The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety was established by insurance companies in 1959 to advise other organizations about highway safety. In 1966 the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was enacted by Congress. It set up what is now called the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 1968 when Richard Nixon became president, William Haddon, Jr., was replaced as head of the agency. He was hired by the IIHS to reorganize and set up a crash testing program. In the 1970s the IIHS was involved in the then controversial airbag standard. 