Draft Safety Legislation: $3-$9 New Car Sale Fee, Unlimited Defect Fines, Mandatory Pedal Distances, More
The Detroit Free Press got its hands on draft auto safety legislation drawn up by Senators Waxman and Rockefeller, and aimed at preventing another Toyota recall-style scandal. In addition to mandating brake override systems on all cars sold in the US, The Freep says the bill would require that
[NHTSA] come up with rules for space between the brake and accelerator pedals, gear shift designs and stop-start systems – all problems highlighted by the Toyota probe. Automakers would be required to build vehicles with event data recorders that could be easily read, a step Detroit automakers made several years ago but that Toyota and other foreign brands have resisted.
Despite the Freep’s attempt at making the bill sound like it’s only going to affect Toyota and other non-Detroit automakers, there is plenty in the proposed legislation that could hurt any automaker.
NHTSA also could fine manufacturers for withholding information from the agency, with fines of $50,000 per day up to $250 million
Under this system, the Toyota recall delay could have earned Toyota a fine of $57.5b… or more. It’s too bad Senators Waxman and Rockefeller hadn’t thought of this earlier, or Toyota could have just paid off most of the cost of GM’s bailout. As it is, an American firm is just as likely as any other to be caught in the next safety scandal. And if this measure passes, the stakes will be high enough that the next big scandal could just put its perpetrator out of business.
But the hits just keep coming:
Under the version proposed by Waxman, the U.S. Department of Transportation would have the power to collect a per-vehicle fee to fund NHTSA of $3 per vehicle, rising to $9 in its third year. The fee could not replace NHTSA’s current vehicle safety budget.
And there’s more from The AP on Waxman’s version of the bill, which:
would require a U.S. auto executive to certify the accuracy of information submitted to NHTSA in response to a government investigation. Any executive who provided false information could face up to $250 million in fines.
Waxmans version would also:
allow NHTSA to order an immediate recall if it finds an “imminent hazard of death or serious injury.”
More details as they become available. Meanwhile, Waxman is said to be holding a hearing next week on the legislation.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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FWIW, the _manual_ transmission gear shift pattern has not been standardized either. The best examples can be seen with the Chevrolet Camaro and Cadillac CTS. Reverse is located at the top left on six-cylinder cars, and on the top right for 8-cylinder cars.
Automatic transmission quadrants WERE "standardized" worldwide in the sense that they had to be legible for drivers, and "reverse" could not be next to any forward drive gear positions. Prior to 1965, if you look at cars, you'll note that there were push-buttons on lots of Chrysler products and Ramblers, too, as well as some 1956 Packards and Clippers. Plenty of cars, including GM and Studebaker, had selector quadrants with Park-Neutral-Drive-Low-Reverse. These weren't actually "outlawed" on January 1, 1965; but it was made known that no cars would be purchased by any government agencies if they didn't meet 'standards'. Note also that Chrysler products no longer had push-button automatics after the 1964 model-year. As for manual shifts, there are tell-tales on all shifter knobs or near the shifters, indicating the layout of the gears. It beggars belief that we have come to the point where some people believe that human beings are too stupid to be able to look, comprehend and understand simple driving layout variations. Have we become that stupid? Perhaps, looking at the way people now drive of late*, they're right, sadly. * I was tail-gated so badly this morning in my classic car, that I was ready to pull over and call the police. Then it dawned on me - they wouldn't do a thing about it, anyway. So, I simply drove 45 mph in the 55 zone, hoping the knuckle-dragging, sub-moronic imbecile would actually decide to go around. Nope. So I eased up to the speed limit and found a spot to safely overtake the clapped out pickup in front of me, then managed to get away from the situation nicely. BMW's can "git & scoot".