WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) today responded to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s announcement that it will fine Honda for failing to report deaths, injuries, and certain warranty claims to the federal government in violation of the TREAD Act. Upton was the author of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (or TREAD) Act, which established the Early Warning Reporting System to help improve driver safety by enhancing the federal government’s ability to identify and protect against auto safety defects.
“It’s time to slam the brakes on shoddy reporting. I wrote the law to save lives, to get the right information to regulators so they could help improve safety. But we can’t save lives and prevent accidents unless the manufacturers and NHTSA both do their part. Reporting the bare minimum doesn’t cut it, and can often have fatal consequences. It’s unacceptable when companies like Honda are more concerned with determining how little they can report, rather than how quickly they can pinpoint and fix a problem. GM has taken action to acknowledge and fix its failures, and we need others to step up and make safety a priority," said Upton. “I am hopeful today’s action and these fines will send a signal to manufacturers, but NHTSA also needs to be doing everything possible to ensure the process is working as Congress intended and this pattern of negligence is not repeated. We will continue our work in this new Congress to hold NHTSA and the manufacturers accountable for their responsibilities in keeping drivers safe behind the wheel."
In a December hearing examining the Takata air bag recalls, Chairman Upton pressed NHTSA to take action to ensure manufacturers are not underreporting.
