Government Acency in Charge of Recalls Has Staff of 51
Would you believe the U.S. agency responsible for finding and investigating car defects only has 51 employees?
In light of recent events surrounding the massive General Motors recall that affected 1.6-million vehicles and has been linked to 12 deaths, the spotlight is being shined not just on the American automaker, but those responsible for finding those defects. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defect Investigations has seen its worker count decrease from 64 in 2002 to just 51 currently. In addition, its budget has been set to about $10 million annually since 2005.
SEE ALSO: GM Automatic Transmission Recall Hits 9 Nameplates
Safety advocates are arguing that there aren’t enough resources to keep up with data and detect patterns, especially as the number of registered vehicles in the U.S. has grown to 248 million. That means there is only one NHTSA staff member for every 4.86 million registered vehicles. A spokesman for NHTSA, Nathan Naylor, defended the agency’s efforts stating that 929 recalls involving over 55-million vehicles have occurred in the past seven years. In addition, vehicle-related fatalities are at an all-time low, though some would argue that is attributed to advanced safety technologies.
[Source: Bloomberg]
Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
More by Jason Siu
Comments
Join the conversation