Chrysler Corporation v. Department of Transportation, Jeep Corporation v. Department of Transportation, American Motors Corporation v. Department of Transportation, Ford Motor Company v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Automobile Importers of America v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The petitioners, major domestic and foreign manufacturers of automobiles, have petitioned this Court for a review of an order of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the Department of Transportation, adopted pursuant to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, 15 U.S.C. Secs. 1381-1461, entitled "Motor Vehicle Safety Standard #208, Occupant Crash Protection in Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks and Buses." The Automobile Safety Act of 1966 was enacted as a response to the alarming number of deaths and injuries resulting from automobile accidents.1 Its expressed purpose is ". . . to reduce traffic accidents and deaths and injuries to persons resulting from traffic accidents." 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1381. Chrysler Corp. v. Rhodes, 416 F.2d 319, 321 (1st Cir. 1969); General Motors Corp. v. Volpe, 321 F.Supp. 1112, 1115 (D.C.Del.1970). In achieving this goal, two courses of action are open to the Agency. (See Cong. Rep. No. 1919, 89th Cong.2d Sess., 1966, 2 U.S. Code, Cong. & Admin.News 2731 (1966).) It can act to prevent accidents,2 or it can act to prevent injuries in the event of accidents. Standard 208 is designed to accomplish the latter.

It is now established that most injuries caused by the impact of the automobile passenger with the steering wheel and column, the dashboard, the windshield, and other interior protrusions, can be prevented or at least ameliorated by safety-oriented vehicle design, and much attention has recently been devoted to the problem of the "second collision."3

While many injuries of this sort can be prevented by the elimination from the interior surfaces of hard projections or sharp edges (e.g.: Standard 111, 49 C.F.R. Sec. 571.111, S3.1.2.2) and by the use of energy absorbing steering columns (Standard 203, 49 C.F.R. 571.203), and by the application of energy absorbing materials to reduce impact forces at probable points of contact in the event of rapid deceleration, (Standard 201, 49 C.F.R. 571.201, S3.1, S3.4, S3.5), the most serious injuries can be prevented only by an occupant restraint device which absorbs the high deceleration forces while firmly preventing the passenger from being thrown against the inside of the vehicle or from being ejected out of it. The idea is to assure that when the car stops dead, the passengers don't.I

The standard under review requires the petitioners to build into their vehicles by a specified date a specified quantum of "passive protection" through the use of "passive restraint devices." A passive restraint is defined as a protective occupant restraint device which does not depend for its effectiveness upon any action taken by the occupants beyond that necessary to operate the vehicle (36 F.R. 8296, May 4, 1971). An active restraint is a device which is not effective unless some action is taken by the occupants, the most familiar example of which is the fastening of a seat belt.

An "airbag" is a passive inflatable occupant restraint system. The term "airbag" is used generally to designate the entire system of apparatus in which a sensor, activated by the deceleration force of a collision, causes an explosive charge of compressed gas (or a gas generator) to rapidly inflate a large bag which restrains the occupant as he moves toward the windshield, dashboard or steering wheel of the car, and then deflates itself. This entire cycle, including the deflation, is completed in less than one-half second. Although the safety standard under review does not by its terms specify that airbags be used to meet the specified injury criteria, the petitioners unanimously contend that because the injury criteria of Standard 208 were established with the airbag in mind that the airbag is the only device which can be reasonably expected to satisfy these criteria, and that therefore, the standard is in reality an airbag requirement standard. Although nothing in the record justifies disagreement with the petitioners on this point,4 for the purposes of this opinion we do not find it necessary to distinguish between the airbag and any other form of passive restraint.

