this problem. That’s not me being hysterical. That’s me looking at the data.”

Jeffrey Runge

NHTSA director

“Field research and analysis indicates that real-world injury is not likely to be enhanced as a result of additional roof crush requirements. The scientific research instead suggests that FMVSS 216 appears adequate and sufficient in scope and applicability as it is written.”

Matthew Reynolds

DaimlerChrysler safety executive In the company’s official comments to NHTSA in 2001

“These are the most preventable injuries in auto crashes. The cardinal principle of occupant protection is the integrity of the passenger compartment.”

Joan Claybrook

Former NHTSA administrator and now president of Washington watchdog group Public Citizen

“You may be better off with a strong roof. But they don’t know what a strong roof is, and they don’t know how to design the test. They don’t know how much better a strong roof will do in a rollover.”

Rep. John Dingell

U.S. House of Representatives, D-Dearborn

“We the undersigned believe that it is time for our government to step in and protect consumers from large corporations, namely the auto manufacturers, from producing, marketing and selling unsafe vehicles to unaware consumers.”

Dena and Patrick Parker

In a petition to federal regulators

“Automakers have cheap technology at their fingertips to do it. The amount of material that would need to be added to the roof pillars is really a small percentage of the vehicle’s overall costs. Rollover is really a simple fix.”

Raphael Grzebieta

President of the Australiasian College of Road Safety