NHTSA also issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). The ANPRM seeks to identify additional ways to notify vehicle owners, purchasers and dealers of safety-related defects and “non-compliances.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, aka NHTSA, has a new public awareness campaign called Safe Cars Save Lives that urges consumers to check for open recalls at least twice a year and to get their vehicles fixed as soon as parts are available. Last year, there were close to 900 recalls affecting 51 million vehicles nationwide. Every year, on average, 25% of recalled vehicles are left unrepaired.
“Old, new, used or leased – one of those recalled vehicles could be yours. Check your VIN” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. Safe Cars Save Lives.”
Consumers are urged to check their vehicle identification number (VIN) twice a year at a minimum using NHTSA’s free VIN look up tool. NHTSA suggests timing it with day light savings – every November when setting clocks back and every March when setting clocks move forward. If there is an open recall, the safety agency advises owners to contact their dealer to schedule an appointment and bring their vehicle in for repair as soon as possible.
NHTSA also issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). The ANPRM seeks to identify additional ways to notify vehicle owners, purchasers and dealers of safety-related defects and non-compliances.
“Boosting repair rates requires effective communication at every level and every step of the way,” said Rosekind. “We’re interested in what the public has to say about recall notifications and today we issued a proposal to get their input. Success is getting a 100 percent completion rate for every single recall.”
When cars are recalled in the U.S., manufacturers provide the affected VINs to be loaded into the NHTSA database so consumers can search for open recalls. Owners are contacted directly by the manufacturers through the postal mail using a specially marked envelope to distinguish it from junk mail.