Standard 208 was first published as part of the initial federal standards issued pursuant to 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1392(h) on February 3, 1967 (32 F.R. 2415 (1967) "Seat Belt Installation-Passenger Cars") and established the requirements for seat belt installations. No objections were made to this requirement, and the standard remained unchanged until March 10, 1970. On that date the Agency published what is now generally referred to as Revised Standard 208, New Standard 208 or, more descriptively, the Airbag Standard. The amendment procedure has produced to date a series of twenty-four notices, consisting of notices of proposed rulemaking, notices of meetings, and various final amendments to the existing standard. Not all of these notices are important to the case presented to us, but a brief review of their chronology will help to put into perspective the course of the Agency's action in the promulgation of Standard 208, and its reaction to the industry's comments, and is necessary to an evaluation of many of the petitioners' challenges to the procedure utilized by the Agency.

A proposed change in the initial Standard 208 was first announced in Notice 1, published on July 2, 1969, entitled "Inflatable Occupant Restraint Systems" (34 F.R. 11148). In this advance notice of proposed rulemaking, the Agency observed that a promising system of restraint, commonly referred to as "airbags," was in the final stages of development and that it would be desirable that such a system be provided on new motor vehicles as soon as possible, and not later than January 1, 1972. Information was requested, and a public meeting was scheduled at which interested parties presented their views on the concept of mandatory, industry-wide installation of airbags (Notices 2 and 3, 34 F.R. 12107, 13480). Written comments were submitted as requested and as required by the APA Sec. 4(c), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 553(c).

After a lengthy evaluation of the comments of the manufacturers and other interested parties and newly developed technical information, the Agency issued a notice of a proposed safety standard entitled "Occupant Crash Protection; Passenger Cars, Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles, Trucks and Buses" (Notice 4, 35 F.R. 7187). The proposed rule generally provided a delay in the effective date of a passive restraint system from January 1, 1972 to January 1, 1973. However, during the interim period, passenger car manufacturers were required to substitute a modified restraint system which amounted to an improved seat belt assembly. The proposal set out the procedures to be used in testing the devices and the injury criteria which must be met. A second public meeting was held (Notice 5, 35 F.R. 10120). The interim requirements of the proposed standard were modified to some extent by Notice 6 (35 F.R. 14941), which was published on September 25, 1970.

The Agency held numerous formal and informal meetings and conferences; comments were submitted by more than 120 interested persons. After consideration of these comments and other relevant materials, the Agency issued the passive protection requirements of the standard as a final rule in Notice 7 on November 3, 1970 (35 F.R. 16927). The effective date for passive systems was extended from January 1, 1973, to July 1, 1973, for front seat positions and to July 1, 1974, for all occupants; the injury criteria proposed in Notice 4 were modified in some respects. Notice 8, (35 F.R. 16937) issued simultaneously with Notice 7, was a proposal for further modifications of the standard as to a new requirement that deployable systems should not deploy in impacts of less than 15 miles per hour (mph), and for additional injury criteria for various test modes.

In response to a variety of objections raised in comments and in petitions for reconsideration, the Agency republished Standard 208 on March 10, 1971, as Notice 9 (36 F.R. 4600), a complete and final rule. This notice forms the basis of the Agency's action which is before this Court for review. This notice incorporated a change in the effective date for passive restraints from July 1, 1973, to August 15, 1973, to reflect the historic model change-over period of the automobile industry. Certain concessions were made for open body vehicles and forward control vehicles, and the Agency indicated that it intended to issue further specifications for the anthropomorphic test devices which the manufacturers had suggested were too vague and which therefore produced inconsistent test data.

The Agency issued Notice 10 (36 F.R. 12858) in response to the petitions for reconsideration of Notice 9. This notice amended the requirements for the seat belt warning system option which was to become effective January 1, 1972. Notice 11 (36 F.R. 12866), issued simultaneously with Notice 10, proposed certain release requirements should a seat belt assembly be used as a passive restraint system, and requires that airbags be self-deflating.

