Good government saves lives. If we want better government, we need to value good governance.
NHTSA has just published a landmark report estimating enormous benefits of Federal automotive safety standards in the U.S.
For the years 1968 to 2019, Lives Saved are estimated to amount to 865,706 people in the U.S.
In addition, another 49,206,849 injured survivors suffered reductions in the severity of their injuries.
Extrapolating from 1968 to 2024 the number of Lives Saved would amount to more than a million people in the U.S. alone.1
Who to Thank?
If Americans were to give thanks for this Safety Progress, they would start with Ralph Nader for his 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed and his continuing decades of safety advocacy.
Second would be Joan B. Claybrook, Nader’s ally, who as Assistant to Dr. William Haddon herded the first series of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) to promulgation at the NHTSA. Then years later Joan as Administrator of NHTSA under Jimmy Carter promulgated additional FMVSS including the automatic crash protection rule for airbags. Joan also began the influential New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) to evaluate crash tests of new cars.
The third Prime Mover, and most under-appreciated, was Jimmy Carter who nominated Joan and supported her promulgation of FMVSS and progressive safety policies.
Gratitude for Growing Worldwide Auto Safety Benefits
The NCAP program is now in use to increase safety worldwide.2
Good government saves lives. If we want better government, we need to value good governance.
While individual lives are invaluable, the government uses a value of a Statistical Life (VSL), currently in the U.S. at $13.2 million.3
One way that humanity expresses appreciation and gratitude for lifesaving achievements is through awards of Nobel Prizes. Please see list of all recipients to date. Ask yourself if Nader’s life work, beginning with Unsafe at Any Speed, should be considered.4
References (Live Links to Documents):
- NCSA Motor Vehicle Traffic Crash Data Resource Page (Scroll down the page to document #813611. Takes several minutes to download)
- New Car Assessment Program (NCAP)
- Departmental Guidance on Valuation of a Statistical Life in Economic Analysis
- List of Nobel laureates
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