Two proposals for reforms to how the U.S. handles safety recalls and penalizes automakers are winding through a Senate committee.
A proposal backed by three Senate Democrats would make automakers include a recall warning light in the dashboard of new cars to notify owners of a safety recall and lift the cap on delayed recall fines and more. A less-aggressive proposal put forward by Republicans would require dealers to notify owners if their cars have been recalled, something most automakers already do but aren't required by law.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 25 percent of recalls are never completed.
The Democrat-backed bill may not have life beyond headlines, however. Included in the bill were sweeping proposals to empower NHTSA to expedite recalls, charge and prosecute auto executives for fatal safety flaws and grant NHTSA special investigative powers, according to the Detroit News.
The larger proposal would also require new- and used-car dealers to apply all recalls to vehicles before they're sold. Currently, dealers are only required to perform recall fixes on cars that haven't been sold yet.
Some of the measures may have legs beyond the bill's demise, however. The Democrat proposal includes making mandatory crash avoidance systems and allow NHTSA to investigate people who hack vehicle electronics that could "endanger public safety."
The Democrat proposal also lifts the 10-year cap on automakers' responsibilities to pay for or fix defects in their cars. The Republican proposal doesn't lift that cap.
The recall reforms are partly due to extremely public, and extremely embarrassing, recall issues with General Motors and airbag maker Takata.
The post Senate Bill Proposes Recall Warning Light on Your Dash appeared first on The Truth About Cars.
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