Automotive Safety

Report Outline
Safety Debate in Manufacturing
Changes in the Auto Industry
Regulation and Industry Response
Special Focus

Safety Debate in Manufacturing

Impact of Verdict in the ‘Pinto Case’

Last year over 49,000 people died in traffic accidents in the United States. Shock at the carnage on the nation's highways usually has been directed toward the driver, expressed in moral invectives against reckless or drunken driving. This was due to the common assumption that since cars are driven by people, it follows that drivers are responsible for accident-related deaths.

This line of reasoning has been challenged in recent years. There is a growing realization that while a sizable percentage of accidents are caused by drivers, many are the result of defects in motor-vehicle design and engineering. The idea that auto safety is not entirely the responsibility of the driver has been reflected in recent court decisions. “The courts are now assuming that it's reasonable to expect auto accidents and that they should pose the least threat once they occur,” said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety.

In February a jury in Santa Ana, Calif., handed down a verdict assessing $125 million in punitive damages and $3.5 million in compensatory damages against the Ford Motor Co. in a case involving a 1972 Pinto. The car stalled on a freeway near San Bernardino, Calif., and was struck in the rear by another vehicle. The Pinto's gas tank ruptured, releasing gas vapors in the car's passenger compartment. These exploded into flames that fatally injured the 52-year-old driver, Lily Gray, and badly burned a teenage passenger, Richard Grimshaw.