Beginning in 1966 All New Cars Sold in Morodia were Required to have Safety Belts and Power Steering

Question: Beginning in 1966 all new cars sold in Morodia were required to have safety belts and power steering. Previously, most cars in Morodia were without these features. Safety belts help to prevent injuries in collisions, and power steering helps to avoid collisions in the first place. But even though in 1996 one-seventh of the card in Morodia were replaced with new cars, the number of car collisions and collision-related injuries did not decline.

Which of the following, if true about Morodia, most helps to explain why the number of collisions and collision-related injuries in Morodia failed to decline in 1966?

1. Because of a driver-education campaign, most drivers and passengers in cars that did have safety belts used them in 1966.
2. Most of the new cars bought in 1966 were bought in the months of January and February.
3. In 1965, substantially more than one-seventh of the cars in Morodia were replaced by new cars.
4. Excessive reliance on the new safety features led many owners of new cars to drive less cautiously in 1966 than before.
5. The seat belts and power steering put into new cars sold in 1966 had to undergo strict quality-control inspections by manufacturers, whether the cars were manufactured in Morodia or not.

Answer: D

Explanation: This is a GMAT critical reasoning question. We have to select the option that helps to explain why the number of accidents-related injuries failed to decline in 1996 in Morodia.

Let’s go through each of the available options and see which one fits the best.

Option A: Because of a driver-education campaign, most drivers and passengers in cars that did have safety belts used them in 1966.
According to Option A, most drivers and passengers used safety belts in 1966 because of a driver-education campaign. But if they were using safety belts, then the collision and collision-related injuries should be less, but it is not. The passage specifically says that the accidents increased in 1996. This statement fails to answer the argument in the passage. So, Option A is incorrect.

Option B: Most of the new cars bought in 1966 were bought in the months of January and February.
Option B states that most of the new cars that were bought in 1966 were bought in January and February. Again, this statement fails to explain why collision-related injuries increased in 1966. We are not interested in knowing the months when the cars were bought. This statement is not relevant to the argument presented in the passage. So, Option B is incorrect.

Option C: In 1965, substantially more than one-seventh of the cars in Morodia were replaced by new cars.
Option C states that more than one-seventh of the cars in Morodia were replaced by new cars in 1965. In the passage, we are not talking about what happened in 1965. Also, it is not mentioned if those new cars in 1965 have safety features or not. We can eliminate this option because it is irrelevant to the argument in the passage. Option C is incorrect.

Option D: An excessive reliance on the new safety features led many owners of new cars to drive less cautiously in 1966 than before.
Option D states that owners of new cars became excessively reliant on the new safety features and started driving less cautiously in 1966 than before. This statement tells us the reason why there were more collision-related injuries in 1966 than before. It is because of the new cars with safety features, drivers became careless and less cautious. So, Option D is correct.

Option E: The seat belts and power steering put into new cars sold in 1966 had to undergo strict quality-control inspections by manufacturers, whether the cars were manufactured in Morodia or not.
Option E states that the seat belts and the power steering that were put in the cars sold in 1966 had to go through strict quality-control techniques even when the cars are not manufactured in Monrovia. This statement does not tell us the reasons for more accidents. We are not talking about the manufacturer or quality-control inspections in the passage. So, Option E is incorrect.

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