Notice 12 (36 F.R. 19254) was issued on October 1, 1971, as a response to the petitions for reconsideration of Notice 9, and is the second of the two notices which this Court has been requested to review. This notice refers to a proposed rule, issued simultaneously, to delay one of the effective dates of Notice 9, and comments upon the necessity of later rulemaking in the standard. This amendment clarifies the monitoring system requirements for a passive system, specifies the positioning and locations of the anthropomorphic test devices and changes the cargo weight to be used for testing multipurpose passenger vehicles and trucks. In the comments to Notice 9, the Agency acknowledged that the test dummy specifications were inadequate and that variances in dummies could jeopardize the test results of a vehicle attempting to comply with the standard. The Agency stated that it would issue, at a later date, proposed amendments to the standard detailing performance and descriptive specifications for the test dummies. In the interim, the Agency stated in the comments to Notice 12 that if a vehicle is found to comply with the existing standard under a properly conducted test by a manufacturer the negative results of an Agency test will not be used as the basis for a finding of non-compliance so long as the difference in the test results can be attributed to the test dummies.

Notice 13 (36 F.R. 19266), issued simultaneously with Notice 12, proposed an amendment to Standard 208 which would allow for an additional interim option of a seat belt interlock system which will not allow the engine starting system in a vehicle to operate unless the driver and any front seat passengers have fastened their seat belts. Notice 14 (36 F.R. 19705) proposed a change to conform all explosive devices to existing state and federal regulations. Notice 15 (36 F.R. 23725) was a promulgation of several minor changes concerning seat belt warning systems. On February 24, 1972, the Agency published Notice 16, (37 F.R. 3911) as a final amendment to Standard 208, basically incorporating the proposals of Notice 13 which provided for the option of a manufacturer to use seat belts equipped with an ignition interlock system between August 15, 1973, and August 14, 1975. On March 16, 1972, in Notice 17 (37 F.R. 5507), the Agency proposed further amendments to the method of calculating the head injury criteria of Standard 208. Notices 18 to 24 (37 F.R. 10745, 12393, 13265, 16186, 16604, 22871, 23115) are not directly relevant to these proceedings except that portion of Notice 19 which adopted the proposed amendments of Notice 17.

Chrysler, Jeep, American Motors, Ford and the Automobile Importers of America have petitioned this Court for a review of Notice 9; Ford, American Motors and Jeep have petitioned this Court for a review of Notice 12. These petitions for review were consolidated in this Court, and were argued together.

Notice 9, as amended by Notices 10, 12, 15 and 165 is designed to be implemented in three stages, the first two of which offer a manufacturer the choice of several options for compliance:

STAGE ONE: A manufacturer must provide on all vehicles manufactured between January 1, 1972, and August 14, 1973, one of the following three options:

(1) "Complete Passive Protection," defined as a system which meets specified injury criteria6 for all seating positions in all impact modes, frontal (head-on into a fixed barrier at 30 mph), angular (30 degrees from either side of frontal into a fixed barrier), and side (90 degrees from frontal, impact at 20 mph with a lateral moving barrier) and which will prohibit any part of two test dummies from extending outside any part of the car in a rollover test (rollover in either lateral direction at 30 mph); or

(2) Sufficient interior padding plus lap belts such that the prescribed injury criteria are met at the front outboard positions with test dummies in a 30 mph frontal crash into a fixed barrier; or

(3) Lap and shoulder belt systems with warning signals at the front outboard positions that restrain test dummies in a 30 mph frontal test crash without complete separation of the belts themselves or their anchorages, plus lap belts at other seating positions.7

STAGE TWO: A manufacturer must provide on all vehicles manufactured after August 15, 1973, one of the following three options:

(1) "Complete Passive Protection"; or

(2) Passive protection for front seat positions which will meet specified injury criteria in a 30 mph headon crash into a fixed barrier, plus lap belts at all other positions; or

(3) Seat belts with ignition interlocks8 for front seat passengers, plus non-interlocked belts at other positions which must meet the specified injury criteria for front outboard occupants in a 30 mph impact into a fixed barrier.

STAGE THREE: By August 15, 1975, a manufacturer must provide "Complete Passive Protection."

