are considered in this area. In addition, many of the previously discussed features of the operational and structural systems are associated with the nonoperating systems. The outstanding design features include:

(3-1) All interior surfaces which may be contacted on entering or leaving vehicle, but are not exposed after doors are closed, are rounded, recessed, guarded against contact, or lightly cushioned.

(3-2) Standing entry with hand hold is substantially more convenient and less likely to allow falling for physically less mobile persons than present flexing requirement.

(3-3) Flexible hand hold under roof additionally stabilizes passenger in standing upright or sitting down before or after upright entry into car.

(3-4) Pinching fingers and hands in doors prevented by (a) flanges which prevent grasping pinch areas, (b) door checks which prevent complete closing at slamming velocity, (c) thick seals which allow closure on fingers without injury. (3-5) (3-6)

Trunk lid is opened from either side or lid is completely removable.
Built-in jacking system for changing flat tire.

(3-7) Objects inside car can be stored out of sight in large volume spaces provided.

(3-8) Primary vehicle antitheft lock operates on transmission and cannot be reengaged while car is in motion. Not possible to move car while key is not available.

(3-9) All tumbler locks, including antitheft locks, require trial of at least 720 key patterns.

(3-10) All tumbler locks employ full range of key patterns to make theft by trying limited number of standard keys impractical.

(3-11) Owner's manual sections are titled according to owner-understood events of usage and necessary actions.

(3-12) Owner's manual states clearly where safety is involved in actions directed, and describes possible consequences of disregarding the directed actions. (3-13) Onwer's manual carries sections oriented toward passenger actions, children, care of children in car, which are of interest to other members of a typical family than the owner-driver and can be detached for separate reading. (3-14) Legible, nonstylized placards and labels are placed on instruments and controls according to known past sources of human error and analysis of possible error from design safety checklist.

(3-15) Trunk lid lock equipped with interior release latch to avoid entrapment of children within compartment.

Senator RIBICOFF. You may proceed, Senator Speno.

Mr. SPENO. Thank you.

What we did in New York was to ask the question: Is it possible, apart from the automobile industry, without the influence of the industry, to design an automobile aimed entirely at the safety of the passengers and pedestrians.

It occurred to me years ago, when we first had our men in outer space, that if we could send a man to the Moon with crash protection with so many times the force of gravity, why can't we package each other safely here on Earth in order to save the thousands that are maimed and killed each year by our automobiles?

We talk about Vietnam. We worry about a war on poverty. One of the greatest battles of our lives is the battle for a safer car. If I may be permitted, I would like to show you the diagrams here.

Senator RIBICOFF. May I comment while you are coming up, Senator, that I am deeply impressed with your knowledge, the depth of your sincerity, and the realistic way you have gone about this problem. I want to commend you and your colleagues from New York, because I think that you have taken a step far ahead of anyone else in this Nation, both on a State and Federal level.

Senator JAVITS. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. Chairman, while the Senator has interrupted the witness for a moment, may I explain I was this morning at a meeting called by the White House to consider its latest education program. I had to go there before coming here to greet Senator Speno, who is an old friend and colleague, and represents the legislative thinking in our State. I am very proud to hear what the chairman has said, I am grateful to Congressman Halpern who introduced Senator Speno and his associates this morning. And when the senator has made his presentation, Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a brief statement as to legislation which I contemplate introducing, together with Senator Kennedy from New York, to implement the concept which is being put before us this morning. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. SPENO. Thank you, sir.

These sketches are a part of the feasibility study that is before your honorable body.

I am not an engineer, and I do not design automobiles. I do not have any stock in any automobile company, obviously. Nor do I plan to start a company. It is possible, as you see, to build a safety car that does not drastically differ in design appearances from current

cars.

I will describe through the following six pictures the salient aspects. The feasibility study is of a prototype which would prevent injuries and fatalities at crash impacts up to 50 miles per hour. At present, 85 percent of injuries and fatalities occur at lesser impact speeds. It will be designed to prevent 75 percent of injuries and fatalities in side collisions, 90 percent in rollover accidents, and 90 percent when the rear of a car is run into by another car. The energy-absorbing design and passenger compartment strength plus the use of safety devices and equipment create the crash ratings.

