New York Times (August 9)
“It’s important that regulators develop security rules for cars, which are becoming computers on wheels.” In the U.S., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should “start writing basic security standards that require automakers to test the software and make sure a car’s wireless system cannot be used to control the engine and brakes. The agency’s regulations on airbags, seatbelts and crash testing have helped save countless lives. New rules for software that operate cars could prove just as important.”
Tags: Airbags, Automakers, Cars, NHTSA, Regulators, Seatbelts, Security, Software, U.S., Wireless
USA Today (May 22)
“Had Takata and NHTSA moved more quickly, they would have prevented deaths and injuries.” Finally in full motion, the biggest auto safety recall in U.S. history, involving 34 million Takata air bags, will still “take years—yes, years—before all the defective air bags are replaced.”
USA Today (November 9)
Instead of urgent action to remove defective air bags from vehicles, “air bag maker Takata and its biggest customer, Honda, conducted glacial, piecemeal recalls that have left drivers in jeopardy.” Why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn’t done more remains a mystery, though it’s clear why the other parties have dallied. “The problem might pose an existential threat” for Takata. “And for Honda, finding and replacing the faulty air bags—installed in many models for many years—imposes a massive cost.”
Forbes (July 22)
The media falsely created “the runaway-Toyota scare.” Fact checking is now showing there were very few actual cases of sudden acceleration. And most of these were caused by sliding floor mats or drivers mistakenly hitting the gas pedal. The media alarmed car buyers and Congress, reporting that anywhere from 52 to 93 crashes had been caused by sudden acceleration. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now believes only 5 deaths were linked to an acceleration defect.
