When the Reagan administration took office, the game was on to see how many lifesaving Carter administration regulations could be destroyed or delayed. Elizabeth Dole became Reagan’s Secretary of Transportation in 1983 (and resigned in 1987 to work on her husband’s campaign for President).
But I was surprised to hear (recently, on CBS) that she was a defender of airbags, given that she worked with the Reagan administration to curtail a Carter era rule that would have required them – a rule backed by ten years of studies. Does this sound familiar? It resembles what the Trump administration is doing to regulations today. But if Dole actually did favor auto safety, then perhaps she was fighting the Reagan administration in doing so? The record, as far as I understand it now, is more ambiguous than I knew.
Dole became Secretary of Transportation in 1983. The Reagan administration’s first attempt to repeal the rule was shambolic and created precedent now loathed by conservatives. The Supreme Court ruled that a regulator must take a “hard look” before overturning a rule enacted by a previous administration. The agency had ignored information in the record showing that both airbags and seatbelts save lives.
The court was scornful of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). See Part V of the decision . The court had many reasons to find the Reagan administration’s decision arbitrary and capricious, but reason one is all you need to get the flavor:
The first and most obvious reason for finding the rescission arbitrary and capricious is that NHTSA apparently gave no consideration whatever to modifying the Standard to require that airbag technology be utilized.
Repealing Carter’s airbag rule was a cornerstone policy of the Reagan administration, but Dole failed to implement it. Was she a pro-regulation conservative who was working to frustrate the goals of her own party? If so, she is a hero. Was she working with the industry to deliver something palatable to all sides? If so, she is not a hero. The rule she signed required all cars to have airbags UNLESS two thirds of the states passed laws requiring seat belts. Thus, the regulation contained a rule that would erase the regulation. This was known as a trap door.
The State of New York sued, arguing that she had to consider both seatbelts and airbags, but Judge Starr (yes that one) ruled against the State of New York for no reason that I can understand (there are many words but they do not make sense).
What was Dole’s actual role in all of this? I don’t know. Today, she receives awards as a supporter of air bags. Does she deserve the awards? I really don’t know. I think it depends upon whom you ask. She may have been a consummate politician, balancing the demands of the President, automakers, insurance companies, and makers of seat belts and airbags. I find the record confusing
But there are indications that she was, indeed working to save lives by creating more regulations, not fewer regulations. For example, she worked to curb drunk driving. Wikipedia notes that she worked with Mothers Against Drunk Driving to cut funding to any state that did not change its drinking age from 18 to 21. South Dakota sued to overturn the rule, and the rule was upheld in the Supreme Court’s South Dakota v. Dole decision (an important decision that upheld the power of Congress to utilize its spending power to influence state laws and policies). This court decision is also loathed by conservatives.
Further reading if you wish – a long and detailed story which may contain the answers I was looking for – good luck: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (link opens .pdf file directly) (the insurance industry supports safer highways because they mean fewer payouts).