Car Door Latch Safety Goes Global

Soon, the whole world may have safer door latches on their vehicles. The United States and 21 other countries have gotten a head start. They have agreed to adopt a tougher standard for vehicle door latches. American officials hope this will be the beginning of global auto safety standards. The standard is scheduled to be signed in November of 2005 in Geneva. It is the first door latch safety standard to emerge from an agreement reached in 1998 at the United Nations. The goal of the agreement was to establish global standards instead of allowing variations by country.