A threshold issue is raised concerning this Court's scope of review of Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The manufacturers contend that this Court must determine whether the Standard is supported by "substantial evidence on the record as a whole," and they rely upon the legislative history of the Act, upon the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, and upon Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe, 401 U.S. 402, 91 S.Ct. 814, 28 L.Ed.2d 136 (1971). The agency contends that because the rule under review is not the product of adjudication, but of informal rulemaking which is a legislative process, this Court's review is restricted to a determination of whether the Agency complied with applicable procedural requirements and whether the Agency's rule reflects a "rational consideration" of the relevant matters presented by interested parties.

We think that the scope of review urged upon this Court by the Agency is virtually no review at all; the Agency seems to ignore the existence of its record as well as the substantive limitations which the Act places upon its authority to set standards.9 Thus, even though the Agency may proceed by informal rulemaking, the Act requires that several substantive criteria be met, and also provides for direct review of that rule by a United States Court of Appeals on the basis of the record which was compiled during the course of the rulemaking.

The Automobile Safety Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. Secs. 1381-1431) which empowers the Agency to set minimum performance standards for newly manufactured automobiles, provides that all standards "shall be practicable, shall meet the need for motor vehicle safety, and shall be stated in objective terms." 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1392(a). In addition, the Agency must consider relevant available motor vehicle safety data (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1392(f)(1)), and must consider "whether any such proposed standard is reasonable, practicable and appropriate for the particular type of motor vehicle . . . for which it is prescribed." 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1392(f)(3). These factors represent the statutory minimum substantive criteria against which each automobile safety standard must be tested.

Congress established a distinct procedure for direct judicial review of Motor Vehicle Safety Standards by the United States Courts of Appeals. In such cases, the Secretary of Transportation is required to file in the Court the record of the proceedings "on which [he] based his order as provided in Section 2112 of Title 28 of the United States Code." Section 2112 of Title 28 provides that "all of the evidence before the agency . . . shall be included in the record," excepting only that stipulated by the parties to be omitted as wholly immaterial to the questioned finding. Section 706(2)(E) of Title 5 provides that in a case in which statutory provision is made for review on the record of the agency, that the agency's action must be supported by substantial evidence. Clearly when factual issues are involved, including the issue of whether compliance is technologically feasible, the reviewing court must consider the record upon which the Agency based its order.

The Agency contends that under the authority of California Citizens Band Assn. v. United States, 375 F.2d 43 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 844, 88 S.Ct. 96, 19 L.Ed.2d 112 (1967), it can act on the basis of evidence in its own files, and it does not have to make this evidence available to a litigant seeking judicial review. This may be true in a situation such as was present in that case, where the Agency needed only to make a discretionary decision unencumbered with factual or technical considerations of any kind. In that case, the petitioners requested a review of rules promulgated by the FCC dealing with the use of radio frequencies. The FCC had selected seven frequencies to be used by private radio operators under the new rules of interstate communications. There was no factual question raised in the selection of the frequencies; this was purely a matter of administrative discretion, and consequently was subject to a very narrow scope of review. Furthermore, the statutory language which empowered that Agency to act did not require the compiling of a record as the basis for its action. This is clearly not the case with the Automobile Safety Act which requires the Secretary to "consider relevant available motor vehicle safety data, including the results of research, development, testing and evaluation activities" and to "consult with the Vehicle Equipment Safety Commission, and such other State or interstate agencies (including legislative committees) as he deems appropriate." 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1392(f)(1)(2).

It seems clear that any rule which is required to be, inter alia, "practicable" and "objective" must be reviewed on the basis of the data which the Agency considered in its promulgation, regardless of whether formal hearings were or were not held. In Automotive Parts and Accessories Assn. v. Boyd, 132 U.S.App. D.C. 200, 407 F.2d 330 (1968), the Court was presented with the issue of whether informal rulemaking was authorized by the Act. The Court found that it was, and then upheld the safety standard there under review by looking at the underlying record to determine whether there was a factual basis for the Agency's decisions, and whether the required "concise general statement" of the Agency's purpose was properly supported.10 See also, Boating Industry Assn. v. Boyd, 409 F.2d 408 (7th Cir. 1969) where the identical procedure was followed.

