CARNAGE CONTINUES DESPITE SAFETY CAMPAIGNS The second main point is that despite the efforts of the past despite massive safety campaigns both public and private the awful carnage on our roads and streets continues and worsens. There is no doubt that since the invention of the internal combustion engine we have practiced an unbelievable form of national selfdestruction. In the past minute 20 accidents have taken place. One-half hour from now three Americans will be dead who right now are alive. And for every half hour of this day and the days to follow three more human beings will lose their lives on our Nation's roads and streets. The preliminary 1964 National Safety Council statistics, which try in hard cold numbers to describe our annual toll of suffering, misery, and death resulting from our highways, show that we have again set a record. As a result of traffic accidents which occurred in 1964, 47,800 people have already died, and before the records are closed the total is expected to exceed 48,000 which is 10 percent more than 1963 fatalities which numbered 43,400. What is even more significant is that the deaths per 100 million miles traveled rose from 5.3 in 1962 to 5.5 in 1963 to 5.7 in 1964. If the current increase in the traffic fatality rate continues, deaths will rise to 100,000 a year by 1975. We are spending more than $1 billion to assure the safety of the three men who will occupy the space capsule that goes to the moon. This is as it should be. Their safety is of prime importance. But one wonders about a Nation that is willing to expend $1 billion to get three men to the moon but is seemingly unwilling to expend even one onehundredth of that amount to protect its 190 million citizens from death or injury on our roads and streets. Having stated the traffic safety problem, the question becomes, first, what are we doing about it, and second, what can we do about it? ROLE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IMPORTANT I think it is time we took a close look at the role of the Federal Government in this field. The manner in which the Federal Government is carrying out its responsibility is of vital importance to the overall national effort to reduce traffic accidents. It can lead and give proper direction or it can foot-drag and stagnate. We will determine if the latter now exists and make certain the former becomes a reality. There has been a lot of talk, for a long period of time. Now is the time for responsible and positive action nationwide. Our first witness is our colleague, Senator Gaylord Nelson, of Wisconsin. I welcome Senator Nelson for his deep and vital interest in this entire subject, not only as a Senator, but as one of the Nation's outstanding Governors who had a chance of seeing this problem close up, and who as a Governor took a leading role to try to protect the people of Wisconsin. Since Gaylord Nelson has been with the U.S.. Senate, he has kept his interest in this field and has made many constructive suggestions. We welcome Senator Gaylord Nelson as the first witness before our committee. STATEMENT OF HON. GAYLORD NELSON, U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WISCONSIN Senator NELSON. Mr. Chairman, I will read, if the chairman will permit, part of my statement, and ask that the balance be included in the record. I have a matter pending subsequent to this one, and I know that you have some distinguished witnesses here appearing before you today. So it may be helpful if I just read part of this statement. Senator RIBICOFF. Without objection, your entire statement may appear in the record. Senator NELSON. I appreciate the opportunity of appearing before you this morning. I am interested in the subject, as I know many hundreds of thousands of people across this Nation are. I did not do anything very effective about the question of highway safety as Governor of my State. But the chairman of this committee did achieve a national reputation for his work in highway safety in Connecticut. STATISTICS ON TRAFFIC INJURIES AND DEATH I think most of us are familiar with the statistics. The automobile ranks as one of the four leading causes of death in the United States. While millions of dollars are spent on cancer and heart research, two other major killers, we continue to ignore these dramatic statistics: Over 47,800 people were killed on our Nation's highways last year. Approximately 4.8 million people were injured in automobile accidents last year. In the critical age group of 5 to 29, the automobile was the No. 1 killer. An American's chances of escaping injury in a car crash during the whole of his lifetime is no better than 50-50, as estimated by one expert in the January issue of American Trial Lawyers. Approximately 50 times as many people died in auto accidents as died in airplane accidents last year. The U.S. Air Force loses more of its men in auto accidents each year than in aircraft accidents. The figures are appalling, yet the slaughter goes on. What is being done to protect the millions of Americans whose lives are directly affected by the automobile! Progress has been slow, but there is at least some indication of possible action. The Senator from Connecticut, Mr. Ribicoff, deserves our congratulations for conducting these hearings. His proposal to review the Federal Government's role in accident prevention should - receive universal support. The problems of poor highway construction, confusing signs and traffic markings, inadequate driver licensing programs, and mechanical failure of the automobile all deserve attention. They certainly contribute to the high death rate on our highways. PROPOSED EXTENSION OF NEW FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Several weeks ago I introduced a bill which would extend the new Federal safety standards