Contact:	Bob Redding (202) 543-1440 b.redding@worldnet.att.net
For Release:	Immediate News Bulletin 02.10 Jan. 23, 2002

Study Finds Federal Safety Agency Needs Improvement

Washington, D.C., Jan. 23, 2002 — In a recent internal study of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) safety defects notification department, conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general's office, the highway safety agency did not fair well.

According to the report, the Inspector General's Office found NHTSA has a “seriously flawed system of incomplete and inaccurate data in deciding whether to open an investigation. Several hundred were killed in the Bridgestone/Firestone tire incident before tires were recalled in August of 2000.”

The study was requested by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. According to the report, in September 2000 during a hearing on the Bridgestone/Firestone tire recall, the committee questioned the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) ability of handling early warning signs of product defects.

The study also stated concern about whether NHTSA will be able to implement a new law pertaining to the Bridgestone/Firestone tire recall. The report found that the agency “faces challenges in its ability to identify potential safety defects.”

NHTSA has agreed to develop a new defect analyzing system to better identify problems. According to NHTSA Administrator Jeffery W. Runge, “We believe the process currently used by the ODI to identify safety defects has worked well.”

The Inspector General's Office disagreed stating, “We strongly disagree with this statement. The Firestone tire incident and the case examples in our report clearly illustrate that ODI's process and procedures need major improvements.”

The study found NHTSA's reporting requirements had many errors. One error cited was the database that NHTSA uses was not updated when recalls or problems are reported and there is no follow-up process. There is also no requirement that a senior official be notified when a death occurs.

“This study continues to affirm NHTSA's lack of focus on vehicles once they have left the showroom. ASA's experience with NHTSA on replacement crash parts has been the same lack of focus and direction as found in this report,” stated Bob Redding ASA's Washington, D.C., representative.

Additionally, “This study is a positive one for consumers and the automotive repair industry because it seeks to improve NHTSA's ability to make the public aware of potential defects before they become a major issue, as with Firestone,” Redding said.

The Automotive Service Association is the largest not-for-profit trade association of its kind, serving more than 12,000 businesses and approximately 70,000 professionals from all segments of the automotive service industry. ASA's headquarters is in Bedford, Texas.

ASA advances professionalism and excellence in the automotive repair industry through education, representation and member services. Additional information about ASA, including past news releases, is available on the ASA Web Site on the Internet (http://www.asashop.org).