National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act Passes After GM Harassment of Ralph Nader Backfires

On September 9, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, establishing the first federal safety standards for automobiles and creating what would become the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The legislation passed unanimously after General Motors’ attempt to discredit consumer advocate Ralph Nader spectacularly backfired, turning him into a national hero and generating irresistible momentum for regulation.

Nader’s 1965 book “Unsafe at Any Speed” documented how automobile manufacturers prioritized styling and profits over safety, focusing particularly on the Chevrolet Corvair’s dangerous design. Rather than address the safety issues, General Motors launched an investigation to find personal information that could discredit Nader. GM hired private detectives who tailed Nader, interviewed his friends and associates seeking damaging information, and even sent women to attempt to entrap him in compromising situations.

When Nader noticed he was being followed, the scandal exploded. Senator Abraham Ribicoff, who was already holding hearings on auto safety, subpoenaed GM executives. On March 22, 1966, GM President James Roche was forced to apologize to Nader before a nationally televised Senate hearing. The spectacle of the world’s largest corporation deploying dirty tricks against a young lawyer advocating for public safety generated enormous public sympathy and made the safety legislation politically unstoppable.

The law required manufacturers to notify owners of safety defects, established standards for tires, and mandated numerous vehicle safety features including seat belts, padded dashboards, and improved door latches. Traffic fatalities per mile traveled declined dramatically in subsequent decades—from 5.5 deaths per 100 million miles in 1966 to 1.7 by 2000—saving an estimated 3.5 million lives.

GM’s harassment of Nader led to a lawsuit that Nader won in 1970, receiving $425,000 in damages—money he used to fund consumer advocacy organizations. The episode demonstrated how corporate attempts to suppress public interest advocacy could backfire, and established Nader as the leading figure in the consumer protection movement that would achieve major legislative victories in the following years.

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act showed that determined advocacy, combined with corporate overreach, could overcome industry resistance to regulation. It also illustrated the lengths to which corporations would go to avoid accountability—surveillance, harassment, and attempted character assassination—tactics that would be refined and repeated in subsequent decades.