High number of fatal motor vehicle accidents spurs latest investigation into safety standards’ enforcement by federal government.
There are several Offices of the Inspector General that impact those of us who live and work in Indiana and Illinois. At the state level, for instance, there is the Indiana Office of the Inspector General and the Office of the Executive Inspector General of Illinois. In the federal government, various agencies have independent divisions empowered to oversee their activity for ineptitude, inefficiency, or outright illegal acts. These independent and powerful investigative units were created by the Inspector General Act of 1978.
Among them is the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Transportation (D.O.T.), which announced last week that it will be delving into the activity of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) “…to assess NHTSA’s efforts to set and enforce Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.”
2019 Fatal Motor Vehicle Crash Statistics Spur New Inspection
Why has a federal investigation been launched into the activities of the NHTSA? From the I.G. announcement, part of the concern surrounds the number of deadly motor vehicle accidents in this country given the extent of federal traffic safety laws on the books.
From the D.O.T.’s Office of the Inspector General:
According to preliminary estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 36,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the United States in 2019. As part of its mission to prevent and reduce vehicle crashes, NHTSA establishes Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards that incorporate Federal laws intended to improve traffic safety. Given the importance to the traveling public that all new vehicles and components meet Federal safety standards, we are initiating this audit. The objective of this self-initiated audit is to assess NHTSA’s efforts to set and enforce Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
What are Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)?
As its website banner explains, NHTSA “is responsible for keeping people safe on America’s roadways.” The agency does this, in part, by enacting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) which are regulations that implement federal safety legislation passed by Congress.
An example can be found in 49 CFR Part 571, dealing with the legal requirements for motor vehicle head restraints and designed to reduce whiplash injuries in rear collisions. This FMVSS became federal law on September 1, 2008.
The FMVSS are broad-based. These federal safety standards cover everything from the design of vehicle components (think seatbacks and air bags), to how motor vehicles are built by manufacturers and thereafter distributed and sold in the marketplace and ultimately, driven on our roads. Auto makers are overseen by NHTSA to make sure that they adhere to the current FMVSS.
It is the job of the agency to monitor these manufacturers for safety law compliance. In other words, the task of making sure that federal safety laws designed to minimize serious and fatal motor vehicle accidents on our roads is entrusted to NHTSA.
However, for many safety advocates as well as those representing the victims of serious and fatal motor vehicle accidents in this country, there has been growing concern over the ability of NHTSA to perform the job of insuring federal safety standards are respected by manufacturers.
Safety Advocates’ Longstanding Criticism of NHTSA
Many safety advocates have been concerned about the inability of NHTSA to enforce federal safety standards, given the rising rate of motor vehicle fatalities over the past decade. See, “Traffic Safety Agency Says Its Critics Are Wrong About Its Lack Of Toughness,” written by Jamie L. LaReau and published in the Detroit Free Press on July 22, 2019; and “U.S. Auto-Safety Agency’s Defect Investigations at Historic Low,” written by Jeff Plungis and published in Consumer Reports on June 29, 2018.
The continuing danger of a serious or deadly crash on American roadways is a statistical reality. Rising traffic fatalities are a red flag that FMVSS are not being respected.
For more on fatal motor crash statistics, read:
- Greatest Dangers for Deadly Traffic Accident in Illinois and Indiana According to 2020 Roadmap Report
- Fatal Car Crashes: 10 Times More Likely to Die on Rural Roads
- Why the Rise in Car Crash Deaths and Fatal Traffic Accidents?
- Coronavirus and Fatal Car Crashes: Fatality Rates Jump Despite Emptier Roads.
Recent Inspector General Investigations into NHTSA: Failures Found
Shockingly, this is not the first time that the Inspector General has begun a serious investigation into NHTSA’s ability to police car manufacturers’ compliance with safety laws. In the past five years, two appalling investigatory reports have been released by the Inspector General warning of huge failures within the agency.
In 2015, NHTSA was found to be inadequate to protect against deadly crashes on the road. See, “Federal Auditor Finds Broad Failures at N.H.T.S.A.,” written by Danielle Ivory and published by the New York Times on June 19, 2015. Read the final June 18, 2015 I.G. Audit Report (42 pages) here.
Then again, in 2018, another shocking report was released by the D.O.T.’s Inspector General. Read the final July 18, 2018, IG Audit Report (44 pages) here. Among its findings in the 2018 investigation, the Inspector General found NHTSA simply did not find the defective ignition switch in General Motors’ motor vehicles, confirmed to have caused over 110 deaths. This was true even though NHTSA had ten (10) years to do so.
Fatal Car Crashes in Indiana and Illinois: Need for Compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
Serious and fatal car crashes and motor vehicle accidents happen all too often here in Indiana and Illinois. Each year, people perish in preventable accidents that upon investigation were caused by defective automotive products and the failure to follow established federal safety laws.
In other words, in both Illinois and Indiana, the failure to adhere to federal safety standards has caused — and continues to result in — deadly accidents which would have been avoided if the FMVSS were respected and followed.
For more on fatal motor vehicle accidents, read:
- Defective Parts in Fatal Car Crashes: Fight to Make Auto Makers Keep Records of Safety Defects;
- Car Crashes and Automated Car Technology: The Changing Focus of Auto Accident Claims in Illinois and Indiana;
- Defective Car Parts & Liability for Fatal Crashes and Serious Injuries in Illinois and Indiana.
If you or a loved one has suffered injury in a serious car crash or motor vehicle accident on the roads of Indiana or Illinois, it is important to determine if a failure to comply with federal safety laws by a manufacturer or distributor or other regulated party has caused the incident and its resulting consequences.
The failure of the NHTSA to police car makers does not limit the manufacturer’s legal duty of care and resulting legal liabilities for its breach. The federal safety standards can form the basis of a personal injury or wrongful death claim for justice under Indiana or Illinois law.
Deadly car crashes happen far too often on our roads today. Please be careful out there!