An agency performing a rulemaking function need not always compile a record of the material upon which its rule is based. It may act on the basis of data contained in its own files or on its own views or opinions. In such cases, a reviewing court cannot test the rule as promulgated against the evidence in the agency's record. Flying Tiger Line, Inc. v. Boyd, 244 F.Supp. 889 (D. C.1965). In this case, however, the Agency's freedom of action in regard to the rules it may promulgate is limited by a Congressional mandate which also requires the Secretary to compile a record. As observed in Overton Park, supra, the substantial evidence test may be applied to agency action even when the agency is performing a rulemaking function. 401 U.S. at 414-415, 91 S.Ct. 814, 28 L.Ed.2d 136. Accordingly, the reviewing court must "engage in a substantial inquiry" and a "thorough, probing, in-depth review," yet at the same time must be mindful that the ultimate scope of its review is narrow and that it may not substitute its judgment for that of the agency's. 401 U.S. at 416, 91 S.Ct. 814, 28 L.Ed.2d 136.11

Any safety standards issued pursuant to the Automobile Safety Act of 1966 must be tested for compliance with the statutory limitations of that Act, and this testing can only be done against the record. The record includes not only the notices of the Agency as published in the Federal Register and the comments and petitions for reconsideration submitted by interested parties, but also the technological and statistical data relied upon by the Agency in arriving at its conclusions. That this material is, or should be, a part of the record in this case is clear from the legislative direction that the Agency "consider relevant available motor vehicle safety data, including the results of research, development, testing and evaluation activities conducted pursuant to this chapter," 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1392(f)(1), and that the Secretary shall, in the event that a petition for review is presented to a Court of Appeals, file in that court the record upon which he based his actions. 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1394(a)(1).12 To the extent that this conclusion is inconsistent with that reached by the Seventh Circuit in Boating Industry Assn. v. Boyd, supra, we respectfully decline to follow that decision.

Our review does not end with a determination that these statutory criteria have been met. Section 706(2)(A) of the Administrative Procedure Act requires a finding that the actual decision reached was not "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law." As pointed out in Overton Park, supra, to make this finding, the reviewing court must consider whether the decision was based on a consideration of the relevant factors and whether there has been a clear error of judgment. 401 U.S. at 416, 91 S.Ct. 814, 28 L.Ed.2d 136.

One further observation may serve to demonstrate the impracticality of the Agency's argument that only the procedural aspects of a motor vehicle safety standard are subject to review brought pursuant to 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1394. Once such a standard has been adopted and becomes effective, the validity of that standard is capable of being placed in issue in litigation in any of a number of ways. For example,13 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1398 provides for the imposition of sanctions in the form of fines against anyone who manufactures for sale or offers for sale a motor vehicle which does not conform with applicable federal safety standards. An obvious defense in such a prosecution would be the claimed invalidity of the standard and it seems clear that a previous judicial review limited to an approval of the procedural aspects of the adoption of the standard would not bar the defense. Such a defense might be successful at any judicial level, but the adjudication would almost certainly not be considered final until the Supreme Court had reviewed the issue or had refused to do so. In the interval preceding such final adjudication, which could be a substantial one, a chaotic condition would exist within the industry to the serious detriment of the manufacturers and the public alike, perhaps accompanied by inestimable damages to both. Such a possibility strongly militates against the limitation of review urged by the Agency and supports our determination that it should be here determined whether the standard is supported by "substantial evidence on the record as a whole."14

In summary, the function of this Court is to test the "validity" of Standard 208. Although we are not empowered to substitute our judgment as to discretionary decisions made by the Agency, we will look to the underlying record to determine whether a factual basis exists for the Agency's decisions and to determine whether the statutorily required concise general statement of the Agency's purpose is properly supported. In order to be valid, Standard 208 must meet all statutorily prescribed criteria, and the Agency must have complied with all applicable procedural requirements. The former are contained in the Automobile Safety Act of 1966 and can be designated as substantive criteria, the latter, contained in the APA, can be designated as procedural requirements, and they can be discussed separately.