for Government automobiles to all cars manufactured for, sold, or shipped in interstate commerce. We now know how to write safety standards for 60,000 publicly owned cars. The purpose of this measure is to give the benefit of such safety standards to the public as a whole. This proposal will establish a number of required safety features. Among these are collapsible steering wheels, shoulder harness safety belt anchors, specific types of safety glass, smog-removing exhaust systems, standardized transmission controls to avoid confusion, and uniform bumper heights. These new features have been tested, proven effective, and will be available in Government-purchased cars by 1967. Installation of these features will be of great benefit. And there are other steps which will increase our ability to deal with this problem. PROPOSAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOTYPE SAFETY CAR A second proposal would authorize and provide funds to the Federal Government to develop and test a prototype safety car. Both the Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. and the engineering department of the University of Minnesota have developed "safety cars" with encouraging results. Some who have studied such designs contend that the adoption of special safety features could save as many as 640,000 lives over the next 15 years. I intend to introduce a bill to authorize safety car research in the near future. The need for Federal action in this area has been clearly demonstrated. We have the opportunity, the technological know-how, and the manpower to eliminate one of the greatest hazards to the motorists and the public as a whole. As this committee studies the role of the Federal Government in traffic safety programs, I hope they will consider consolidating these responsibilities under one Federal agency and recommending sufficient authority to act effectively to reduce the unnecessary slaughter on our highways. If we are to make any progress in traffic safety and accident prevention, we must have an efficient and well-coordinated program. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. (The complete prepared statement of Senator Nelson follows:) EXHIBIT 1 STATEMENT PREPARED BY SENATOR GAYLORD NELSON Mr. Chairman, today automobile accidents are a major and increasingly serious hazard to the public. The automobile ranks as one of the four leading causes of death in the United States. While millions of dollars are spent on cancer and heart research, two other major killers, we continue to ignore these dramatic statistics: Over 47,800 people were killed on our Nation's highways last year. Approximately 4.8 million people were injured in automobile accidents last year. In the critical age group of 5 to 29, the automobile is the No. 1 killer. An American's chances of escaping injury in a car crash during the whole of his lifetime is no better than 50-50, as estimated by one expert in the January issue of American Trial Lawyers. Approximately 50 times as many people died in auto accidents as died in airplane accidents last year. The U.S. Air Force loses more of its men in auto accidents each year than in aircraft accidents. The figures are appalling, yet the slaughter goes on. What is being done to protect the millions of Americans whose lives are directly affected by the automobile? Progress has been slow, but there is at last some indication of possible action. The Senator from Connecticut, Mr. Ribicoff, deserves our congratulations for conducting these hearings. His proposal to review the Federal Government's role in accident prevention should receive universal support. The problems of poor highway construction, confusing signs and traffic markings, inadequate driver licensing programs, and mechanical failure of the automobile all deserve attention. They certainly contribute to the high death rate on our highways. I introduced legislation to protect the consumer from faulty tires by requiring minimum safety standards and a system of quality grading and labeling. These approaches to traffic safety problems attempt to get at part of the problem. They deserve consideration. But there is more to be done. We must direct our attention to another fundamental matter: the unsafe construction of cars themselves. Forty-three percent of the people who die in auto accidents die under survivable conditions, according to the estimate of Elmer Paul, of the U.S. Public Health Service Accident Prevention Bureau. Their accidents have many causes, but their deaths have one: the unsafe nature of the car itself. This means that almost one-half of our total highway fatality rate is unnecessary and could be eliminated by simple reconstruction of the vehicle. It is only realistic to acknowledge that as long as the human being is in control of the vehicle, accidents will occur. Our attention must therefore be focused on reducing injury after the original impact has occurred. This concept is often referred to as safety during the "second collision"-the collision not only of the car in the accident, but of the occupant of the car with the interior of his own vehicle. Dr. James Malfetti of the safety project at Columbia University recently stated: "We design cars and roads and then tell the driver to adapt himself to them as best he can. We should start the other way around. Let us first find out what the driver's capacities are and then build cars and roads to fit them." How to achieve safety in the "second collision" is a concept which has been studied by the experts. Serious research has been going on for over a decade. There is agreement that the present construction of most cars hampers the driver's ability to avoid accidents. This results in the actual causation of accidents. Beyond this, there is a consensus that the construction