Engineering Ethics

1978: Ford Pinto Recall 47

reckless homicide. This was the first time a corporation was tried for crimi-

nal behavior. In order to prevent a legal precedent for all manufacturing

industries, Ford assembled a defense team led by Watergate prosecutor

James Neal. During the ensuing media trial, the defense convinced the jury

that the Pinto involved in the accident was stopped when it was hit by the

van.Therefore a low-speed collision did not occur, and the deaths were not

the result of reckless homicide. Although Ford was found innocent, the

reputation of the Pinto was forever harmed by the trial (Gioia, 1994).

APPLICABLE REGULATIONS

Portions of Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, Part 571; S301, are listed below.

The rear-moving barrier crash requirement that the Pinto did not pass is S6.2.

In this passage, GVWR stands for gross vehicle weight rating.

S1. Scope. This standard specifies requirements for the integrity of

motor vehicle fuel systems.

S2. Purpose. The purpose of this standard is to reduce deaths and

injuries occurring from fires that result from fuel spillage during and

after motor vehicle crashes.

S3. Application. This standard applies to passenger cars, and to

multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses that have a

GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less and use fuel with a boiling point

above 32° F, and to school buses that have a GVWR greater than

10,000 pounds and use fuel with a boiling point above 32° F.

S4. Definition. “Fuel spillage” means the fall, flow, or run of fuel from

the vehicle but does not include wetness resulting from capillary

action.

S5. General requirements.

S5.1 Passenger cars. Each passenger car manufactured from

September 1, 1975, to August 31, 1976, shall meet the requirements

of S6.1 in a perpendicular impact only, and S6.4. Each passenger car

manufactured on or after September 1, 1976, shall meet all the

requirements of S6, except S6.5.

...

S5.5 Fuel spillage: Barrier crash. Fuel spillage in any fixed

or moving barrier crash test shall not exceed 1 ounce by weight

from impact until motion of the vehicle has ceased, and shall

not exceed a total of 5 ounce by weight in the 5-minute period

following cessation of motion. For the subsequent 25-minute period

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48 Engineering Ethics: An Industrial Perspective

(for vehicles manufactured before September 1, 1976, other than

school buses with a GVWR greater than 10,000 pounds: the subsequent

10-minute period), fuel spillage during any 1-minute interval shall

not exceed 1 ounce by weight.

S5.6 Fuel spillage: Rollover. Fuel spillage in any rollover test, from

the onset of rotational motion, shall not exceed a total of 5 ounces

by weight for the first 5 minutes of testing at each successive

90° increment. For the remaining testing period, at each increment

of 90°, fuel spillage during any 1-minute interval shall not exceed

1 ounce by weight.

S6. Test requirements. Each vehicle with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or

less shall be capable of meeting the requirements of any applicable

barrier crash test followed by a static rollover, without alteration of

the vehicle during the test sequence. A particular vehicle need not

meet further requirements after having been subjected to a single

barrier crash test and a static rollover test.

S6.1 Frontal barrier crash. When the vehicle traveling longitudinally

forward at any speed up to and including 30 mph impacts a fixed

collision barrier that is perpendicular to the line of travel of the

vehicle, or at any angle up to 30° in either direction from the

perpendicular to the line of travel of the vehicle, with 50th-percentile

test dummies as specified in Part 572 of this chapter at each front

outboard designated seating position and at any other position

whose protection system is required to be tested by a dummy under

the provisions of Standard No. 208, under the applicable conditions

of S7, fuel spillage shall not exceed the limits of S5.5 (Effective:

October 15, 1975)

S6.2 Rear moving barrier crash. When the vehicle is impacted from the

rear by a barrier moving at 30 mph, with test dummies as specified

in Part 572 of this chapter at each front board designated seating

position, under the applicable conditions of S7, fuel spillage shall

not exceed the limits of S5.5.

S6.3 Lateral moving barrier crash. When the vehicle is impacted

laterally on either side by a barrier moving at 20 mph with

50th-percentile test dummies as specified in Part 572 of this

chapter at positions required for testing to Standard No. 208, under

the applicable conditions of S7, fuel spillage shall not exceed the

limits of S5.5.

S6.4 Static rollover. When the vehicle is rotated on its longitudinal

axis to each successive increment of 90°, following an impact

crash of S6.1, S6.2, or S6.3, fuel spillage shall not exceed the

limits of S5.6.

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