The feasibility to reduce injuries when a crash occurs is only part of design work. Prevention of the accident that causes the crash through design and device changes and reduction of severity of pedestrian injuries are important parts of the feasibility study. I stress protection of those inside the car now for the sake of brevity. It must be understood that injury-preventive capability will be refined and increased by the next phase of the project: design and engineering.

The end result of design and testing of the prototype will be a complete set of drawings, ready for production. These drawings will be openly published so that anyone who wishes to build safety cars or safety car parts can do so.

Finally, the prototype will supply the Federal Government and the States with a simplified group of minimum safety performance tests, safety ratings, and safety definitions.

In our State legislative work we have found it very confusing that the industry's safety standards are so full of mechanical details that no one but insiders can understand what the real safety effect may be. We must have definitions and ratings that are understandable to the public and to legislators. For example, this car will carry a labeled crash safety rating of "50-mile-per-hour crash rated," based on passing a group of technical tests. We think this approach is

the logical next step. It goes a big step beyond the method of specifying individual safety devices, as GSA is now doing under the existing

law.

This first picture shows the appearance of the car. As you can see, it is very possible to design a safety car so that it does not drastically differ in style from the automoble that we ride in all the time. The stylists go against safety when they have the responsibility, but now we know they can do a good job even when engineers and doctors make the decisions.

There is more detail in the second sketch. One item that the Governor of New York commented to me about was this pylon [1-11]. This pylon is not just a rear-view mirror; it is a wide vision periscope that actually gives you a complete view to the rear. There is no interference from people or anything else inside the car and the mirror is well above the light glare of the car behind. The pylon can carry a forward viewing mirror to look beyond the cars ahead so you can see when they are going to stop. Lights on the pylon show red, green, and yellow as the driver's foot moves from accelerator and brake, and the height of these lights makes them visible much farther to the rear. This windshield [1-1] is almost flat, just slightly curved. It is made of a very thin and flexible laminated glass much less injurious when the head strikes the glass. That is best for both the passengers and the pedestrian, because pedestrains' heads do strike the windshield. The shape of the windshield allows the windshield wipers [1-3] to sweep over 95 percent of the glass area and the wiper blades

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work better because they aren't try to follow a unnecessary curve. Even the defrosters will work better because the glass is flat. When a rock hits this glass it will flex something like a rubber sheet, and if it breaks there will be more vision than with the present glass. Even if the windshield suddenly becomes opaque from breakage, there's still the forward viewing mirror. This flat glass windshield has just enough curvature to prevent it from causing blinding reflections and, incidentally, it avoids the manufacturing cost of laminated curved glass. It should be much less costly to replace this windshield when it is broken or scratched, which will make the insurance companies very happy.

Along the side of the car, the door handles don't protrude to whack the pedestrians [2-68]. In front, the bumper is wide in the vertical direction [2-60] so that the blow to a pedestrian's leg is not so concentrated. The bumper is straight up and down, which prevents the pedestrian from being pushed down under the wheels and also keeps the bumper from riding up over another car in a crash. Above the bumper at the front of the car there is a certain amount of energy absorbing cushion [2-61] to cushion the first blow to the body. Many people don't realize that a car striking a pedestrian can project his body forward or upward at a speed twice as high as the car speed, so that the pedestrian can be much more severely injured when he

strikes the ground or a curb. The energy absorption reduces that high-speed projection.

Here you see a little of the freedom of the aerospace approach. The passengers are seated inside a high, rigid side frame [2-18]. You actually step up two steps and then down, so that you sit straight down into the seat. The hard dashboard is now removed from in front of us and replaced by a very deep, soft cushion [1-7]. The controls will be deeply recessed, like this automatic transmission control lever [2-44] which cannot pierce anyone in the lower body.

This is the deeply collapsible steering wheel, sir, that you spoke about a moment ago [2-36]. It is our information that the industry, to indicate its interest in safety, and possibly to minimize the importance of the public pressure you are applying here and we are applying in New York, is voluntarily going to announce soon they are putting collapsible steering wheels in the automobiles in another year or so.

Senator RIBICOFF. I think this is one of the greatest contributions of this committee. I think we have accelerated by many years the obligation of Detroit to take safety features and put them into cars.

Mr. SPENO. We like to think in New York we contributed to that acceleration. This sketch of the framework is one of the most interesting. The passenger compartment is strongly protected. These roll bars [2-20], [2-22] keep to a minimum the lateral attack of the