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NHTSA doubles roof crush standards
May 6th, 2009 by Kurt Niland
After being bogged down by bureaucracy and industry concerns for years, federal automobile roof crush standards finally became tougher. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the new roof strength standards last week. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the new standards, which are double the current standards for vehicles weighing up to 6,000 pounds, “will significantly strengthen vehicle roof standards and improve rollover crash protection.”
Current standards require vehicle roofs to withstand 1.5 times the vehicle’s weight, and not necessarily in a rollover situation but in a static roof crush test which applies a steady force to the roof on an upright vehicle. Legislators and automotive industry leaders worked together to establish the current standards nearly 40 years ago.
But rather than establishing a real safety standard with the public’s safety in mind, lawmakers allowed the law to conform to the average roof strength of most existing car models. The public has paid dearly ever since.
According to data from the NHTSA, approximately 273,000 rollover crashes occur every year, killing more than 10,000 people and seriously injuring 24,000 people. Such grim statistics represent a federal regulatory system that is “a total ineffective disaster,” according to one automobile safety expert.
New standards announced by the NHTSA will require vehicles up to 6,000 pounds to withstand 3 times their own weight in roof crush tests. The new standard is slightly higher than the one established in 2005 but never passed, which required vehicles to withstand 2.5 their own weight.
Additionally, the new standards require heavier vehicles weighing between 6,000 and 10,000 pounds to withstand 1.5 times their own weight and on both driver and passenger sides. Previously, vehicles falling into this category were never regulated.
“Rollovers are the deadliest crashes on our highways and today’s rule will help occupants survive these horrific events,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.
