In Memoriam: Clarence Ditlow
Clarence Ditlow (Getty Images)
Clarence Ditlow, the long-time head of the Center for Auto Safety, died last week at the age of 72. His passing triggered an outpouring of tributes from colleagues, friends and others, including these:
Ben Kelley, board member of the Center for Auto Safety:
There are very few activists who deserve the appellation “sui generis,” meaning “one of a kind, unique.” Clarence Ditlow, who died on November 10 in Washington after a months-long battle with cancer, was just such an activist.
For more than 40 years Ditlow headed the Center for Auto Safety where, for long hours and on a tiny budget, he worked unremittingly to prod car companies and safety regulators into placing the highest priority on keeping vehicles free of deadly hazards. As a member of the Center’s board of directors, I was privileged to know and work with Ditlow in achieving the Center’s crucially important consumer-protection mission.
Clarence Ditlow was personally self-effacing yet professionally unremitting in his dedication to the cause of protecting consumers from unsafe vehicles. Nor did he flinch from publicly calling out safety regulators for their cozy relations with the industry and their failure to establish and enforce tough auto safety standards, operate transparently, and put the public’s health above industry profits.
A few months before his death, in a USA Today commentary, Ditlow sharply criticized the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for its failure to develop binding safety standards for driverless vehicles. “In its zeal to advance driverless vehicles,” he wrote, “NHTSA has forgotten its mission is to ensure safety, not promote gee-whiz vehicle technology to increase sales.“
Ensuring the safety of self-drive cars was just the most recent of Ditlow’s concerns. Announcing his death, the center noted that these included safety recalls of tens of millions of vehicles that saved untold thousands of lives, and passage of lemon laws in all 50 states.
On September 29, as his illness worsened, Ditlow was singled out for special praise in a Congressional Record statement by Sens. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “A tireless champion for consumers, his work has resulted in better government oversight of automakers, the installation of key safety features, and the exposure of safety defects in millions of cars, SUVs and other trucks,” it noted.
Clarence Ditlow is survived by his wife, Marilyn Herman, his beloved long-time companion. They were married in a bedside ceremony at George Washington Hospital a few weeks before his death. He is also survived by countless motorists who, through his efforts on behalf of auto safety, are alive today.
Ralph Nader:
America’s motorists are less safe today with the passing of their Guardian Angel—engineer/lawyer Clarence Ditlow, the director of the Center for Auto Safety. The generating force behind the recalls of millions of defective motor vehicles, Mr. Ditlow pressured the federal auto safety agency and the auto companies with meticulous advocacy that was technically deep and morally powerful…
While culpable auto executives were on the golf links, he was at his office on weekends assembling evidence about the causes of crashes and their human casualties, and preparing formal petitions and lawsuits demanding action…
Over the years he was the “go-to” person for hundreds of reporters, columnists, editorial writers, researchers and legislative staff. Patiently, he would walk them through the details of motor vehicle failures and engineering deficiencies, the derelictions of management and the inaction of government regulators not doing their job. He took his work beyond auto safety to include fuel efficiencies, emitted pollutants, and sloppy vehicle construction and design…
Self-effacing and ethical, he did not ask anything for himself, receiving a very modest salary, living a simple and courageous life, as his wife, Marilyn Herman, recounted in his final days.
Jack Gillis, director of public affairs, Consumer Federation of America:
For over four decades, Clarence fought tirelessly to stem the terrible toll that automobiles take on American society. In addition, he was one of the first to understand the impact of the automobile on the environment. Clarence was likely responsible for saving more lives than anyone else in the auto safety community…This is a tragic blow to public safety at a time when consumer protections are at such great risk…
Clarence was a formidable individual. I did share something in common with the car companies…at times he would drive us both crazy. But I truly loved him. Clarence challenged his colleagues the same way he challenged the government and car companies. If you weren’t on the right path, Clarence let you know, no matter who you were….Clarence’s admonition to me, and many others, followed the advice of Spike Lee—do the right thing. And that was Clarence’s mantra, doing the right thing no matter how hard it was.’’
Jackie Gillan, president, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety:
Every motorist on the road today has Clarence to thank for their vehicle being equipped with lifesaving safety systems. And, when a safety system or auto part was defective, it was Clarence who identified the problem, informed the public, prodded regulators to act and held the auto industry accountable. He was an unyielding and resolute activist whenever public safety was marginalized or monetized by the industry…
On a personal level, I met Clarence when working at the U.S. Department of Transportation during the Carter Adminnistration on auto safety. He was a lifelong friend to consumers, to safety advocates, to victims and to me.”
Mark Rosekind, Administrator, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
Clarence dedicated his life’s work to improving the safety of all those who drive or ride in motor vehiles. Clarene was relentless in his pursuits, and whether he was taking the fight to the auto industry, or prodding NHTSA when he felt we weren’t moving fast enough, no one could ever doubt his heartfelt motivation. Americans are driving in cars that are safer thanks to Clarence, and his voice as an advocate for safety won’t easily be replaced.’’
Jeff Plungis, lead investigative journalist, Consumer Reports:
Clarence M. Ditlow, III, one of the most influential and effective consumer activists of the past five decades,…leaves behind an astonishing legacy of work on safety defects that led to the eventual recall of tens of millions of vehicles. He was at the center of every major automotive safety controversy dating back to the exploding gas tanks of the Ford Pinto during the disco era, and as recently as this summer remained a strong voice for how to regulate autonomous technology in vehicles.”