This section is not intended to give a long, in depth analysis of the background of automobile safety. This segment is designed to provide a brief summary of consumer attitudes toward safety over the decades, as well as what actions the government has taken in this area.

Up until 1965, safety was not a major concern to either consumers or automakers. This is not to say that safety was totally unimportant. Devices such as the electric starter and hydraulic brakes had been invented to help prevent accidents. While their were many who were worried about safety, in general it was not a big issue. This lack of concern is particularly evident in Ford's "Lifeguard design", developed in 1956. This involved equipping cars with a deep-dish steering wheel, padded seatbacks, swingaway rearview mirrors, safety door latches, seat belts, padded dashboards, and padded sunvisors and rearview mirrors. All these were designed to improve the safeness of the car. However, the car did not sell that well and as a result, Ford dropped this safety campaign in mid-year and did not renew it the next. In contrast, Chevrolet focused it's sales campaign for that year on its new design and its more powerful V-8 engine. This approach was very sucessful and it pushed Chevrolet further ahead of Ford. Due to these events, the belief that safety did not sell had become common in the auto industry during this period.

One of the main reasons that this safety approach did not work is that consumers did not want to be reminded that they could be involved in an accident. They had the belief that accidents only happened to "other people". In addition, the presence of a safety device often lead some consumers to think that the reason for the safety device was that the car itself was in some way unsafe.

Many of the safety improvements that automakers had developed, such as better brakes and suspension systems, were not portrayed by automakers as safety improvements, but rather as conveniences. For example, safety doorlocks were installed in 1955. However, automakers rarely mentioned that the reason for their installation was to keep the doors closed in an accident. Before door locks were used, doors had opened in 42 percent of all serious crashes.

In the early 1960's the government began to take a more active role in promoting automobile safety. The political pressure from the government caused many automakers to begin to adopt safety devices in their vehicles, not necessarily to improve safety, but in the hopes that the act would convince the government that it did not need to set federal standards for automobile safety. These attempts included installing front seatbelts in all cars as of January 1, 1964 and installing rear seatbelts in all 1966 models. However, these efforts were not enough to prevent government regulation. In 1962, the federal government set standards for hydraulic brake fluid and in 1963, seat belt design standards were set. A further catalyst to the regulation movement came in the mid 1960's, when consumer advocate Ralph Nader released a report criticizing the safety of American automobiles. This was one of the key reasons that Congress passed the National Highway Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966. This created a new agency called the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This legislative body began setting standards for automobiles in 1968 and has been setting new standards each year ever since. One of the positive effects of this agency is that it helped the automakers overcome their long fear of safety and encouraged them to develop safety improvements on their own.

The safety movement has been gaining momentum since the late 1960's. Today safety is now a major issue with consumers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration continues to regulate areas of automobile safety. For example, they were the agency that set the 1998 target date for the installation of driver side and passenger airbags in all new cars. Automakers are now playing a larger role than ever before in promoting safety. Consumers are demanding safer cars and Detroit is responding.

Stephen Dirksen History of American Technology Professor Lux