Though the car companies’ lobbyists managed to water down the safety standards in the final bill considerably, the NTMVSA did result in hardier cars: it required seat belts for every passenger, impact-absorbing steering wheels, rupture-resistant fuel tanks, door latches that stayed latched in crashes, side-view mirrors, shatter-resistant windshields and windshield defrosters, lights on the sides of cars as well as the front and back, and “the padding and softening of interior surfaces and protrusions.” (For its part, the Highway Safety Act required that roadbuilders install guardrails, better streetlights, and stronger barriers between opposing lanes of traffic.)