Center for Auto Safety v. Peck

751 F.2d 1336, 243 U.S. App. D.C. 117
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJanuary 8, 1985
DocketNos. 82-1782, 82-1783 and 83-1164
StatusPublished
Cited by63 cases

This text of 751 F.2d 1336 (Center for Auto Safety v. Peck) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Center for Auto Safety v. Peck, 751 F.2d 1336, 243 U.S. App. D.C. 117 (D.C. Cir. 1985).

Opinions

Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge SCALIA.

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge J. SKELLY WRIGHT.

SCALIA, Circuit Judge:

Since 1971 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) has prescribed a minimum performance standard for automobile bumpers, originally under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (“the Safety Act”), Pub.L. No. 89-563, 80 Stat. 718 (1966) (codified as amended at 15 U.S.C. §§ 1381-1431 (1982)), and later under concurrent authority of the Safety Act and the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972 (“the Cost Savings Act”), Pub.L. No. 92-513, 86 Stat. 947 (1972) (codified as amended at 15 U.S.C. §§ 1901-1991 (1982)). In the consolidated petitions before us we are asked to review the most recent change in that standard, which reduces the primary test impact speed from 5.0 mph to 2.5 mph, with the effect that lighter, less protective, and less costly bumpers will now satisfy the standard and presumably be made available to consumers.

I. Background

On April 9, 1971, NHTSA adopted the first federal bumper standard pursuant to its authority under the Safety Act. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 215, 36 Fed.Reg. 7218 (1971) (codified at 49 C.F.R. § 571.215 (1971)) (“Standard 215”), required passenger cars to withstand specified collision impacts without sustaining damage to the vehicles’ safety systems, i.e., “lighting, fuel, exhaust, cooling, or latching systems.” Id. For cars manufactured after September 1, 1972 (model year 1973), the rule specified a series of perpendicular barrier impacts1 at 5.0 mph for front and 2.5 mph for rear bumper systems. Post-1973 model year cars were required to meet the same damage criteria after additional front, rear, and corner pen[120]*120dulum impacts.2 After two amendments to the standard — see 36 Fed.Reg. 11,852 (1971); 36 Fed.Reg. 20,369 (1971) — the pendulum impact test speeds were set at 5.0 mph for the front and rear and 3.0 mph for corners, at a height of 16-20 inches, and the perpendicular barrier impact speed for rear bumpers was raised to 5.0 mph.

Standard 215 was predicated on two safety-related concerns. First, in higher speed collisions bumpers are prone to over- or underride and interlock with other bumpers and guardrails. Vehicles immobilized in this fashion pose a safety hazard to oncoming traffic and to vehicle occupants who leave their vehicles to remedy the condition. See Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 215, 35 Fed.Reg. 17,999, 17,-999 (1970) (proposed Nov. 13, 1970). The pendulum test, applied uniformly at a height of 16-20 inches, effectively required standardization of bumper heights, and this alone significantly reduced the likelihood of bumper interlock and subsequent damage or injury. Second, the agency assumed an indirect relationship between bumper performance in low speed accidents and motor vehicle safety. Although the low-speed test damage criteria were not expected to assure protection for the vehicle’s occupants in collisions at speeds likely to result in death or injury, they were meant to prevent damage to the vehicle’s safety systems in minor accidents. It was thought that such damage, if left unrepaired, might cause, contribute to, or increase the severity of a subsequent, more serious accident. As the agency concluded in its notice of proposed rulemaking:

[Mjany accidents of the parking lot variety impair the safety but not the mobility of the involved vehicles. A vehicle driven without proper lights, or with leaks in its fuel, exhaust, or cooling systems is a hazard. Similarly, a hood or trunk with a damaged latch may spring up to block the driver’s vision, and a defective door latch may either open unexpectedly or fail to open in an emergency.

Id. The agency did not test or otherwise provide empirical support for the proposition that safety system damage in low speed accidents was a significant factor in subsequent accidents.

Shortly after NHTSA promulgated Standard 215, Congress enacted the Cost Savings Act, the stated purpose of which was “to reduce the economic loss resulting from damage to passenger motor vehicles involved in motor vehicle accidents.” 15 U.S.C. § 1911(a). The Act directs the Secretary of Transportation and, by delegation, NHTSA, see 49 C.F.R. § 1.50(f) (1983), to promulgate a bumper standard that will “seek to obtain the maximum feasible reduction of costs to the public and to the consumer----” 15 U.S.C. § 1912(b)(1). In conducting the statutorily required cost-benefit analysis, NHTSA is to take into account:

(A) the cost of implementing the standard and the benefits attainable as the result of implementation of the standard;
(B) the effect of implementation of the standard on the cost of insurance and prospective legal fees and costs;
(C) savings in terms of consumer time and inconvenience; and
(D) considerations of health and safety, including emission standards.

Id. At the same time, the Cost Savings Act prohibits NHTSA from promulgating a bumper standard under that Act which conflicts with any safety standard under the Safety Act. Id. at § 1912(b)(2). See S.Rep. No. 413, 92d Cong., 1st Sess. 20 (1971).

NHTSA issued its first post-Cost Savings Act bumper standard, referred to as the Part 581 standard, on February 27, 1976. 41 Fed.Reg. 9346 (1976) (codified at 49 C.F.R. Part 581 (1976)). Before the rule was finally promulgated, however, NHTSA had issued no fewer than three different proposals. The first proposal incorporated the test speed impacts and procedures of Standard 215 and established — beyond the Standard 215 criteria prohibiting damage to safety systems — a “no-damage” standard [121]*121requiring that, after testing, the vehicle should experience no dents in or separations of exterior surface material, no breakage or release of fasteners or joints, and no separations of paint, polymeric coatings, or other bonded coverings. 38 Fed.Reg. 20,-899 (1973) (proposed July 30, 1973). In December 1974, this was replaced by a proposal that would have reduced the Standard 215 test impact speeds to 1.5 mph for corner impacts and 2.5 mph for front and rear impacts until 1979, and to 2.5 mph for corner impacts and 4.0 mph for front and rear impacts thereafter; and would have reduced the severity of the damage-resistance criteria of the 1973 proposal. 40 Fed. Reg. 10 (1975) (proposed Dec. 27, 1974). In March 1975, NHTSA withdrew the second proposal and issued a notice that differed only slightly from the original Part 581 proposal. 40 Fed.Reg. 11,598 (1975) (proposed Mar. 7, 1975).

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751 F.2d 1336, 243 U.S. App. D.C. 117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/center-for-auto-safety-v-peck-cadc-1985.