NHTSA Chief Admits GM Withheld Critical Ignition Switch Data
If you own a General Motors vehicle subject to the recent ignition switch recall, stop waiting for a letter and contact your dealer immediately. The priority is getting the vehicle fixed quickly to ensure consumers at risk are informed and identified. This urgency comes straight from the top of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), following a stark admission before Congress that the agency was operating without critical information held by the automaker.
In testimony delivered April 2, 2014, before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Acting Administrator David Friedman laid out the grim reality of the defect investigation process. On behalf of everyone at NHTSA, Friedman stated the agency is deeply saddened by the loss of life in vehicle crashes involving the GM ignition switch defect. Our deepest sympathies are with the families and friends. But beyond the condolences lies a troubling revelation about how safety defects are identified and managed in the United States.
Flying Blind on Critical Data
The core of the issue revolves around information flow. NHTSA reviewed its actions concerning airbag non-deployment in the recently recalled GM vehicles multiple times. The agency examined available information using consumer complaints, early warning data, special crash investigations, and manufacturer information about how air bags function. Despite these tools, they did not find sufficient evidence of a possible safety defect or defect trend that would warrant opening a formal investigation.
Why? Because GM had critical information that would have helped identify this defect.
This is a difficult case pursued by experts in the field of screening, investigations and technology involving airbags that are designed to deploy in some cases, but not in cases where they are not needed or would cause greater harm than good. However, without the manufacturer's internal data, the regulators were effectively flying blind. Friedman noted that with that information now in hand, the agency can look for lessons learned from this experience that may further improve our process.
The testimony outlined three key priorities moving forward. First, ensure GM gets the vehicles fixed quickly and is doing all it can to keep consumers at risk informed. Second, pursue an investigation of whether GM met its timeliness responsibilities to report and address this defect under Federal law—an investigation that will end with holding GM accountable if it failed in those responsibilities. Third, examine the new facts and efforts in this case to understand what took place and to determine how to continue to improve efforts.
understaffed and Overwhelmed
Having spent 15 years inside the federal vehicle safety enforcement system, I know how thin the line is between catching a defect and missing it. The testimony highlighted a structural constraint that many consumers don't realize: NHTSA is not a large agency. They currently have 591 employees.
To put that in perspective, this small team is responsible for the safety of millions of vehicles on American roadways. Their work has resulted in thousands of recalls involving hundreds of millions of vehicles and items of motor vehicle equipment, which have helped to protect millions of consumers from unanticipated safety hazards. But that workload is crushing a staff that is deeply and personally dedicated to their mission, often working nights and weekends in pursuit of potential defects.
The President's budget for fiscal year 2015 requests $5.2 million for additional staff to help strengthen the ability to address the enormous safety mission that this agency faces. NHTSA is a data-driven organization that approaches highway safety by considering both the behavioral and the vehicular aspects of crashes. Without the resources to parse that data effectively, and without full transparency from manufacturers, the system relies on trust. And in this case, that trust was broken.
What Owners Need to Verify
While the agency investigates whether GM met its timeliness responsibilities, owners cannot wait for the bureaucracy to catch up. The core mission to save lives and prevent injuries on America's roadways is something NHTSA takes very seriously, but they cannot fix your car for you.
- Check Your VIN: Verify if your specific vehicle is included in the ignition switch recall using the NHTSA database.
- Contact Your Dealer: Do not wait for mail notification. If your vehicle is affected, schedule the repair immediately.
- Monitor Updates: Stay informed on any expansion of the recall to identify all vehicles that may have a defective ignition switch.
It is this kind of tragedy that the defects investigation team works long hours trying to prevent. But as Friedman admitted, when an automaker withhold critical information, the safeguards fail. Until the investigation ends with holding GM accountable if it failed in those responsibilities, the burden falls on the driver to ensure their vehicle is safe to operate.
