The federal role in motor vehicle ■ safety issues ■

Abstract

i n 1966, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act and the Highway Safety Act established authority for a federal motor vehicle safety program. The program quickly came under the administration of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through the Department of Transportation. Over the years, the NHTSA and Congress have increased the federal role in safety issues through federal safety standards and funding incentives. In 1995, almost 30 years after the creation of the federal program, federal motor vehicle safety standards are now under fire in Congress. In recent years, controversy between the federal government and the states over jurisdiction of safety laws has grown tremendously. Congress and the NHTSA have moved in the general direction of tying federal highway funding to safety incentives, but not without opposition from states' rights advocates. The new Republican majority in the 104th Congress came to power largely through a promise to shift power from Washington to the states, and safety issues are a part of this power-shift agenda. States' rights advocates contend that motor vehicle safety laws should be left to the states to enact and enforce. Safety and injury prevention advocates, including NAPNAP, contend that national safety measures are saving lives and should be kept in place. S. 440, a bill that would designate routes for a new national highway system (NHS), has become the vehicle for federal-state safety law debate. Under previous law, Congress must pass NHS designation legislation by September 30, 1995, or states will not receive annual apportionments of approximately $6.5 billion, beginning on October 1, 1995 (Segal, Moore, & Justis, 1995).