NHTSA Chief Tells Automakers Regulators 'Questioning Everything Now'

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The automotive industry can expect more intense scrutiny after a string of recalls and last week’s stunning admission by Volkswagen that it cheated its way to compliance with clean air standards, a top highway safety official said Tuesday.

Speaking with reporters after addressing the Automotive Industry Action Group conference in Novi, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator Mark Rosekind said regulators are “questioning everything now,” The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press are reporting.

“We’re questioning everything now. You have to question all assumptions,” Rosekind said. “You don’t have to say ‘was that a lie?’ You just have to challenge every assumption when information is provided.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday accused Volkswagen of intentionally circumventing smog-reduction standards and ordered the German automaker to recall about half a million diesel vehicles sold in the United States. On Tuesday, Volkswagen said the scandal was larger than previously believed, and more than 11 million vehicles were manipulated to emit lower levels of harmful emissions in testing than on roads.

The admission of guilt by Volkswagen came on the heels of a $900 million settlement with Detroit-based General Motors over the handling of ignition switch failures responsible for the deaths of more than 100 people.

Also on Patch

• General Motors Fined $900M for Faulty Ignition Switches
• 1.4 Million Vehicles Recalled; Hackers Could Take Over Steering
• EPA: Volkswagen Intentionally Violated Emissions Rules

Before that, Takata Corp. recalled millions of vehicles with faulty airbags, and Fiat Chrysler recalled 22 million trucks with faulty airbags and another 1.4 million that had a software vulnerability that could allow hackers to remotely break into some vehicles and take the control of steering wheels from afar.

“Every time we have an individual automaker, OEM or supplier that we find an issue, your first question has to be, ‘How extensive is it through the whole industry?’ You don’t know if it was a unique case or other people doing it,” he said.

Of the 14 settlements the EPA reached with automakers that are not complying with air-quality rules, several centered on Chinese-made all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles, Rosekind said. Though officially the domain of the EPA, Rosekind “there are some fuel efficiency aspects” and other safety elements his agency may be called on to investigate.

He said automakers and regulators need to adjust their thinking to be proactive instead of reactive.

“We feel, caution to the wind, we need to go after this full-board …,” Rosekind said. “We need to apply state-of-the-art to the auto industry now, and if we don’t do that, those vulnerabilities could be very dangerous.”

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Photo via Wikimedia/Creative Commons