DOT & NHTSA Government Weak Link On Toyota Recall Deal
By Donald Griffith on March 5, 2010, 6:30 amThe Toyota (NYSE:TM) acceleration/braking debacle weakly implicate more than a failure by the manufacturer to ensure safety of its product. The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an arm of the DOT, may have also swung and missed to keep the consumer safe.
Did Government Apply Its Brakes In Time
Although government agencies had determined that there were intermittent acceleration problems with Toyota vehicles in 2007, they failed to realize the potential devastation, and may have put reported problems on a back burner that otherwise might have led to immediate recall. Because the specific identifier of the problem could not be easily determined, the question is whether government agencies waited too long to take a firm stand with the automaker.
Where Was Enforcement
The NHTSA is quick to point out that Toyotas dragged its feet when confronted with the safety issues, but pointing out the problems and asking them to do something about them is only part of the job of government agencies that oversee safety issues. If Toyota refused to comply, why didn’t the DOT and the NHTSA pressure them into an immediate recall until the source of the problem could be determined?
Investigation Continues
The probe will be long and arduous to determine how much liability lies with the DOT and the NHTSA. State Farm Insurance reported Camry acceleration problems in 2007 and the investigation of these reports and others will continue, possibly revealing that federal regulators have not done all they might have to avert the tragedies. It will also raise issues as to whether new legislation needs to be passed to ensure that braking systems override any acceleration problems that may cause these accidents. There is never a single party solely to blame for any catastrophic problem, and the Toyota issue is no exception to this rule.
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i had a 97 toyota camry which my son bought me. i took good care of it, had the oil changed regularly, tires rotated, winterized etc. In 08 i went to the cemetary with my son after going to the graves we got back in the car. i backed up and heard the right rear tire accelerate. it went about 60 miles an hour backwards until a headstone stopped me, but the car was still running. I called Toyota and they told me it was not the year. one year later, my sister in law and i pulled into a parking lot shaped like a v the right tire went over a small curb and started to accelerate. We were thrown into traffic on the other side, we spun around twice, hit a buick and hit a handicapped van. i couldn’t have picked up that much power only going 50 ft. Yet Toyota claims that was not the year. On nightline, i found a man spent 8 years of his life behind bars because they wouldnt come clean. The judge finally let him out, he said it was the car, and the judge finally believed him. He was coming home from church with his pregnant wife in the car and he smashed into a car full of people. He was going about 60 or 70 miles and hour and had no control over the car. I see their ads now the one about Peace of Mind with the Hippes sitting in the trunk, if it wasnt so ludicrous i’d have to laugh. Again the get away with it.