A Half Century of Highway Safety Innovations - 1966 to 2016
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
| Year | Safety Innovation | Fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | U.S. DOT Established | 5.5 |
| 1967 | Energy absorbing steering wheels Safer brake systems mandated | 5.26 |
| 1968 | Front seat belts required in all passenger vehicles | 5.19 |
| 1969 | Head rests required | 5.04 |
| 1971 | Minimum standards for child safety seats set National Emergency Medical Service standards set | 4.46 |
| 1973 | Side impact standards for new cars set Three-point lap-shoulder belts with inertia reels required | 4.12 |
| 1974 | Airbags option from General Motors offered 55 mpg national speed limit set | 3.53 |
| 1977 | NHTSA developed Graduated Driver Licensing system | 3.26 |
| 1978 | Tennessee first to require child restraint system use | 3.26 |
| 1980 | Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) founded | 3.35 |
| 1982 | Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving established First dedicated national grant program established to combat drunk driving | 2.76 |
| 1984 | New York first to require seat belt use | 2.57 |
| 1985 | Antilock brake option on some models All states require child safety seat use | 2.47 |
| 1986 | High mounted center stop light required | 2.51 |
| 1987 | Passive restraints required | 2.41 |
| 1988 | Nationwide minimum 21 drinking age set | 2.32 |
| 1989 | Maryland enacted zero alcohol tolerance law for youth Chrysler offered air bags as standard equipment | 2.17 |
| 1990 | March 12, 1990 first head-on crash of cars with air bags, drivers walked away New Car Assessment Program established to provide crashworthiness ratings for new vehicles | 2.08 |
| 1993 | NHTSA initiated five-star auto safety rating system | 1.75 |
| 1995 | All states but one had mandatory seat belt use laws National 55 mpg law repealed | 1.73 |
| 1996 | New safety campaign highlighted need for children to ride in back seat Florida first to pass Graduated Driver Licensing law | 1.69 |
| 1998 | Dual airbags standard equipment for all passengers cars State zero-tolerance drunk driving law for drivers under 21 achieved nationwide | 1.58 |
| 2000 | READ Act required better recall reporting by car manufacturers | 1.53 |
| 2004 | Click It or Ticket program enforced in all 50 states | 1.44 |
| 2005 | State 0.08 BAC drunk driving laws achieved nationwide | 1.46 |
| 2007 | Electronic Stability Control rule in place to prevent vehicle rollover Washington state first to ban texting while driving | 1.36 |
| 2008 | Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems required | 1.26 |
| 2009 | USDOT held first Distracted Driving Summit | 1.15 |
| 2010 | Pedestrian detection system option on some models | 1.11 |
| 2016 | Vehicle manufacturers commit to installation of automated braking system by 2022 | NA |
Note: Final fatality data for 2016 are not available. Fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled climed from 1.08 in 2014 to 1.12 in 2015 as fatalities increased 7.2 percent.
Source: As cited in U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, National Transportation Statistics, table 2-17, available at www.bts.gov as of November 2016.