Tag Archives: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Recall Rental Law Protects Drivers From Safety Defects

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On December 4, 2015 President Obama signed the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. No. 114-94) into law. Although the federal act focuses primarily on maintaining infrastructure, a major provision within the regulations includes rules affecting automobile rental companies. The legislation was championed by the family of Raechel and Jacqueline Houck, sisters who died in a rental vehicle that was under a safety recall that had not been repaired.

Beginning June 1, 2016, any company or dealer with fleets greater than 35 will be prohibited from renting vehicles with recalls until the problem has been fixed. Although the bill passed with the support of the rental car industry and the input of the American Car Rental Association, smaller independent companies question how the bill will affect their business. Often, automakers will announce a recall without a timeline for repairs or parts, leaving some fleets with cars parked for a potentially long time. Continue reading →

NHTSA “Safe Cars Save Lives” Campaign Urges Drivers To Fix Recalls

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The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a new public awareness campaign this week called “Safe Cars Save Lives”. The program is focusing on ways to encourage drivers to regularly check for open recalls and to get them fixed as soon as possible. According to NHTSA statistics, last year there were close to 900 recalls affecting 51 million vehicles nationwide, with an average 25 percent of recalls left unrepaired. Continue reading →

Vehicle Safety Improvement Act Of 2015

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The House of Energy and Commerce Committee have introduced a safety bill designed to increase penalties for auto, tire, and auto parts makers that fail to recall defective products or notify the government of safety problems. The Vehicle Safety Improvement Act, introduced Feb. 27, 2015, hopes to address a number of shortfalls in the current system by enhancing congress oversight of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and making safety information more readily available to consumers. Continue reading →

FTC Urged To Enforce Mandatory Recall Repairs On Used Vehicles

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According to recent reports from the New York Times, a group of eleven consumer and safety organizations are petitioning the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate used car dealership, CarMax, for deceptive advertising practices. The group claims that the dealership is advertising their pre-owned vehicles as passing a rigorous 125 point quality inspection, but the inspection fails to carry out the basic step of checking to see if there are any unfixed safety recalls affecting the vehicle. Continue reading →

NHTSA Proposes Side Impact Test for Child Restraint Systems

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are proposing upgrades to the federal motor vehicle safety standard for child-restraint systems to ensure child passengers are protected in side crashes. The proposed upgrades would include a first-ever side impact test for car seats sold in the U.S. that are designed for children weighing up to 40 pounds. Continue reading →

NHTSA Encourages Advanced Auto Technology To Reduce Human Error

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According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), almost 90% of all accidents are due to human error. As part of a push by the NHTSA to eliminate traffic fatalities, the group is looking at the newest technology already used by nearly every automaker. The safety group hopes to work closely with the auto industry to address highway safety to see where industry can fast-track existing technology for the greatest advances. Continue reading →

Government Shutdown Forces NHTSA Closures

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Due to the federal government shutdown, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have announced that they will be forced to close several branches of the agency and cut back on over fifty percent of their employees. While functions funded by the Highway Trust Fund will continue; defect investigations, field crash investigations, review of consumer complaints, and notifications of new vehicle and equipment recalls will all be suspended. Continue reading →