Auto Bumpers Easing Upheld

The Reagan Administration’s easing of auto bumper standards was upheld today by the U.S. Court of Appeals here.

The court said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not “act arbitrarily and capriciously” in 1981 in the rollback of its performance standard from the old requirement that front and rear bumpers withstand impacts of 5 m.p.h. without damage. The new requirement said the bumpers need only withstand impacts of 2.5 m.p.h.