NHTSA: 50 Years of Vehicle Safety Standards Saved Hundreds of Thousands of Lives, Prevented Millions of Injuries Agency releases new studies measuring societal impacts of[...]

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards have saved lives and prevented injuries and property damage over the last 50 years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced today. The agency released new research that measured the safety benefits and societal costs of FMVSSs between the implementation of the first FMVSS in 1968 and 2019.

NHTSA issues FMVSSs for new motor vehicles and equipment to reduce the number of crashes and the risk of deaths and injuries. Manufacturers of new vehicles and equipment must conform to and certify compliance with the FMVSSs.

From 1968 through 2019, NHTSA's safety standards prevented more than 860,000 deaths on the nation's roads, 49 million nonfatal injuries, and damage to 65 million vehicles. In 2019 alone, these standards prevented about 40,000 deaths, 1.9 million nonfatal injuries, and damage to 3.8 million vehicles.

"The research shows that technologies such as seat belts, air bags, electronic stability control, improved brakes, and many other safety features are saving lives as intended," NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said. "Thoughtful, data-driven regulations not only prevent death and injury, but also reduce the costs to our society from medical bills, property damage, lost productivity, traffic congestion that results when crashes occur on our roadways, legal and court fees, insurance, emergency services, and workplace losses."

The benefits are valued by calculating comprehensive societal impacts, which include both economic and lost quality of life. From 1968 to 2019, the comprehensive societal benefits amounted to $17.3 trillion, using 2019 dollars. In contrast, the total costs for the 52 years combined are roughly $1 trillion.

This new research confirms that safety technology improvements, particularly those mandated by federal standards, have been overwhelmingly beneficial to society. These regulations align and support the safer vehicles principle of the department's National Roadway Safety Strategy. The safe system approach is the cornerstone of the strategy.

Read the research reports:

1. "Fatalities, Injuries, and Crashes Prevented by Vehicle Safety Technologies and Associated Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, 1968 to 2019 - Passenger Cars and LTVs"
2. "Cost and Weight Added by the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for Model Years 1968 to 2019 in Passenger Cars and Light Trucks and Vans"
3. "Historical Analysis of Costs and Benefits of FMVSS for Passenger Cars and LTVs on a Calendar-Year Basis"