Yes, you heard it right. A Senate subcommitte will hold a third meeting coming week to discuss possible reforms for vehicle manufacturers with federal regulators. The hearing will be held by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. Sen. McCaskill has has been involved in hearings with the negligence shown by General Motors involving defective ignition switch that potentially disables the airbags in the event of vehicle accidents.
Performance of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA will also be evaluated including implementation and enforcement of highway and vehicle safety laws to explore possible reforms. NHTSA could be questioned for not ordering a closer look at GM airbag nondeployments issue with the defective ignition switch – despite many consumer complaints.
Senators would be focusing on if regulators should be given more power to spot and react to potential safety defects. A legislation has already been in place that would enable NHTSA’s funding for vehicle safety double over 6 years. Also, more importantly, the current cap of $35-million on civil penalties against automakers for vehicle safety violation could be avoided.
The automakers could be held accountable with greater latitude in pursuing criminal charges against automakers as well as certain violations of the federal motor vehicle safety code. If the automakers knowingly causes someone’s death, then the automakers could carry a penalty of up to life in prison.
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Vehicle Safety Attorney, E. Todd Tracy has tried 124 cases against GMC, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, Honda, Mitsubishi, Ferrari, TRW, Key Safety, Allied Signal, Breed, Takata, JCI, and Dorel Juvenile Group.
Mr. Tracy strongly suggests that if you have been injured or had a loved one killed in vehicle accidents, and you think it could be related to the vehicle defects and the negligence of automakers, to contact his law firm and discuss it with one of the attorneys or staff members.
Source: Detroit Free Press, The TRACY Firm | Sept 10th 2014
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