of cars contributes to unnecessary injuries and deaths after the original impact. The findings of such groups as the crash injury research project at Cornell #University, the Institute of Transportation and Traffic Engineering of the University of California, the University of Minnesota, the University of Michigan Medical School, Harvard University, Wayne State University, the American Association for Automotive Medicine, and the U.S. Public Health Service are important contributions to the field of safety research. These expert groups have shown that: If cars were built so that protection could be provided for the head alone, at least one out of five people who are now dying in auto accidents would be saved. If cars were built with seat and shoulder belts which hold people in the car in an accident, thousands of lives would be saved. If a person is thrown from the car, the chance of death is five times as great. If cars were built with only three basic changes, occupants could probably survive any crash up to 35 miles per hour-and statistics show that 87 percent of all accidents occur at impact speed of 35 miles per hour or below. The three basic changes are: shoulder harnesses; doors which will stay closed in a crash; and collapsible steering shafts. What do these statistics mean in practical language? Simply, that if we take action now to make cars themselves safer, the frightening number of deaths and injuries occurring on our highways can be dramatically reduced. The need for changes is obvious. But one factor impedes progress in this area. That factor is the conviction in Detroit that "safety doesn't sell." It is the stylist who reigns supreme in the automobile industry, not the safety and engineering experts. The slightest mention of safety standards seems to cause panic in the automobile industry and I can understand their concern about ill-considered regulation. But, there is no intent to propose impractical or unreasonable standards. The industry will be consulted at each step of the way. This is a matter of great public concern. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to find a way to reduce the death toll on the highways. Last year a very important step toward safety regulation of the automobile industry was taken when the Congress passed legislation authorizing the drafting of minimum safety standards for federally purchased automobiles. Several weeks ago I introduced a bill which would extend the new Federal safety standards for Government automobiles to all cars manufactured for, sold, or shipped in interstate commerce. We now know how to write safe standards for 60,000 publicly owned cars. The purpose of this measure is to give the benefit of such safety standards to the public as a whole. This proposal will establish a number of required safety features. Among these are: collapsible steering wheels, shoulder harness safety belt anchors, specific types of safety glass, smog removing exhaust systems, standardized transmission controls to avoid confusion, and uniform bumper heights. These new features have been tested, proven effective, and will be available in Government-purchased cars by 1967. Installation of these features will be of great benefit. And, there are other steps which will increase our ability to deal with this problem. A second proposal would authorize and provide funds to the Federal Government to develop and test a prototype safety car. Both the Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., and the engineering department of the University of Minnesota have developed "safety cars" with encouraging results. Some who have studied such designs contend that the adoption of special safety features could save as many as 640,000 lives over the next 15 years. I intend to introduce a bill to authorize safety car research in the near future. The need for Federal action in this area has been clearly demonstrated. We have the opportunity, the technological know-how, and the manpower to eliminate one of the greatest hazards to the motorist and the public as a whole. As this committee sudies the role of the Federal Government in traffic safety programs, I hope they will consider consolidating these responsibilities under one Federal agency and recommending sufficient authority to act effectively to reduce the unnecessary slaughter on our highways. If we are to make any progress in traffic safety and accident prevention, we must have an efficient and well-coordinated program. Senator RIBICOFF. Thank you. I have one or two questions for you, Senator. MARKETING OF AUTOMOBILE TIRES I have your recent statement before the Federal Trade Commission on the marketing of automobile tires. It is a very impressive statement. Without objection, I would like to have it made part of the record. (The statement follows:) EXHIBIT 2 REMARKS BY SENATOR GAYLORD NELSON BEFORE THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ON THE MARKETING OF AUTOMOBILE TIRES, JANUARY 13, 1965 Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the Federal Trade Commission for this opportunity to present testimony on tire safety. The Federal Trade Commission is to be commended for conducting this hearing. In the last year the need for action in this area has received important recognition from a variety of groups: State and Federal legislators, the industry, the press, and the private consumer. This interest is climaxed today with these hearings. A consensus has emerged, I think, that some constructive action must be taken to protect the life and the pocketbook of the consumer. The rising fatality rate on our highways can no longer be ignored. Just last week the National Safety Council, in an announcement that is becoming all too familiar, reported that more people had been killed on our highways over the |