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Attorneys of Record for
Taras Kick
C. Tab Turner
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Opinion
SAFETYFORUM.COM: Send email to your U.S. House Representative
SEPT 26 -- Between now and October 6, when your Senators and Representatives leave Washington to stump for re-election, they'll probably have an opportunity to vote on what may be the most important vehicle safety legislation the Congress has considered since 1966, when it established the federal vehicle safety program.
There were attempts to add criminal sanctions to the law when it was first adopted, but the reasoning prevailed that the Congress was "not dealing with mobsters," as Sen. John Pastore (D-RI) put it. That's true. J. Edgar Hoover never had to track down a mobster known to have killed more than 100 people and cripple countless others. Decisions at Ford and Firestone that led to the lethal combination of Ford's top heavy Explorer and Firestone's ill-designed and poorly slapped together tires may, unfortunately, not rise to the level of criminality. However, it should be a criminal act to decide not to take action--other than cover-up--when lawsuits poured in from an epidemic of injury and death when Firestone tires failed and Ford Explorers rolled over.
Right now, with elections only days away, members of Congress before TV cameras have been acting like consumer advocates. But now they are going to be voting on legislation that must be strong enough to prevent this tragedy from happening again. It's your job to make sure that they do more than talk about their new-found advocacy before they come home to ask for your vote. It's your job to tell them not to ask for your vote in November unless they give NHTSA the tools it needs to do its job, including criminal sanctions.
The automakers' Gucci lobby is pulling out all the stops to defeat this legislation. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, automakers and other special interests don't want to be held accountable for the decisions they make--and cover up--that hurt people. If your representatives don't hear from you, they'll do the bidding of those they do hear from.
We'll make it easy for you to let your Senators and Congressman know that you want them to hold the manufacturers' feet to the fire. It will only take a moment. Just Click here to find the e-mail addresses of your representatives. Trust me. They read their mail.
The Senate bill (S 3059) has been reported out of committee and could be voted on as early as September 28. Representative Tauzin's committee in the House is scheduled to consider its version September 27.
Public Citizen has drawn up a list of provisions that should be in the final legislation and signed into law before members of Congress leave and ask citizens to vote them back into office. When the House bill is released tomorrow, we'll let you know what it says. Block it, copy it, and tell your representatives that you want legislation that will:
1. Increase civil penalties from the current $925,000 maximum for refusal to recall a defective part or vehicle; false certification for compliance with safety standards; or withholding information. There should be no ceiling on penalties. [The Senate bill (S 3059) has a $15 million ceiling.]
2. Add criminal penalties for corporate officials, including up to a 10-year prison sentence, for failure to recall a defective vehicle or part, or withholding information that results in death or injury. [The Senate bill covers only failure to recall if the official knew of the defect at the time of introduction into commerce.]
3. Increase penalties per vehicle from $1,000 to $10,000 as at EPA. The Senate bill allows a penalty of only $5,000 per vehicle, as well as $5,000 per day for withholding information. [Currently, penalties are levied "per document" regardless of how long they are withheld.]
4. Allow DOT to impose penalties through an administrative law judge within DOT without having to go to court to collect the money. This is what most agencies do. [This was eliminated from the Senate committee bill.]
5. Allow DOT to require recall of defective car or equipment up to ten years after manufacture [now eight years] and up to five years for tires [now three years].
6. Require manufactures to keep records and report to the DOT information about warranty/adjustment data, claims information, deaths, injuries, fires, lawsuits, component or system failures, consumer complaints etc.
7. Require manufacturers to test and evaluate their products for compliance with federal safety standards before they certify them for compliance. [This was eliminated from the Senate committee bill.]
8. Require manufacturers to test and evaluate their products for compliance with deferral safety standards before they certify them for compliance. [This was eliminated from the Senate committee bill.]
9. Require used car dealers to inform purchasers of a safety defect or to fix it first. [This was eliminated from the Senate committee bill.]
10. Requires owners or operators of school buses or commercial passenger carrying vehicles to not operate them until a noncompliance or defect is fixed.
11. Require DOT to issue a new, upgraded tire safety standard by June 30, 2002. [This standard has not been updated since it was issued in 1968 for cars or 1973 for light trucks and SUVs.]
12. Require DOT to issue a dynamic roof crush rule by 2002. The current 20-year-old standard is merely a static measure. [This is not in the Senate bill.]
13. Require DOT to enact a rollover prevention standard for vehicles by 2002. [This is not in the Senate bill.] Send email to your U.S. House Representative (09/26/00)
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