Another Agency Needs More Money

 

Wall Street Strategies submits:By Charles PayneStop me if you've heard this before... a government agency apparently comes up short in meeting their responsibilities and the knee-jerk reaction is more money and more authority. The latest is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), currently headed by David Strickland, who is voicing a need for more authority. This call for more power comes as Congress is taking a closer look into the agency's role in the Toyota (TM) recall fiasco. Without a doubt new rules are coming for automakers, including making so-called black boxes to store crash data mandatory as well as braking systems that override the gas pedal. In the meantime, former NHTSA administrator Joan Claybrook testified the agency has been "viewed by the motor vehicle industry for years as a lapdog, not watchdog." If this sounds familiar it's because we heard these sorts of comments in the aftermath of Bernie Madoff and the stock market meltdown.Complete Story »

Related

  • A top US automotive safety official flatly rejected charges Thursday that his agency had bungled its handling of deadly Toyota defects or acted as "a lapdog" to the Japanese auto giant.National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) chief David Strickland also told lawmakers that Toyota was "unique" in requiring that executives in Japan sign off on any recalls of vehicles sold in the United States.

  • Transportation secretary Ray LaHood and David Strickland, head of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, will face a Congressional panel Wednesday looking into the agency's handling of safety issues with Toyota cars including unintended acceleration.

  • The agency investigated sudden acceleration reports but didn't find enough evidence to force a recall, Administrator David Strickland tells a House subcommittee. Rebuffing criticism of slow action and underfunded efforts, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said his agency acted properly in investigating complaints about sudden acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles and has enough money and staff to oversee the auto industry.

  • AP - NHTSA'S ROLE: Congress is looking into whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did enough to hold Toyota accountable during its huge safety recalls.

  • A trade group representing Detroit automakers and Toyota Motor Corp. plans to pledge support for requiring brake override systems and vehicle "black boxes" on all new vehicles as Congress develops new safety improvements following Toyota's large recalls.

  • AP - A trade group representing Detroit automakers and Toyota Motor Corp. plans to pledge support for requiring brake override systems and vehicle "black boxes" on all new vehicles as Congress develops new safety improvements following Toyota's large recalls.

  • WASHINGTON (AP) -- A trade group representing Detroit automakers and Toyota Motor Corp. plans to pledge support for requiring brake override systems and vehicle "black boxes" on all new vehicles as Congress develops new safety improvements following Toyota's large recalls....

  • With the safety agency chief due to testify before a Senate panel for the first time Tuesday, Rockefeller places blame on Toyota while also criticizing 'deeply troubling' lapses by NHTSA. A key senator slammed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday for not identifying serious safety problems with Toyota vehicles earlier and promised to work toward improving the agency's response in the future.

 
DJI: 10467.16 -0.29% |S&P 500: 1101.53 -0.42% |FTSE: 5313.95 -0.11% |Nikk.: 9696.02 0% |DAX: 6134.70 -0.72% |HSI: 21093.82 0% |
FX: EUR/GBP: 1.1938 | USD/EUR: 1.3076 | JPY/USD: 86.895 | Commodities: Gold: 1168.05 | Crude - CLH09.NYM: 0.00 |