Backseat Driver

Buying the safest car for your family shouldn’t be up for debate.

Yet for decades, car safety advocates, manufacturers, and lawmakers in the United States have clashed over whether to make automobiles safer. All sides armed themselves with data in the hopes of winning the great car safety debates. In this way, crash statistics and the analysts who studied them made history. But data were always in the backseat, merely supporting different points of view. That is, until now.

With car safety, it’s the value we place on every human life that counts.

Automobile safety expert Dr. Norma Faris Hubele delivers a lively discussion of the role data play in protecting you and your family on the road. You’ll gain a greater appreciation for how:

Key Points

A World War I pilot’s near-death experience birthed the U.S. car safety movement

Data from real car crashes helped create the first vehicle safety standards

A shift toward fuel-efficient cars affected fatality risk in the 1970s–1980s versus now

Vehicle size has changed, and the problems that creates for you and others sharing the road

Car safety rating systems, even when limited, empower consumers and motivate manufacturers

Federal regulators decide whether to issue a safety recall on your vehicle

Data’s role is evolving with the advent of driver-assist and self-driving technologies

Further Information

Further information can be found on the book's website: www.TheAutoProfessor.com/book [US only].