Regulatory History of Automatic Crash Protection in FMVSS 208

This paper summarizes the regulatory history of the automatic crash protection requirements in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. It is intended to give the reader an overview of the regulatory history involved in Standard 208, from its beginning in 1968 as a requirement that passenger cars be equipped with seat belts to its present requirement that, as of 1998, all passenger cars and light trucks must be equipped with air bags. It also discusses and summarizes the various court cases that have challenged different aspects of the automatic crash protection requirements.