The Pinto Problem: A Deadly Defect

In 1970s America, a seemingly innocuous car model would prove to be a ticking time bomb. The Ford Pinto was designed with a fatal flaw that would lead to the deaths of hundreds of people and forever change the automotive industry's approach to safety.

This proved to be a fatal mistake. I don't mean fatal figuratively, because people really died. Pintos involved in low-speed rear-end crashes burst into flames and people were killed or severely injured as a result of the defect. Because data for such things wasn't great in the 70s, we don't have definitive numbers, but fatalities from the defect have been estimated as high as 190 people.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) started an investigation on the Pinto in 1974, but it took another three years for the problem to be made public. It was an article in Mother Jones magazine that first revealed to the public that the problem would have cost Ford just an extra 11 dollars a car to fix.

The company and Iacocca's reputation were nearly destroyed as a result. And Ford finally recalled the Pinto in 1978. People died for 11 dollars, but car makers still fought the system and conspired to delay the adoption of NHTSA crash standards. In other words, the industry did what they could to continue to keep its profits flowing and continue the status quo.

While NHTSA changed the game, it still failed to do one thing. Hold car companies criminally responsible for knowingly keeping safety standards at bay for profit. It only held them civilly liable. Memos were found at some companies when they became aware of a fault would do the math to find out how much it would cost to fix the fault and compare that to how much they estimated to lose in civil hearings. If the cost of fixing it outweighed the cost they'd lose in lawsuits, they wouldn't issue a recall.

Think about that. So, in 2000, the Transportation Recall Enhancement Accountability and Documentation, or TREAD Act, established criminal liability for auto execs who neglected to adhere to new reporting requirements related to defects or reports of injury or death related to its products. While it's a step in the right direction, it's still limited in its reach.

And companies benefit from a provision that allows considerably flexibility and time to fix any safety violation. Case in point, the Takata airbags recall, the largest in history. At about the same time the TREAD Act was made law, Takata execs knew their airbags weren't up to snuff and could in fact kill people.

Before 2001, airbags were made with a sodium azide propellant that was relatively safe when the bag was deployed. But to save a few bucks, Takata changed their airbag propellant to an explosive ammonium nitrate. Takata knew that it was dangerous. When the bags were deployed, they sent shrapnel flying. Drivers and passengers were killed and seriously injured as a result of this decision.

And in 2017, Takata agreed to plead guilty and pay upwards of a billion dollars in criminal penalties for knowingly selling products that could kill or hurt people. While some cars with Takata airbags have been recalled, more than 30 million are still in US highways with the problem unresolved.

I mention the Takata airbag recall because it's the biggest one ever. But there are others. There have been faulty starters that disable a car, there have been accelerators that won't stop accelerating. Heck, in South Africa, there's a car whose engine is lighting on fire and it's being blamed on drivers or the weather.

Look, I love cars. I'm not gonna say don't drive a car. I understand that nothing is ever 100% risk-free. But I'm a little guy, so what can I do? Well, first you can check your VIN to make sure there's no open recall on whatever you're driving. Then get it fixed.

Cars are safer now than they've ever been before. And that's because we're demanding it. Thanks to Nader, there's independent testing and watchdog groups that try to keep us little guys safe. It's up to us to look out for each other.

I don't know who the next Nader is, I hope we don't need them. Maybe someday soon safety recalls will be a thing of the past while we cruise through life as we can be. Going around 60 miles an hour or faster.

