Car Safety Groups Challenge NHTSA

A quintet of automotive safety groups accused the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of becoming a “toothless tiger” that was unwilling to properly perform its enforcement role in automotive safety investigations.

Led by the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety, the group complained to NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey Runge that his agency recently stopped publishing its monthly list of “defect investigations,” which told consumers about car and truck models that were being investigated and for what reasons.

NHTSA still orders vehicle recalls, but the group wants the investigation list reinstituted.

-- John O’Dell