CENTER BRAKE LIGHTS PREVENT CRASHES, SAVE MILLIONS IN PROPERTY DAMAGE

NHTSA
March 30, 1998

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHTSA 16-98
Monday, March 30, 1998
Contact: Mike Russell
Tel. No. (202) 366-9550

A new study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) measuring the long-term effectiveness of center high mounted stop lamps in passenger cars and light trucks found that these lights each year prevent thousands of motor vehicle crashes and injuries and more than a half billion dollars in property damage costs. "Safety is President Clinton's highest transportation priority, and the center high-mounted stop lamp is an excellent example of a device that provides significant safety benefits at a fraction of its cost to consumers," said Ricardo Martinez, M.D., NHTSA administrator.

The study concluded that the center brake lights prevent 92,000 to 137,000 police-reported crashes, 58,000 to 70,000 nonfatal injuries, and $655 million in property damage a year. It also estimated that the lamps save $3.18 in property damage alone for every dollar that they cost.

Center high-mounted stop lamps (CHMSL), which are installed higher and midway between the rear brake lights to form a triangular pattern, have been standard equipment required on all new passenger cars sold in the United States since model year 1986 and on all new light trucks since model year 1994. The purpose of CHMSLs is to reduce the risk of a car or light truck being struck in the rear by another vehicle. When brakes are applied, the CHMSL warns drivers of following vehicles to slow down.

The report tracked the effectiveness of CHMSLs, year by year, from 1986 through 1995. The statistical analyses are based on police-reported crash files from eight states. Among the key findings:

While the lamps were most effective in the first years after their introduction in 1986, CHMSLs continue to be effective; over the last six years of the study, they still reduced the number of rear impact crashes by 4.3 percent.

The effectiveness of CHMSLs in light trucks is about the same as in passenger cars.

The annual consumer cost of CHMSLs in cars and trucks sold in the United States is close to $206 million, or about $13.60 per car and up to $20 per light truck in 1994 dollars.

On an annual basis, CHMSLs are saving consumers, at an effectiveness rate of 4.3 percent, almost $450 million (saving $655 million in property damage and costing $206 million) without considering the benefits of injury reductions.

The Long-term Effectiveness of Center High Mounted Stop Lamps in Passenger Cars and Light Trucks report is the third and last evaluation report on CHMSLs. NHTSA's 1983 evaluation plan for CHMSLs pledged to re-evaluate the lamps periodically until effectiveness had stabilized at its long-term value.

The statistical analyses are based on police-reported crash files from Florida, Missouri, Utah, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and Texas.

Copies of the report are available from the NHTSA Office of Public and Consumer Affairs at (202) 366-9550. It also is posted on the Internet at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov