Tougher Rules Urged for Auto Roofs

NHTSA has drafted a new roof-crush standard for all automakers that is undergoing final review and could be issued by June or July, agency spokesman Rae Tyson said. But NHTSA agrees with industry that requiring stronger roofs would not make occupants significantly safer, he said.

Turner also cited documents recently produced in a lawsuit in Florida that showed that Volvo Car Corp., which was purchased by Ford in 1999, made roof strength a priority in designing its first SUV, the XC90. "Volvo drew a direct correlation between roof strength and how people get hurt," Turner said.

Volvo designers also used pre-tensioning safety belts and side curtain air bags to make the XC90 safer in the event of a rollover, Turner said -- a suite of approaches that contradicted the practice of parent company Ford.

In its statement, Ford said it is committed to safe technology and added that "the best protection in an accident is the seat belt."

Tyson said the agency's new rollover safety standard would include requirements for safety belts, though he declined to be specific. He cautioned that the agency does not view the standard as likely to have far-reaching effects on vehicle safety.

"I have seen some wildly inflated numbers about what the lifesaving potential of this roof crush standard might be," he said, adding that the agency has to focus on injuries and fatalities "that we think are the direct and solid result of roof collapse, and those numbers are not that high."

When fully implemented, Tyson said, the new safety standard might save 40 lives per year.

Based on that modest impact, Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook dismissed the unseen regulation as "extremely weak," adding, "I believe that is highly unacceptable."