Cars and light trucks today have more safety features than ever thanks to tougher federal regulations and carmakers' innovations. Hundreds of thousands of people owe their lives to seat belts, airbags and anti-lock brakes and other sophisticated electronic systems. Indeed, the nation's highway accident rate is at its lowest level ever. But critics note that more than 41,000 people still die every year in motor vehicle accidents and that the spate of recent fatalities linked to the Ford Explorer and Firestone tires indicates that automakers are still shortchanging the public on safety. They say Detroit should be held to much more stringent manufacturing, performance and defect-reporting standards. But manufacturers contend safety actually will suffer if ill-conceived or superfluous government regulations are implemented.

Brian Hansen, a freelance writer in Boulder, Colo., specializes in educational and environmental issues. He previously was a staff writer for The Researcher and a reporter for the Colorado Daily in Boulder and Environment News Service in Washington. His awards include the Scripps Howard Foundation award for public service reporting and the Education Writers Association award for investigative reporting. He holds a B.A. in political science and an M.A. in education from the University of Colorado.