November 30, 1965: Ralph Nader Publishes “Unsafe At Any Speed”

November 30, 1965: Ralph Nader, then 31 years old, publishes Unsafe At Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile. It accused car manufacturers of resistance to the introduction of safety features, like seat belts, and their general reluctance to spend money on improving safety.

In particular, the book profiled the Chevrolet Corvair. As the name suggested, it was a combination of the sporty Corvette and the full-size Bel Air. It was produced for the model years 1960 to 1969. Like the Volkswagen Beetle, it had a rear engine. This, along with rear swing axles, seemed to make it, as the title of Nader's book suggested, unsafe at any speed. For the 1970 model year, Chevy replaced it with the Vega.

1965 Chevrolet Corvair

The book resulted in the creation of the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1966, and the predecessor agencies of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 1970. Along with the gas crisis of 1973-74, it also led to the national speed limit of 55 miles per hour, which lasted from 1974 to 1995.

Ralph Nader did a lot of good with this book. The consumer-advocacy group he led, nicknamed Nader's Raiders, did some more good. A pity his ego led him to run for President in 2000, causing the Administration of George W. Bush, the most un-Nader-like President we've ever had.

As of November 30, 2022, Nader is still alive.

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November 30, 1965 was a Tuesday. Actor Ben Stiller was born, the son of the husband & wife comedy team of Jerry Stiller & Anne Meara.

Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. No games were scheduled in the NHL. There were 3 in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the St. Louis, Hawks, 138-119 at the old Madison Square Garden. Dick Barnett scored 36 points.

* The Baltimore Bullets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 129-108. Despite the loss, Wilt Chamberlain scored 41 points and grabbed 33 reboounds.

* And the Cincinnati Royals beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 126-120 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson matched Wilt with 41 points.