The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have revealed their plans to more aggressively enforce automobile safety after admitting to missing signs of ignition problems affecting millions of GM vehicles. The Administration will be using a team of auto safety system experts who will spend a year advising the NHTSA about implementing new reforms to strengthen its investigation processes, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. <\/p>\n
The team will assist the agency in implementing operational changes outlined in a newly released internal report, \u201cNHTSA\u2019s Path Forward.\u201d The report includes a review of NHTSA\u2019s actions surrounding the General Motors ignition switch recall<\/a> as well as identifies shortcomings of NHTSA\u2019s defect investigation. Some of the suggested improvements include:<\/p>\n The NHTSA said they have already changed some of the practices addressed by the report. It now maintains detailed records of issues presented to a defects panel, has Special Crash Investigations staff present at all defect panel meetings, and uses a detailed checklist for investigations to ensure that all relevant documents are reviewed properly. <\/p>\n The NHTSA have also released a second report, which addresses the budgetary and workforce boosts needed to implement changes into the investigation into potential auto defects. This report, \u201cWorkforce Assessment: The Future of NHTSA\u2019s Defects Investigations,\u201d offers two separate models. The \u201cminimum boost\u201d model requires increases of $23.64 million and 92 full-time staff members and the \u201cnew paradigm\u201d model, which proposes dramatic changes to NHTSA\u2019s enforcement program and requires increases of $89 million and 380 full-time staff members, according to the report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have revealed their plans to more aggressively enforce automobile safety after admitting to missing signs of ignition problems affecting millions of GM vehicles. The Administration will be using a team of auto safety system experts who will spend a year advising the NHTSA about implementing new reforms to… Continue reading \n