The Challenge
DuPont and Solutia, two manufacturers of the components and protective glass for automobile windows, sought to convince the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) to enact a rule requiring enhanced protective glass for side windows in all autos. Through their organization, the Enhanced Protective Glass Auto Association (EPGAA), they demonstrated that 7,000 lives per year could be saved by adopting a new standard for safety glass. Yet, by merely working alone, the two companies were gaining little influence on the issue.

IDI was hired to remove the auto parts manufacturing industry as the only advocate of the new standard and position enhanced protective glass as necessary to improve public safety. Our goal was to help EPGAA form a coalition with strategic stakeholder and activist groups in order to broaden their outreach and influence key decision makers.

IDI’s Solution
Our first step was to identify, educate and empower various public interest groups on the benefits of the use of protective glass in side windows. We explained how EPGAA’s products were vital to public safety because they prevented accidental death from automobile ejection. We recruited key organizations to join together in support of the use of enhanced safety glass and asked them to write letters to NHTSA and to certain members of Congress explaining their stance.

We advised Advocates for Highway Safety before and after their meetings with legislators and provided them with information to include in the “leave behind” materials they took to Congress. We were also able to get exposure in key newspapers, including an article in the Regulatory column of the Washington Post.

The Results
In late 2004 and in 2005, for the first time in the history of Public Citizen, advocates joined together with members of the industry coalition to walk the halls of Congress and make their voices heard. This joint effort was possible because of the willingness of the industry coalition to support agenda items of the Safety Coalition, aligning them in a partnership that succeeded in convincing law makers to adopt their requested provisions.

With IDI’s help, legislation was passed in 2005 that included language requiring the agency to issue rules addressing side window ejection and better standards for window glass. Public Citizen, a stakeholder group IDI recruited on the issue, highlighted the legislation in their 2005 annual report as an “auto safety win for consumers.”

Services Provided

• Strategic Alliances
• Internet Communications
• Issues Management