The last time the U.S. auto industry saw major new safety standards put into place, the floppy disc was just coming into vogue and “Pong” was considered a cutting-edge video game.

Because science and engineering have advanced considerably in the years since then, Dallas personal injury attorney Frank Branson says it’s time for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to revamp its safety standards for automakers.

The most recent example of the NHTSA’s complacency centers around reports of battery fires in the hybrid Chevrolet Volt. News reports indicate that the agency knew of a fire involving the car’s battery pack as early as the spring of 2011, but didn’t report the incident until November.

Even in the late ’80s, the organization responsible for publishing Consumer Reports magazine documented the agency’s reluctance to correct industry shortcomings:

In 1988, NHTSA granted a CU petition in which we urged the adoption of a minimum stability standard to protect against unreasonable risk of rollover in all vehicles. The agency said at the time that the petition was "consistent with the Agency’s steps to address the rollover problem." But NHTSA backed away from setting a standard. In fact, in 1994 NHTSA halted rulemaking on a universal minimum-stability standard, concluding that a standard applicable to all vehicles would require the redesign of nearly all SUVs, vans and pick-up trucks – at an unacceptably high cost.

Frank Branson’s take on the agency:

“The problem with NHTSA is that no one wants to rock the boat,” Branson says. “And the auto industry doesn't want to update safety standards, many of which were written in the 1970s or before.”

The solution that Branson proposes is that consumer advocates step to the fore and take part in leadership at the safety administration.

This would reverse the current trend of individuals with ties to the auto industry stepping into that role.