Library:Unsafe at Any Speed
| Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ralph Nader |
| First published | 1965 |
| ISBN | — |
| Role | Analysis |
| Domains | Consumer Products & Everyday Life Business, Finance & Scams |
| Tactics | False Context Statistical & Evidentiary Distortion |
Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile is a 1965 book by Ralph Nader.
Summary
Lawyer Ralph Nader argued that American car makers resisted safety features and blamed crashes on drivers rather than on vehicle design. The first chapter focused on handling problems in General Motors' Chevrolet Corvair.
The book helped launch the modern consumer protection movement.
Key points
- Blaming drivers. Nader argued that the industry framed car safety as a matter of driver behavior to avoid design changes.
- GM's response. General Motors hired private investigators to look into Nader's private life. In 1966 GM's president apologized to a Senate committee, and Nader later won a settlement.
- Regulation. The book contributed to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, which created federal safety standards.
Relevance to Bullshitopedia
The book is an early account of a company shaping public understanding of a danger to protect its products, a pattern seen in later corporate cases.
Related entries
- GM's faulty ignition switch was a customer convenience issue, not a safety defect
- Ford's memo showed it chose to let Pinto drivers burn to save money