November 30, 1965Reputable sourceWell documented
Unsafe at Any Speed
On the timeline · around November 30, 1965 ·
What happened
On 30 November 1965 the young lawyer Ralph Nader published Unsafe at Any Speed, a best-seller that accused American carmakers of putting style and cost ahead of safety — singling out the Chevrolet Corvair. At the time few buyers chose safety features: only about 2 percent of Ford buyers took the $27 seat-belt option. Nader's book helped prompt the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 and a wave of seat-belt laws.
Why it matters
Nader's crusade forced automobile safety onto the national agenda and put the federal government in the business of regulating car design — giving rise to the crash standards, recalls, and safety equipment that make modern cars far less deadly.
Sources
- HISTORY. Ralph Nader's 'Unsafe at Any Speed' hits bookstores · Reputable source