Law and Rights
After years of secrecy that was endorsed by the current administration in Washington DC, followed by lawsuits and Freedom of Information Act requests that wouldn't go away, federal safety investigators finally opened up their secret Early Warning Reporting data to the public.
Public Citizen, the consumer watchdog group, should be given a hearty thanks by all consumers because without their patient persistence it would never have happened.
The data was required to be compiled by vehicle manufacturers and turned over to federal safety investigators at NHTSA (the federal agency in charge of vehicle recalls) after Congress passed the 2000 Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation Act so that federal safety investigators would finally know what the manufacturers knew --- the defects that they were getting sued over. It was largely the result of the Firestone tire and Ford Explorer rollovers fiasco that caught federal safety investigators by surprise.
Opening up online, the searchable database finally gives consumers a chance to see what known defects are out there on cars and trucks so they can avoid buying used lemons. Unfortunately NHTSA is still withholding some critical info (such as the number of consumer complaints, the number of factory field reports, and data compiled on claims involving death and injury), but it's a start.
The value of the previously secret data is obvious when one realizes that it was instrumental in 84 federal safety investigations in the first 8 months of 2008 alone and nearly 30% of those were purely the result of the data alone with no other info even considered before starting the investigations. After all, it'd be nice to know if that shiney new car in the showroom is the same model that has already been sued over for ignition switch fires in half a dozen states (something you might have found out about the 12 million Fords that were recalled in staggered stages if the data had been made public in time, and 5 million of them have still never been fixed).
The purpose of the 2000 TREAD law was to raise public awareness about safety defects and improve public oversight of factory and NHTSA decisions on defects and recalls. While manufacturers have always been required to report some data to federal safety investigators, not all of the available data was being reported and most of the key data was being kept secret by NHTSA, mostly thanks to pressure from the manufacturers and some industry-friendly politicians.
Granted NHTSA is late to the party here, but at least they showed up. Now if they'd only go the whole distance and make public all of the data they get from the factories. Why? Because we, the public through our tax dollars, own that data and we are the bosses of NHTSA. We just need to get the industry-friendly politicians out of the way so the federal safety investigators at NHTSA know it.
Meanwhile, if you've got a lemon, don't put up with the runaround from anyone. Call or email us today so we can squash your lemon for you. We know where it came from. We know how to make them take it back. After all, that's what we do. Everyday.
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Law and Rights
Secret Early Warning Data Now Public
After years of secrecy that was endorsed by the current administration in Washington DC, followed by lawsuits and Freedom of Information Act requests that wouldn't go away, federal safety investigators finally opened up their secret Early Warning Reporting data to the public.
Public Citizen, the consumer watchdog group, should be given a hearty thanks by all consumers because without their patient persistence it would never have happened.
The data was required to be compiled by vehicle manufacturers and turned over to federal safety investigators at NHTSA (the federal agency in charge of vehicle recalls) after Congress passed the 2000 Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation Act so that federal safety investigators would finally know what the manufacturers knew --- the defects that they were getting sued over. It was largely the result of the Firestone tire and Ford Explorer rollovers fiasco that caught federal safety investigators by surprise.
Opening up online, the searchable database finally gives consumers a chance to see what known defects are out there on cars and trucks so they can avoid buying used lemons. Unfortunately NHTSA is still withholding some critical info (such as the number of consumer complaints, the number of factory field reports, and data compiled on claims involving death and injury), but it's a start.
The value of the previously secret data is obvious when one realizes that it was instrumental in 84 federal safety investigations in the first 8 months of 2008 alone and nearly 30% of those were purely the result of the data alone with no other info even considered before starting the investigations. After all, it'd be nice to know if that shiney new car in the showroom is the same model that has already been sued over for ignition switch fires in half a dozen states (something you might have found out about the 12 million Fords that were recalled in staggered stages if the data had been made public in time, and 5 million of them have still never been fixed).
The purpose of the 2000 TREAD law was to raise public awareness about safety defects and improve public oversight of factory and NHTSA decisions on defects and recalls. While manufacturers have always been required to report some data to federal safety investigators, not all of the available data was being reported and most of the key data was being kept secret by NHTSA, mostly thanks to pressure from the manufacturers and some industry-friendly politicians.
Granted NHTSA is late to the party here, but at least they showed up. Now if they'd only go the whole distance and make public all of the data they get from the factories. Why? Because we, the public through our tax dollars, own that data and we are the bosses of NHTSA. We just need to get the industry-friendly politicians out of the way so the federal safety investigators at NHTSA know it.
Meanwhile, if you've got a lemon, don't put up with the runaround from anyone. Call or email us today so we can squash your lemon for you. We know where it came from. We know how to make them take it back. After all, that's what we do. Everyday.
Burdge Law Office
www.NewCarLemonLaw.com
Helping Consumers Get Rid of Lemons Since 1978
Click here to see what your state's lemon law says.
Click here to find a lemon law lawyer near you.
www.NewCarLemonLaw.com
Helping Consumers Get Rid of Lemons Since 1978
Click here to see what your state's lemon law says.
Click here to find a lemon law lawyer near you.
Subscribe in a reader- Federal Safety Experts Investigating Ford Mustang
Pic by Michael Gil from FlickrSometimes complaints about a specific kind of defect in a vehicle cause us to issue an alert to our clients to watch out, and avoid, a developing defect problem. Today, it's the 2012 Ford Mustang. Turns out that federal...
- Federal Safety Investigators Hide Recall Again?
So what did federal safety investigators learn from the public spotlight's glare on their cozy relationship with Toyota? Apparently not much. On Jan. 22, 2010, CF MOTO, the US company that imports Chinese made motorcycles, reported to federal safety...
- Rusty Toyota's Being Investigated
Federal safety officials have told Toyota to cough up more info on the rusted frame problems in the 2000 Toyota Tundra truck and the 2001 Toyota Tundra pickup truck. Early stages of the federal safety investigation on the model?s rust problems apparently...
- Ford F150 Being Investigated
Federal safety investigators are checking out the '05 Ford F150 pickup truck because of consumer complaints of brake failure. The problem appears to be with the 5.4 liter V8 engine package for some reason, reports the National Highway Traffic Safety...
- How Recalls Happen
The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration is the federal agency responsible for investigating unsafe motor vehicles in the US. Often working quietly to investigate and analyze vehicle safety issues, their dedication to protecting the public often...