PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2003

Consumers Union Supports the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s
New Vehicle Rollover Resistance Tests

CU urges NHTSA to release detailed test information to the public so that consumers can discriminate between different models and make smarter and safer car-buying decisions.

NHTSA today is releasing the details of its new dynamic rollover testing, which measures a vehicles’ rollover propensity. NHTSA was mandated under the TREAD Act of 2000 to develop a dynamic test for rollover risk that would be the basis for "developing meaningful consumer information".

"NHTSA’s new dynamic rollover tests will give consumers a valuable new tool for comparing vehicle safety and ultimately save lives–as long as they release meaningful test results to the public. We expect consumers to be able to use the ratings to discriminate between the safety of different makes and models," said CU Senior Vice President for Technical Policy, R. David Pittle, Ph.D.

"Consumers Union has pressed the federal government for a rollover test-based consumer information program since 1996. We are very pleased that NHTSA has adopted a rigorous testing protocol to judge a vehicle’s stability and rollover propensity. Our main concern now is ensuring that the government makes the test results available to consumers," Dr. Pittle said.

Consumers Union experts can discuss:

    • Why the organization supports NHTSA’s dynamic testing program.
    • Why CU believes that comprehensive test results should be made available to the public.
    • How this information should benefit consumers to make the most informed car-buying choices.
    • Why CU believes that a combination of dynamic and static tests is a good approach for evaluating rollover propensity.
      • R. David Pittle, Senior Vice-President, Technical Policy (in New York)
      • Sally Greenberg, Senior Product Safety Counsel (in Washington, D.C.)
      • David Champion, Director of Automotive Testing (in East Liberty, Ohio)

For more information, or to set up interviews, contact:

Materials:

 

Consumers Union has been in the forefront of testing vehicles for routine handling and emergency handing, as well as braking acceleration, fuel economy, comfort and convenience for decades. CU has been testing vehicles since 1936. The test results appear in Consumer Reports, on www.ConsumerReports.org, and in other CU publications such as the Consumer Reports’ Sport Utility Special, an annual buying guide.


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