The petitioners' first argument is that the Automobile Safety Act of 1966 does not authorize the Agency to establish a safety standard which requires the improvement of existing technology, and that the Agency may only establish performance requirements which can be met with devices which, at the time of the rulemaking, are developed to the point that they may be readily installed. The Agency's response is that inasmuch as the technology of airbags is fully developed, and inasmuch as airbags are presently readily available to all manufacturers, this issue is not properly before the Court in this case. The Agency also contends that, even if that were not so, one of the prime purposes of the Act is to require automobile manufacturers to develop safety technology not presently existing.

The explicit purpose of the Act, as amplified in its legislative history, is to enable the Federal government to impel automobile manufacturers to develop and apply new technology to the task of improving the safety design of automobiles as readily as possible.15 The Senate Report, in a section entitled "Purpose and Need," states:

"[T]his legislation reflects the faith that the restrained and responsible exercise of Federal authority can channel the creative energies and vast technology of the automobile industry into a vigorous and competitive effort to improve the safety of vehicles." S.Rep. 1301, 89th Cong., 2d Sess., 2 U.S.Code, Cong. and Admin.News, 2709 (1966).

"While the bill reported by the committee authorizes the Secretary to make grants or award contracts for research in certain cases, a principal aim is to encourage the auto industry itself to engage in greater auto safety and safety-related research." Id. at 2718.

There is no suggestion in the Act that developed technology be in use by an automobile manufacturer or that any given procedure be an established industry practice prior to its incorporation into a federal motor vehicle safety standard. If the Agency were so limited, it would have little discretion to accomplish its primary mission of reducing the deaths and injuries resulting from highway accidents.

In fact, specific efforts by the Automobile Manufacturers Association to tie the rate of innovation imposed by safety standards to the pace of innovation of the manufacturers were rejected by the House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce,16 and the reported bill proposed that safety standards be "practicable, meet the need for motor vehicle safety, and be stated in objective terms."

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In explaining the purpose of the first of these criteria, the House Report states:

"In establishing standards the Secretary must conform to the requirement that the standard is practicable. This would include consideration of all relevant factors, including technological ability to achieve the goal of a particular standard as well as consideration of economic factors." H.R.Rep. 1776, p. 16.

If the Agency were limited to issuing standards only on the basis of devices already in existence, there would be no need for the Agency to give any consideration to the manufacturers' technological ability to achieve a stated goal. Under this proposed interpretation, the Agency would be unable to require technological improvements of any kind unless manufacturers voluntarily made these improvements themselves. This is precisely the situation that existed prior to the passage of the Act, and we decline to eviscerate this important legislation by the adoption of this proposed interpretion. As it stands, the Act is reasonable, and the power of the Agency to "channel the creative energies and vast technology of the automobile industry into a vigorous and competitive effort to improve the safety of vehicles" fully meets the need for motor vehicle safety.

We do not intend to suggest that the Agency might impose standards so demanding as to require a manufacturer to perform the impossible, or impose standards so imperative as to put a manufacturer out of business. But it is clear from the Act and its legislative history that the Agency may issue standards requiring future levels of motor vehicle performance which manufacturers could not meet unless they diverted more of their resources to producing additional safety technology than they might otherwise do. This distinction is one committed to the Agency's discretion, and any hardships which might result from the adoption of a standard requiring, as does Standard 208, a great degree of developmental research, can be ameliorated by the Agency under 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1392(c). This section allows the Secretary to extend the effective date beyond the usual statutory maximum of one year from the date of issuance, as he has done with Standard 208. The Senate report, in explaining this section, confirms the conclusions reached above:

"The power to specify a later effective date is needed because it may be a practical economic and engineering impossibility, as well as a source of great hardship and unnecessary additional cost, to require that all vehicle changes required by any new safety standard, whatever its scope or subject matter, be accomplished by all manufacturers on all their vehicles within 1 year." S.Rep. 1301, 89th Cong. 2d Sess., 2 U.S.Code., Cong. and Admin.News, 2714 (1966).

