Report: NHTSA chief looking to augment safety arm's powers
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/government-legal/" rel="tag">Government/Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/recalls-tsbs/" rel="tag">Recalls</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/safety/" rel="tag">Safety</a></p><a href="http://detnews.com/article/20100520/AUTO01/5200348/1148/rss25"><img vspace="4" hspace="0" border="1" align="right" alt="" class="right border" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/05/strickland-250.jpg" /></a>Thanks to the barrage of <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/make/toyota/">Toyota</a> recalls in recent months, the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/18/nhtsa-reportedly-investigating-c5-corvette-over-leaky-fuel-tanks/">National Highway Transportation Safety Administration</a> has its eyes on more power. According to <em>The Detroit News</em>, David Strickland (pictured), who heads up the government safety agency, recently met with the Senate Commerce Committee to discuss his agency's need for the ability to order immediate recalls, halt production or stop the importation of vehicles that pose an imminent and significant safety risk. The House of Representatives has already drafted a bill that would give NHTSA those powers. Meanwhile, the Senate has created a new auto safety bill that Strickland believes falls short of giving his agency the power it needs.<br />
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Even if Congress awards <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/03/ruh-roh-nhtsa-investigating-2007-dodge-caliber-for-sticky-pedal/">NHTSA</a> a greater reach, the majority of recalls would still fall squarely on automaker shoulders. The move would simply allow the government to respond more quickly if a manufacturer drags its heels during the recall process.<br />
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[Source: <a href="http://detnews.com/article/20100520/AUTO01/5200348/1148/rss25">The Detroit News</a>]<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/20/report-nhtsa-chief-looking-to-augment-safety-arms-powers/">Report: NHTSA chief looking to augment safety arm's powers</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Thu, 20 May 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/20/report-nhtsa-chief-looking-to-augment-safety-arms-powers/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19484898/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2010/05/20/report-nhtsa-chief-looking-to-augment-safety-arms-powers/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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