Auto un-safety

By: Josh Leach

The public is beginning to doubt how much the auto industry values safety.  Recalls of dangerously dysfunctional car parts have become increasingly common.  Americans are getting concerned and asking for more safety testing before cars hit the streets.

The public is worried about car defects.  After all, there have been a lot of them in recent years.  CBS News says, “General Motors (GM) is recalling 92,221 full-size trucks and SUVs for a defect in ignition lock systems that can cause safety problems in hot conditions.”  Mark Rosekind, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said, “Ignition switches last year contributed to an increase in the number of consumers with car safety concerns.” According to Patrick Rucker and Ben Klayman, critics of the auto industry, “He singled out General Motors for criticism of its handling of a flaw in the design of millions of ignition switches which can inadvertently turn off the engine and deactivate air bags while the vehicle is still moving.  That flaw has been blamed for at least 42 deaths.”  Recalls are a bigger deal for the auto industry than other industries because car defects are far more likely to have lethal consequences.

The auto industry has also been accused of insufficiently reporting potentially hazardous defects.  Chris Isidore, a journalist for CNN, said, “Honda failed to report 1,729 accidents that caused deaths or serious injuries to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  The Japanese automaker had already admitted its failure to file the reports, which it attributed to data and computer programming errors. But regulators said those errors did not excuse Honda from reporting the accident data.  Anthony Foxx, the Transportation Secretary, said, “Honda and all of the automakers have a safety responsibility they must live up to -- no excuses.”  Lives could have been saved if Honda had reported this defect sooner.  

Some people are calling for an increase in the federal regulation of the auto industry.  Automotive News, a magazine devoted to sharing news about the auto industry, believes, “Auto-regulating agencies need to do more to protect consumers.  A top 2015 priority for the entire industry must be overhauling the broken auto recall system. The goal should be to identify and fix vehicles with the most urgent safety problems.”  Josh Kurosz, a senior at Seckman High School, says, “These companies have proven their inability to regulate themselves.  However, supporters of low regulation strongly disagree.  Brian McTuige, another senior, says, “Regulation always hurts the economy.  These companies do fine on their own.  Government action is not needed.”  

Supporters of more federal regulation think the rise in auto recalls proves this point.  These people want more extensive safety tests done according to a standardized procedure.  They also want auto companies to receive disciplinary action for not reporting defects soon enough.  Is more federal regulation the answer to keeping people safe?