Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 206 - Door Locks and Door Retention Components - is aimed at reducing the likelihood of occupant ejection in crashes. The industry steadily improved door lock design during the 1960's. Standard 216 - Roof Crush Resistance - is designed to reduce deaths and injuries due to the crushing of the roof into the passenger compartment in rollover crashes. Hardtops were redesigned as pillared cars, with stronger roof support. This evaluation analyzes the effectiveness and benefits of stronger door locks and roof structures in rollover crashes of passenger cars. It also estimates the cumulative effect on fatality risk - for unrestrained occupants in rollover crashes - of all safety standards and vehicle modifications of the 1963-82 era. The study is based on statistical analyses of FARS, Texas, NCSS, NASS and MDAI data and roof crush tests on pre- and post-Standard 216 cars. It was found that:​

1. Door latch improvements implemented during 1963-68 save an estimated 400 lives per year, reducing the risk of ejection in rollover crashes by 15 percent.
2. The shift from hardtops to pillared cars, in response to Standard 216, saves an estimated 110 lives per year.