WASHINGTON — The Senate Commerce Committee looking into the massive Toyota recalls has taken a new tack. Now it wants a tougher review of whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is too close to the auto industry to look deeply into whether possible electronic defects are present in Toyota vehicles.
While Toyota boss Akio Toyoda was on the hot seat during the congressional hearings on Wednesday, the Senate committee, which will begin Toyota hearings on March 2, sent a letter to the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Transportation. The letter asks for an expanded audit of NHTSA to investigate "industry-wide complaints or reports collected by NHTSA regarding sudden unintended acceleration and brake failure in automobiles with electronic throttle and braking control systems."
"Recent reports indicate that NHTSA may have internal deficiencies in investigating certain safety defects, and even worse, the potential to be excessively influenced by the industry they are supposed to oversee on the public's behalf," said the letter, which was signed by Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-West Virginia) chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas), chairman of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance.
During testimony on Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood insisted that there is not a "cozy relationship" between NHTSA and the auto industry.
The audit should encompass "the so-called revolving door of employees between the agency and the industry it is supposed to oversee," the letter said. During Toyota recall testimony, lawmakers expressed anger that Toyota has hired former NHTSA employees, something that they said is not done by the domestic automakers.
Among other things, the expanded audit needs to look at "whether NHTSA officials excluded relevant data from its investigations and reports" and "whether NHTSA officials ignored internal data in favor of data provided by automobile manufacturers."
Inside Line says: We should know more about NHTSA and its relationship with Toyota, courtesy of the expanded audit. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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debbaranko says:
11:03 PM, 02/28/2010
We, as Americans, should be appalled at the hearigs in Washington this week. I have never seen so much butt kissing from a congressional panel at anyone, the way I saw it twords that moron Toyoda and his flunky Imaba. I saw no remorse at all. What's worse is that he goes and cries his eyes out in Kentucky at the Toyota plant in front of the workers there. I dont know what it more embarassing; American represenitives in Congress admitting they own Japanese cars and the softball questions, or Toyoda crying in front of factory workers building those death traps.
rbsrt says:
05:24 PM, 02/26/2010
Why don't you look into how many former NHTSA employees who are currently employed by Toyota.
tbone85 says:
03:56 PM, 02/25/2010
If this can somehow lessen the power of lobbyists and lead to the undoing of the damage done by the Supremes in the campaign contribution case there will at least be some blessing from this entire mess. Toyota will have a far easier time recovering than our system will have reforming. In some respects, I think Toyota followed the traditional plan of lobbying and cozying and became better at it than the domestics. I think that is where their timing may turn out to be bad.
felonious says:
01:41 PM, 02/25/2010
Somehow, the firestorm surrounding Toyota and the NHTSA makes me feel that the poor CHP officer and his family did not die in vain. Hopefully some good changes will come out of all this.
mikedrud says:
01:33 PM, 02/25/2010
atenza: and let's remember the former NHTSA officials who were hired by Toyota to help lobby the NHTSA about possible defects. Could be some ugly revelations yet on this story.
atenza94546 says:
01:16 PM, 02/25/2010
When will FBI start looking into all related personnel from NHTSA in regards to all the recall from the auto industries. Especially the recent Toyota reall. I think the full investagation means to look at all related parties.
Let start with Lahood's donation for his campaign in the past.
Still haven't answer how come NHTSA didn't find anything few years back. And one University can all of the sudden spend 3 1/2 hours and found Toyota electronic system have problem.
God bless American !!!