Agency Oversees U.S. Fuel Rules, Auto Safety Programs
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was born 30 years ago in the burst of regulatory activism that also created the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
NHTSA is not large as federal agencies go. With 600 employees and an annual budget of about $375 million, it administers the nationwide fuel economy standards and three major vehicle safety programs.
One of these seeks to reduce vehicle injuries and deaths by raising the safety consciousness of drivers. Toward that end, about 60% of NHTSA’s budget is passed along to the states to use in enforcing drunken-driving and seat-belt laws and similar efforts.
NHTSA also writes and enforces minimum vehicle safety standards, covering such issues as crashworthiness of bumpers and strength of door latches and seat belts.
In the third area, NHTSA investigates safety defects in cars, trucks and vans, and monitors recalls. The Office of Defects Investigation is a relatively spare operation, with an $8-million budget and a staff of fewer than 50. Among them are about 20 safety investigators, who handle about 100 defect investigations a year.
Most recalls are voluntarily performed by manufacturers without pressure or significant involvement by NHTSA. Such recall campaigns often are small and include new vehicles that have not yet left the factory or are still on dealers’ lots.
Most of the bigger, more expensive and controversial recalls are, in the argot of the agency, “influenced” by NHTSA. That is, they often result from discussions between the agency and auto makers, and have the effect of bringing defect investigations to a close. In NHTSA’s history there have been only a few mandatory motor vehicle recalls in which the agency went to court to force a manufacturer to make repairs.
Over the years, NHTSA programs have contributed to a significant reduction in highway deaths and injuries. The annual highway death toll, which peaked at more than 50,000 during the 1970s, dropped to about 42,000 in recent years despite an increase in miles driven.
