Voluntary Safety Standards:

Fifteen auto manufacturers have announced support for a seies of voluntary standards to improve SUV safety. The standards are in the form of performance criteria, not design requirements. Thus, the voluntary standards will improve safety without imposing restrictions that would reduce innovation. NHTSA Administrator Runge, although generally supportive of the standards, declined to make any specific comments. Now that the auto industry has chosen the path of voluntary standards instead of new regulation, it is incumbent on the companies to demonstrate to regulatory authorities and the public that it was the right choice.

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It's good that they're letting the companies make the decisions of how they are going to improve their vehicles, instead of forcing them to. However, we're going to have to wait and see if they actually do anything worth while.