“NHTSA has identified improvements, some already in progress and some we plan to make, to better investigate, identify and remedy defects that threaten public safety,” said Secretary Anthony Foxx.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today released two internal reports from the Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, aka NHTSA, that outline the changes NHTSA has adopted or will make in the wake of its embarrassing delayed handling of what became the deadly General Motors ignition switch recall.
The defective ignition switch is thus far responsible for at least 100 deaths and 172 severe injuries. These claims that GM is willing to settle in exchange for indemnity from further litigation are part of GM’s recall of 2.5 million small cars, mainly Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion cars from the 2003 to 2007 model years.
This safety defect – known for a decade before the recall was announced – results when the key suddenly turns the car off while disabling its safety systems such as anti-lock braking and air bag deployment.
The safety agency now proposes to strengthen its defect investigation workforce and add a three-person Safety Systems Team of outside experts who will spend the next year advising NHTSA on implementation of the changes outlined in the report “NHTSA’s Path Forward” that was prompted by long delayed ignition switch recall.
NHTSA’s Safety Systems Team will “guide and validate strategy, tactics, and actions to enhance the agency’s effectiveness.”
- The team will include:
Dr. Joseph Kolly, Ph.D., director of the Office of Research and Engineering at the National Transportation Safety Board, who is detailed to NHTSA for the remainder of 2015; - Dr. J. Victor Lebacqz, Ph.D., former associate administrator for aeronautics research at NASA;
- Dr. James P. Bagian, M.D., director of the Center for Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety at the University of Michigan, where he is a professor at the medical and engineering schools; he is also a former NASA astronaut and veteran of two space shuttle missions.
A second report released today, “Workforce Assessment: The Future of NHTSA’s Defects Investigations,” was forced by the Department’s Office of Inspector General, the agency that looked at whether the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) had the staff numbers and expertise required to carry out its mission. It took NHTSA four years to respond to the request.
The report outlines the need for resource increases. The assessment is part of the Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request that would triple funding and double staffing for ODI. The report also outlines a “new paradigm” for its investigation workforce, based on an examination of workforce models at other safety agencies.
“Our obligation to save lives and prevent injuries must include sober self-examination, and when we find weaknesses, we have to fix them,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said.
