Tiger Woods Is Still Alive Today And Ralph Nader Is a Big Reason Why
By Ken Reed
Tiger Woods faces a long recovery from multiple leg injuries but I imagine he is very thankful that his horrific single-car accident didn’t result in much more serious injuries or even in his death.
Woods is in relatively good shape today because of several safety features in the Genesis GV80 vehicle he was driving, including a seat belt, airbags and a reinforced roof that helped protect Woods’ body as the vehicle rolled over.
The foundation of auto safety features like these is Ralph Nader’s 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed: the Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile. The book highlighted a variety of unsafe auto design practices of automakers in general. In particular, it focused on how unsafe General Motors’ Corvair was. The book became a national bestseller and the general public became much more aware of the unsafe design of most automobiles in the 1960’s. The book also pointed out numerous safety features that could — and should — be part of the design of automobiles going forward.
Unsafe at Any Speed pushed Congress to act. The book led to a series of Congressional hearings and a Senate committee report found “disturbing evidence of the automobile industry’s chronic subordination of safe design to promotional styling.” Several landmark auto safety laws were subsequently passed under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. A new agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was also formed to develop safety standards and design improvements in the industry. In addition, Nader formed the Center for Auto Safety.
Since these safety measures were passed, the number of deaths from automobile accidents in the United States has fallen from 5.50 per 100 million vehicular miles travelled in 1966, to 3.34 in 1980 and 1.12 by 2015. Studies have estimated from 600,000 to 3.5 million lives have been saved over that time period.
Nader’s life-long consumer advocacy has led to safer cars. We can all thank him for his examination and critiques of the auto industry and the fact safety features like seat belts, airbags and anti-lock brakes are pretty much standard in the industry today.
Tiger Woods might go a step further and thank Nader for his life.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

Sports Forum Podcast
Episode #22 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Rethinking Sports Fandom with Author Craig Calcaterra – We discuss Calcaterra’s new book “Rethinking Fandom: How to Beat the Sports-Industrial Complex at Its Own Game” and explore new ways to be a fan in the year 2022.
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Episode #21 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Chatting About a Broken Game With Baseball Writer Pedro Moura – Moura is a national baseball writer for Fox Sports. We discuss how and why the game of baseball is broken, what factors caused it, and offer a few thoughts on how to “fix” a great game.
Episode #20 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Coaching Youth and High School Sports Based On What’s Best for the Athlete’s Holistic Development – We chat with long-time youth, high school and college basketball coach Jim Huber.
Episode #19 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Capturing the Spirit of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League with Anika Orrock – We discuss the hoops AAGPFL women had to jump through to play the game they loved as well as the long-term impact and legacy they have in advancing sports opportunities for girls and women.
Episode #18 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking about the 50th Anniversary of Title IX and the Lia Thomas Controversy with Nancy Hogshead-Makar – Hogshead-Makar is a triple gold medalist in swimming, a civil rights attorney and CEO of Champion Women.
Episode #17 – League of Fans’ Sports Forum podcast: Talking Sports With Legendary New York Times Sports Columnist Robert Lipsyte – We chat about Lipsyte’s amazing career and some of the athletes he covered.
Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- League of Fans Sports Policy Director Ken Reed quoted in Washington Post column titled "What happened to P.E.? It’s losing ground in our push for academic improvement," by Jay Mathews
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
Books