Gains in U.S. highway safety since the 1960s have been enormous—but slow.
Among the milestones:
1959: Engineer Nils Bohlin invents the three-point seat belt; Volvo patents it.
1968: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires two-point lap belts for drivers and front-seat passengers. Seat belt use rises, then declines in the late `70s and early `80s, until federally led campaigns get more people to buckle up.
1978: Mercedes-Benz starts offering anti-lock brakes, which prevent wheel lock-up during emergency braking. They catch on slowly and still aren't standard on all cars.
1995: Mercedes-Benz starts offering electronic stability control, which can prevent skidding, on some models. Automakers adopt it slowly, often as an option.
1997: The NHTSA requires that all new passenger cars come with air bags for drivers and front-seat passengers. A year later, the rule is extended to SUVs, vans and light trucks.
2006: Electronic stability control is standard or available as an option in two-thirds of new SUVs and light trucks and a quarter of new passenger cars
These and other highway safety measures—excluding ESC, which hasn't been measured yet—have saved more than 328,000 lives since 1960, according to the NHTSA.
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(c) 2006, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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