According to a House committee investigation, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had more than enough information at their disposal to identify a dangerous defect in the Chevrolet Cobalt and other vehicles in General Motors' stable as early as 2007.
Results of the investigation were released in a report Monday and showed that the NHTSA made a series of critical mistakes when handling their own inquiries, leading to at least 19 deaths linked to a defect in the ignition switch of GM vehicles. Accidents associated with the ignition switch defect total 54.
"Both GM and NHTSA had ample information necessary to identify this defect. It was a failure to process, share and utilize that information within each entity that enabled this safety defect to persist," wrote investigators in the report. Additionally, it was the NHTSA's lack of rigor and focus that led to the repeated failure to identify and explore the issue with the ignition switch defect, an inexcusable reason given the agency is tasked as a federal safety regulator.
Representative Fred Upton, who headed the investigating committee, expresses his disappointment, saying it is a tragedy that the NHTSA had all the information it would need but was still unable to identify warning signs. He adds that the agency shouldn't just process what is readily available, digging deeper as well to spot all safety issues.
GM is doing something about the defect now, recalling affected vehicles, but not before letting 10 years pass since the problem was first detected. The NHTSA also slapped a $35 million fine on the car manufacturer for not disclosing key information about air bags failing to deploy during crashes when the ignition is in the off or accessory position.
Agency Deputy Administrator David Friedman talks back at the report, saying he held a meeting with 12 major car manufacturers to tell them that more time has to be spent with the agency to discuss the way their vehicle systems work. He also added that in the last 10 years, the NHTSA has been responsible for prodding manufacturers to issue more than 1,000 recalls involving 95 million parts and vehicles, and that all available tools to the agency are being actively used.
The release of the report was also timely; not only because of the record number of recalls for 2014, but that NHTSA Deputy Administrator Friedman was also scheduled to testify in a separate hearing being done to determine the future of the agency.
Created in 1970, the NHTSA is part of the Department of Transportation.