Follow me on Instagram @NolanJSykes and follow Donut @DonutMedia. Wear your seat belt, because it's there. And you should. People died. See you later.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- In 1914, Henry Ford had the upholsteryof some Model T's stuffedwith Spanish moss.In a rush to get theModel T's on the road,some of the seats got packed with raw,untreated Spanish moss.What's the worst that can happen?All the insects thatlived in the Spanish mosseventually ate their way through the seatsand into the garments and skinof the Model T passengers and drivers.- They're ripping my flesh off!- What to do?Well, Ford replaced all the stuffing.I'm Nolan Sykes, and I'mtalking about recalls.It would be another five decadesbefore the word recall becamea regular part of the lexicon.Although it and consumers have been awareof the dangers of drivingsince cars first hit the road.We all know a little about howthe car revolutionized American lives.But the newfound freedom and conveniencewas not without cost.As more cars crowded the roads,more traffic deaths and injuries occurred.People scrambled to figureout why it was happening.Everything from driverand pedestrian errorto highway engineering andtraffic hazards were blamed.And when some issues werefound to be early designflaws in the automobile,people were kinda like,yeah, this is a bit on us.These things are new, they'restill working out the kinks.- Gotta be careful!- Stop yelling at me, I knowwhat I'm doing, alright?(car crashing)- Initially, the focus wason the driver responsibility.The National Safety Council was formedin the early 20s toincrease public awarenessof the dangers of driving.They had nothing to dowith making cars safer.Laws to promote safetypassed and enforced,including arrests fordriving under the influenceand the implementation of traffic signals.Things got a little better,but auto makers were still slow to acton redesigning cars to make them safer.All-steel bodies weren'tstandard until the 1930s,same thing with shatterproof glass,and that was patented in 1909.Manufacturers were quick to assure driversthat operating a car wasgetting safer all the time.But they resisted to do thingslike seat belts and padded dashboardsbecause they worried thatadding safety features to carswould make people thinkthat cars might not be safe.- A revolutionary new discoveryabout the seat belt.It's beautiful.- And in the heyday of American cars,I'm talking the late 50s,a young Harvard law studentby the name of Ralph Naderstarted to become boredby his courses.Instead of squeezing behind a deskin some stuffy classroom,Nader decided he'd hitchhike across the USto research issues facing Native Americansand look into effecting changewith migrant workers' rights.But he kept thinkingabout those dang-nabbithard as heck cars that picked him upas he hitchhiked across the country.I mean, big metal boxes going 60?Something about thatdidn't sit right with him.So, when Nader rejoined civilian life,he started researching the auto industry'slack of response to car safety features.It took him a few yearsto get the word out,but when he released his scathing expose,Unsafe at any Speed,the Designed-In Dangersof the American Automobile in 1965,it became a best-seller.It sent shockwaves throughout the countrywith drivers, law makers,and even the auto industry,which was looking to avoid theharsh glare of the spotlight.Listen to the first sentence.For over a half a centurythe automobile has brought death, injury,and the most inestimablesorry and deprivationto millions of people.Holy crap.Unsafe all but pointedthe finger a car makersfor their outrightrefusal to spend the moneyneeded to make safety features mandatory.The book detailed stories ofinadequate crash protection,of drivers impaled onnon-collapsible steering columns,and of cars like the Chevrolet Corvette,which was sold with afatal suspension defect.Chevy tried to alleviate the design flawby advising that tiresshould be well under-inflatedto improve handling,but nobody knew about it.And the car would flip in sharp turnswhen the tires were inflatedto industry standards.Nader said that theCorvette was the biggestsafety transgressor on the road.Nader explained that car makerswere ignoring a moral imperativeto make their productssafer because they did not wantto spend the money to do so.With the publication of Unsafe,the heat was onand car makers finally facedthe wrath of the government.Within ten months of the book's release,Senate hearings began with Naderfacing off against thedefiant auto industry.In 1966, as a result of those hearings,the Department of Transportationand predecessor agenciesof the National Highway TrafficSafety Administration were formed.Also in September of that year,President Lyndon B. Johnsonsigned the NationalTraffic and Motor VehicleSafety Act into lawto enforce new or upgradedvehicle safety standardsand to supervise safety recalls.With the NHTSA in place,traffic fatalities and injurieswere significantly reduced.And technologies likethree point seat belts,energy absorbing steering assemblies,dual cylinders and front disc brakeswere made standard.Airbags, electronic stability control,and more recently, rear-view camerasand automatic braking have also sinceadded into the equation.Added safety features and recallsbecame an everyday factof life for consumers,but car companies still hadissues with transparency.Take, for example, the Ford Pinto.In 1968, Lee Iacoccadecided Ford needed an inon the economy car market.He hurried production of the Ford Pinto,hoping to compete with carslike the economical but sporty Datsun 510,which was becoming afavorite of US consumers.While the Pinto was in development,Ford found a flaw in the car's fuel tanks.And it wasn't like, heh,hey, these might rust.It was a little more serious.The defect would cause them to explode.Even in a low-impact crash.