Similarly, should it develop that, as the time for implementation of federally mandated devices approaches, such devices will require further testing or development, upon a showing to the Agency by the manufacturers or the developers the Agency should again review the matter and decide whether to extend the time for implementation or to alter, or even to abandon, the project.

In summary, the Agency is empowered to issue safety standards which require improvements in existing technology or which require the development of new technology, and it is not limited to issuing standards based solely on devices already fully developed. This is in accord with the Congressional mandate that "safety shall be the overriding consideration in the issuance of standards." S.Rep. 1301, 2 U.S.Code, Cong. & Admin.News, p. 2714 (1966).

The petitioners next contend that Standard 208 is not practicable because airbag technology is not, at present, developed to the point where airbags can be installed in all presently manufactured cars. In light of our preceding conclusion, we need not discuss this contention at length. But we will observe that, as the record indicates, many of the development problems with which the petitioners have concerned themselves in their briefs (such as noise, sensor reliability, danger to out of position occupants and effectiveness in certain nonfrontal impact modes), have been eliminated or are presently the subject of continuing development efforts. We need not detail here the immense amount of factual data contained in the record relevant to this issue; suffice it to here observe that present systems demonstrate considerable sophistication over earlier prototypes. In addition, several automobile manufacturers and several airbag developers have expressed a great deal of confidence in their present systems and an equal confidence that present developmental research programs will eliminate any obstacles which may presently remain.

For example, General Motors announced in 1970 that final research and development efforts on its airbag system were currently underway, that it was entering the production design stage on those bags, and that it planned to introduce its system on a phased-in schedule so that by the fall of 1974, all 1975 model GM passenger cars and light trucks would have a passive protection system as standard equipment.17 Eaton has indicated that it has largely eliminated noise as a problem and that it expected, in the near future, to solve the problem of the effect of airbag detonation on a child standing near the dashboard. On October 1, 1971, Irvin Industries stated that it had built a system which met or exceeded all published U.S. government specifications in effect at that time.18 Most recently, the Ford Motor Company delivered to the Chairman of the Board of Allstate Insurance Company an automobile equipped with an airbag restraint system for the front seat passenger. This vehicle was the first of a fleet of 200 similarly equipped cars which Allstate has purchased for use by selected employees in a joint field-test of these systems with Ford. While there is some disagreement as to the significance of this event, we do note that the insurance company involved has publicly expressed a large measure of confidence in the reliability and effectiveness of the system as delivered, and in the developmental research program of which this test is a vital part.

Since we have rejected the petitioners' contention that nonexisting technology may not be the subject of motor vehicle safety standards, and in view of the present state of the art of passive inflatable occupant restraint systems, we conclude that Standard 208 is practicable as that term is used in this legislation.19

The petitioners contend that Standard 208 does not meet the need for motor vehicle safety because belts offer better protection to occupants than do airbags. The Agency defends the standard by contending that airbags offer better protection to occupants than do belts. The record supports the conclusion that each type of occupant restraint offers protection in a slightly different form for differing impact situations. Neither is clearly superior to the other in every respect. Consequently, we conclude that the Agency's decision to abandon active restraints in favor of passive restraints was a proper exercise of its administrative discretion.

Paramount among the Agency's considerations in deciding to require all occupant restraint systems to be fully passive was the factor of low belt usage. It is uncontested that active restraints are not extensively used. The record indicates that usage rates for lap belts are about 20 to 30%, and for the lap and sh