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If the account introduced by Barbara Boxer passes, the revolving door between the NHTSA and automakers will be slammed shut. This account aims to fix an issue that the Toyota recall fiasco brought to light. After leaving the NHTSA, some employees would be required to take three years before working in some jobs for automakers. Though the law has been introduced, the likelihood that it will pass both the House and Senate and be signed by the President in the next few weeks is fairly low.
Former NHTSA officials working for Toyota
During the Senate hearings about the Toyota recall, the role of former NHTSA employees came to light. Former employees of the NHTSA were recruited by Toyota to negotiate with the agency. Because these employees had inside knowledge, they were able to negotiate smaller-scale recalls — or talk their way out of any recall at all. This standard practice with vehicle makers raises serious ethical issues.
Required three-year cooling-off period
Barbara Boxer’s account would require anyone who leaves the NHTSA to wait three years before working for automakers. This rule would apply to only “high level” NHTSA jobs and “direct communication” jobs with automakers. The rule doesn’t apply if the NHTSA employee did not work with recalls. The rule also does not apply if the automaker job doesn’t require “direct communication with the NHTSA”.
Department of Transportation due to investigate NHTSA
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced in February that they would be investigating the NHTSA. The NHTSA has been singled out as an understaffed and under-equipped agency. The NHTSA is responsible for the safety testing of 254 million passenger vehicles – and does so with only 125 engineers. In short, the responsibilities of the NHTSA are far too large for their small staff. The NHTSA is also due to get more enforcement power if the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010 passes the House and Senate.
Article Resources
LA Times
Washington Post
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