(tires screeching)(triangle ding)(explosion)Engineers offered solutions,but implementing thosewould mean the car would be delayed.Iacocca said-♪ Nobody gonna slow me down ♪and the Pinto was released withthe defect in tact in 1970.This proved to be a fatal mistake.I don't mean fatal figuratively,because people really died.Pintos involved inlow-speed rear-end crashesburst into flames and peoplewere killed or severely injuredas a result of the defect.Because data for such thingswasn't great in the 70s,we don't have definitive numbers,but fatalities from the defecthave been estimated as high as 190 people.The NHTSA started an investigationon the Pinto in 1974.But it took another threeyears for the problemto be made public.It was an article in Mother Jones magazinethat first revealed to the publicthat the problem would'vecost Ford just an extra11 dollars a car to fix.The company and Iacocca's reputationwere nearly destroyed as a result.And Ford finally recalledthe Pinto in 1978.People died for 11 dollars.But car makers still fought the systemand conspired to delay the adoptionof NHTSA crash standards.In other words, theindustry did what they couldto continue to keep its profits flowingand continue the status quo.While NHTSA changed the game,it still failed to do one thing.Hold car companies criminally responsiblefor knowingly keeping safetystandards at bay for profit.It only held them civilly liable.Memos were found at some companieswhen they became aware of a faultwould do the math to findout how much it would costto fix the fault andcompare that to how muchthey estimated to lose in civil hearings.If the cost of fixingit outweighed the costthey'd lose in lawsuits,they wouldn't issue a recall.Think about that.So, in 2000, the Transportation RecallEnhancement Accountabilityand Documentation,or TREAD Act,established criminal liabilityfor auto execs who neglected to adhereto new reporting requirementsrelated to defectsor reports of injury or deathrelated to its products.While it's a step in the right direction,it's still limited in its reach.And companies benefit from a provisionthat allows considerablyflexibility and timeto fix any safety violation.Case in point, the Takata airbags recall,the largest in history.At about the same time theTREAD Act was made law,Takata execs knew theirairbags weren't up to snuffand could in fact kill people.Before 2001, airbags were madewith a sodium azide propellantthat was relatively safewhen the bag was deployed.But to save a few bucks, Takata changedtheir airbag propellant to anexplosive ammonium nitrate.Takata knew that it was dangerous.When the bags were deployed,they sent shrapnel flying.Drivers and passengers werekilled and seriously injuredas a result of this decision.And in 2017, Takata agreed to plead guiltyand pay upwards of a billiondollars in criminal penaltiesfor knowingly sellingproducts that could killor hurt people.While some cars with Takataairbags have been recalled,more than 30 millionare still in US highwayswith the problem unresolved.I mention the Takata airbag recallbecause it's the biggest one ever.But there's others.There have been faulty starterswitches that disable a car,there have been acceleratorsthat won't stop accelerating.Heck, in South Africa, there's a carwhose engine is lighting on fireand it's being blamed ondrivers or the weather.I'll take bugs in theseats over those any day.Look, I love cars.I'm not gonna say don't drive a car.I understand that nothingis ever 100% risk-free.But I'm a little guy, so what can I do?Well, first you can check your VINto make sure there's no open recallson whatever you're driving.Then get it fixed.Cars are safer now thanthey've ever been before.And that's because we're demanding it.Thanks to Nader, there'sindependent testingand watchdog groups that try to keepus little guys safe.It's up to us to look out for each other.I don't know who the next Nader is,I hope we don't need them.Maybe someday soon safety recallswill be a thing of the pastwhile we cruise through life as we can be.Going around 60 miles an hour.(chuckles)Or faster.We look at the lesser-knownstories in the car worldevery week here on WheelHouse,so make sure you hit thatyellow Subscribe button right there.If you like safe cars,check out this episodeof Up to Speed on Saab.I mentioned safety glass earlier,if you wanna know more about thatcheck out this episode of Science Garage.Follow me on Instagram @NolanJSykesand follow Donut @DonutMedia.Wear your seat belt, because it's there.And you should.People died.See you later.