IACOCCA

An Autobiography

Lee Iacocca
with William Nova

Chapter 25 (How to save Lives on the Road) Americans are terrific drivers. Traffic-death rate is 3.15/100 million vehicle miles. Lee Iacocca, since 1955s, have been promoting an unpopular cause: Mandatory Seat-Belt Use.

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People took it as another example of government intervention in their civil rights.

In 1956, Ford and Chrysler offered seat belts for the first time.
The contradict to mandatory seat-belt use came from the chief argument, Ideological. About 2% of Fords customers gave an order.

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Remaining 98% gave reasons for not wanting seat belts, such as: i. The belts clashed with the colour of the interior. ii. They are very bulky and uncomfortable to sit on! iii. People dont want to be belted in case their car catches fire. Originally, seat belts in cars were used only for racing.

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A famous study by the University of North Carolina surveyed traffic accidents and determined that seat belts reduced: Serious injuries- up to 50% Fatal injuries - up to 75%

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In late 1960s, a study in Sweden examined, 29000 accidents among seat-belt users and found, not a single one had resulted in death. In 1964, seat belts became standard equipment on all passenger cars.

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In 1972, he wrote to 50 governors to support Ford companys endorsed mandatory seat belt use. In 1972s, he realized that we were not going to have laws mandating seat belts use in near future. After that, with the help of engineers at Ford, he developed a device called INTERLOCK.

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In 1973, NHTSA mandated that all new cars had to be equipped with interlock. But uprising against Interlock, put Congressman Louis Wyman to dismantled it and replaced it with an eight-second buzzer. He came up with another plan- a special light on car.

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Then the concept of Air Bags came as an answer for safety. After 12 years, not a single state had yet passed law of mandating seat-belt use.

NHTSA estimates fatalities would drop by 50% overnight if everybody used seat belts.

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This chapter ends with his words: but its not the air bags that we need. What we need are laws mandating seat belt use. The sooner we get them, the more lives well save. Until we have those laws, please do yourself and your loved ones a favor. Buckle up!