A program Jimmy Carter ordered that has saved tens of thousands of lives.

[Stuart G]

... Brock Adams (with Carter's approval and support) ordered by 1984 all cars will be equiped with seatbelts. ( I think Carter had checked with the auto manufacturers to see what the earliest this could be done...but I do not know for sure) Also other safety devices on cars were mandated. Crumple zones, back lite in the rear window, (it was proven that that light in the rear window is seen more quickly ) safer roads, etc. (Eventually, side impact air bags were installed, as well as seat belts for all passengers in the back seats.)
... Furtheremore, there is proof positive that these safety belts (and harnesses eventually) saved thousands of lives. Google the link below. When you get to the site, look at the decrease of deaths on the highways due to safty devices added to cars from 1980 on. You will see an incredible 40 percent drop in deaths on the highways, and at the same time, 100,000,000 million more people in the United States....55,000 deaths down to 37,133 in 2017. Hit the link below.. Please note: A DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENT ordered this, NOT a republican.
...It is Carter's safety devices on cars that have done this. Carter ordered them. Oh, two more ideas: A). Carter does not brag about this, ever. He is not that kind of person. B.) Do you know anyone who had their lives saved by the seat belts and air bags and other safety devices that were ordered..Carter started this, and he is the one to thank....Hit this link below, and check it out. numbers. Please look for the incredible decline after 1984, and thank you for reading this.:

.....................Motor vehicle fatality rate in U.S. by year - Wikipedia..... link is below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year

[JHB]

1. Was there a problem adding the link directly?

Because this is the page you mention

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_vehicle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year

[MaryMagdaline]

2. I didn't know this about Carter. Thanks for posting

That man is still saving lives

[Stuart G]

3. Most people don't know this about Carter. He does not brag about it.

Yes, he is still saving lives today. Another interesting fact about this topic. The car manufacturers knew long before 1980, that seat belts saved lives, but it is my opinion that because of extra costs, they did not install them in every car. If I recall, seat belts were an "extra" that people paid extra for. A little bit like fancy seats, or "air conditioning" in cars. I think, (but not sure) that there was proof about seat belts in the 60s or perhaps earlier..

[calimary]

4. Thank you President Carter.

[marylandblue]

5. Are you sure you have this right? Seatbelts were made mandatory in 1968.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_laws_in_the_United_States

[Stuart G]

6. I do not think that is correct. Cars were manufactured after 68 without seatbelts.

[marylandblue]

8. Maybe some were, but I grew up in the 1970s and never was in a car without seatbelts.

However, few people used them until states started to mandate their use in the late 80s.

[Stuart G]

9. Perhaps there was some kind of rule, but it was not enforced. I do not remember

cars in the 80s having them in all seats. And I do remember arguing with students about having to put them on every time in the late 80s and early 90s. Now, everyone uses them, not only is it the law, but a whole lot of people know someone that had his/her life saved by them.

[True Blue American]

22. That is what Wikipedia says

1968.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_laws_in_the_United_States

[mr_lebowski]

10. Maybe it was the shoulder harness component?

I remember cars with only lap belts (with perhaps an 'optional' shoulder part you could clip in) when I was young in the 1970's, but then shoulder harnesses attached to the lap belt appearing on every new car around 1980 ...

Could be wrong on that but that's my recollection.

[marylandblue]

15. Yeah I recall something like that too.

Also there were passive seatbelts mandated at one time, but people didn't like them, so the requirement was dropped

[okaawhatever]

25. There was a good article on DU about how Volvo open sourced their invention for three point

seat belts instead of keeping the copyright to themselves. They put lives before profits. Imagine that.

[Stuart G]

11. Cars did not have rear seatbelts until sometime in the 80s. Back seatbelts were not required.

Only when requirements were ordered, were back belts mandated.

[sl8]

29. They were required for each designated seating position as of January 1, 1968.

Last edited Mon Jun 10, 2019, 08:12 PM - Edit history (1)

https://icsw.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/FMVSS/#SN20
(see Standard #208)

In 1984, the New York Times published a timeline of safety requirements leading up to (potential ?) airbag requirements:
https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/12/us/chronology-of-events-involving-air-bags.html

Adams, as Carter's Secretary of Transportation, instituted new rules regarding air bags and passive seatbelts. The new rules were killed at the beginning of the Reagan administration.

[WillowTree]

12. Which cars?

In 1966 the NHTSA mandated installation of seat belts in all cars by 1/1/68.

[Stuart G]

14. Just because there was a "mandate" it was not enforced...

I owned cars without seatbelts in the back. Did anyone else? I also think that this was not enforced if it was.

[marylandblue]

17. I think maybe Carter ordered the rear seatbelts. Still a big lifesaver.

[Stuart G]

18. The NHTSA .".promotes"...it does not make laws. It is part of the executive branch.

The deal with making seatbelts a manufactured requirement was worked out between Carter and the auto manufactures in June 1977. That is when Brock Adams ordered this. And the auto makers followed this because it was way in advance and the costs could be passed on to the consumer.

[Maraya1969]

7. I think whoever created the seat belt laws are responsible for saving a lot of lives also.

I remember when we just used to get in the car and go. I even remember being small enough to stand in the back seat hanging over the front seat.

Now it would be unheard of. And buckling up is just part of starting the car and going.

[rampartc]

13. i am a proud fan of jimmy carter

who also had an energy conservation and renewable energy plan that was forgotten (and ridiculed) by Reagan.

carter was a incredible leader. if he had been reelected we would have different problems than we do today.

[shanti]

16. And it's not the first thing Jimmy has done to save lives and alleviate suffering

Google guinea worm.

[BadgerMom]

19. Don't speak too loudly. Trump will roll back...

the requirement just for the attention.

[Doreen]

27. That was my exact and first thought when I saw this post.

[Rhiannon12866]

20. I'm surprised Trump hasn't tried to roll back that successful safety initiative

Like he has so many of those Obama put in place. But then we know that Trump is no student of history.

[Uncle Joe]

21. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread Stuart G.

[caraher]

23. So much confusion about the regulatory history here

Which is quite rich and tied to political changes.

What happened under Carter was the passive restraint mandate - manufacturers were to include airbags or automatic seat belts by 1983 (that's what Brock Adams actually ordered). There followed heavy lobbying by the auto industry to give them alternatives. The Reagan administration dropped the mandate in 1981, a decision that got taken to court and ultimately reversed.

In 1984, Elizabeth Dole essentially offered a deal rescinding the mandate provided 2/3 of the population lived in states with mandatory seat belt use laws. The "click it or ticket" era thus began in the mid-1980s.

I do agree that the Carter administration deserves credit for the level of intrinsic safety we have to day in terms of in-vehicle passenger restraints. But they didn't order seatbelts in cars and there were many twists and turns along the way

[sl8]

30. Thank you for the clarifications. n/t

[PufPuf23]

24. I was resistent to the idea of manadatory seatbelts at the time.

Now seatbelt use is an unconscious action for me.

Back in 1999 I rolled and totaled a Jeep Grand Cherokee and the seatbelt saved my life.

[emmaverybo]

26. A great man. Did not know about this. Thank you for posting and Thanks President Carter. nt

[malaise]

28. Great post

Rec