“Throughout our history, ACTS has been instrumental in advancing vehicle safety, including integration of the seatbelts, airbags, and other safety innovations.”
The Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety, Inc. (ACTS) is proud to be celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2021.
ACTS is a nonprofit organization based in the Commonwealth of Virginia funded by and made up of the world’s leading light car and truck manufacturers.
Since we were founded in 1986, we have carried out a proud mission to research, educate and promote highway and motor vehicle safety.
Throughout our history, ACTS has been instrumental in advancing vehicle safety, including integration of the seatbelts, airbags, and other safety innovations.
Working cooperatively with other safety organizations, private entities and government agencies, we have brought together disparate groups to address difficult safety issues of national significance.
For example, ACTS facilitated the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Restraints and Vehicle Compatibility, which is credited with the introduction of LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children). ACTS also facilitated a second Blue Ribbon Panel: Protecting Our Older Child Passengers, which encouraged states to enact booster seat laws.
In 2005, ACTS was asked to serve as the manager of state legislative activities, and later overall management services, for the National Safety Council’s Air Bag and Seat Belt Safety Campaign. The Campaign was a coalition of automakers, insurance companies and traffic safety advocates who came together in response to a national crisis of children dying from first generation frontal airbags. In this role, ACTS was influential in helping states pass primary enforcement safety belt laws.
In 2008, the scope of ACTS’ activities was further expanded when the organization established a public-private partnership with the U.S. federal government to research and develop vehicle-integrated technologies to prevent drunk driving known as the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) Program.
Today, we continue to work with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to carry out this important program. Public-private partnerships like DADSS have led to innovations that enhance our everyday lives, such as the Internet, GPS and the microchip. We are grateful for the opportunity to help advance this life-saving technology, and we look forward to the work ahead to complete this program in the near future.
