NHTSA Too Friendly with Automakers, Now Under Observation
According to the New York Times the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is under scrutiny for failing to do their job correctly. Toyota has been stalling inquiries from the administration since November 2009, when the first of Toyota’s vehicles started being recalled, and the NHTSA has yet to do anything about it. However, the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, has made an unscheduled and unprecedented trip to Toyota’s headquarters in Japan. But then he took a month to even meet with Toyota officials and another month before Toyota even disclosed the accelerator problems to the public.
In other words, people are upset with the NHTSA over their handling of the entire situation. But the NHTSA has finally stepped up to the plate and has demanded answers, going so far as subpoenaing the entire company for documents pursuant to the recalls. Automobile transporters are worried that the NHTSA isn’t taking their job seriously, as they traverse America’s highways on a daily basis and a broken vehicle could spell disaster for anyone on the road. The NHTSA has opened six different safety inquires into Toyota and closed them all without action since 2003, but it looks like those days are over. We hope.