The House Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), outlined the findings of its investigation related to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) role in the delay of the General Motors (GM) ignition switch recall in a report released on Tuesday.
The report identified a number of key failures and missed opportunities by the nation’s automobile safety regulator in analyzing and responding to data and information provided to the agency, which contributed to NHTSA’s inability to identify the safety defect for more than a decade.
“It is tragic that the evidence was staring NHTSA in the face and the agency didn’t identify the warnings. NHTSA exists not just to process what the company finds, but to dig deeper. They failed,” Upton said.
The committee opened an investigation into the actions of both GM and NHTSA following the initial recall of certain Chevrolet Cobalt models due to an ignition switch defect that could cause the ignition to inadvertently move from the “run” mode and may prevent air bags from deploying in affected vehicles.
The committee’s investigation, along with GM’s internal investigation, also revealed a series of failures by the company, which contributed to injuries and the loss of life.