Automakers and congressional lawmakers have reached a series of compromises over pending auto safety legislation, which seeks to give automakers more time to implement safety features while also hiking up the fines for safety violations.
The proposed legislation, known as the Motor Safety Vehicle Act of 2010, aims to overhaul automotive safety standards and provide significant regulatory power to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The legislation was inspired by the massive recalls of Toyota vehicles and charges of serious regulatory lapses.
Consumer safety advocates argue corporate lobbying has watered down the bill, eliminating or extending deadlines for new safety standards and giving the transportation secretary discretion to set rules that were mandatory in earlier drafts of the legislation.
On Tuesday, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers expressed some disappointment at the legislation. The $300 million maximum civil penalty for safety violations is too high, and the legislative language places too much blame on automakers, they said.
“We can’t prevent a shoe from going under a pedal. We can’t prevent people from putting in more than one floor mat,” Gloria Bergquist, spokeswoman for the alliance told the Washington Post. “Prevention becomes a very steep hill to climb.”
Read the Washington Post story.
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