It’s hard to imagine a world without seatbelts or airbags. But five decades ago, it was the norm for car manufacturers to put glamour over safety.“It was stylistic pornography over engineering integrity,” <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ralph-nader-auto-safety/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri" target="_blank">Ralph Nader</a>, prolific consumer advocate and several-time presidential candidate, tells Science Friday.This winter marks the 55th anniversary of Nader’s groundbreaking investigation, <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ralph-nader-auto-safety/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri" target="_blank">“Unsafe at Any Speed,”</a> a damning look at how little auto safety technology was in vehicles back in the 1960s. The book had a massive effect on auto safety in the U.S., setting the groundwork for laws about seatbelts, and the creation of the <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/ralph-nader-auto-safety/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri" target="_blank">United States Department of Transportation</a>.Nader joins Ira to discuss what’s happened over 55 years of auto safety advances, and what kind of work is needed to make sure new technology, like self-driving cars, have the safety checks they need before going out on the roads.To stay updated on all things science, <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/newsletters/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri" target="_blank">sign up for Science Friday's newsletters</a>. Transcripts for each segment will be available the week after the show airs on <a href="https://www.sciencefriday.com/episodes/november-24-2023/?utm_source=wnyc&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=scifri" target="_blank">sciencefriday.com</a>.

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Ralph Nader Reflects On His Auto Safety Campaign, 55 Years Later

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