Did NHTSA’s Support for Electric Vehicles Jeopardize the Safety of American Drivers?

Throughout California and the rest of the United States, companies have an obligation to ensure their products are free from defects that could cause personal injury, explains a California personal injury lawyer. Government regulatory agencies exist to help ensure companies live up to these obligations. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was created to ensure the safety of automobiles sold in America. Any bias the agency demonstrates for a particular carmaker would be a conflict of interest, especially if such favoritism jeopardizes the safety of consumers. Unfortunately, this may have recently been the case.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Reports

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was established by the Highway Safety Act of 1970 and vested with the responsibility for directing highway safety and consumer programs. The agency enforces performance standards for motor vehicles, investigates safety defects, informs consumers of product recalls, and has the authority to require car makers to make changes, to issue a recall, or to stop selling vehicles.

Recently, however, allegations have surfaced suggesting that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration delayed releasing information about potential danger from exploding Chevy volt batteries. Relying largely on reports from car companies and consumers to determine when a product defect occurs, the agency only conducts their own front and side crash testing. One such test they conducted as part of their New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) was on a Chevy Volt. Unfortunately, the Volt burst into flames three weeks after the June crash test while being stored in a government storage facility.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not, however, release news of the explosion to the public. In fact, the story did not come out until more than five months after the fire occurred, and, when news of the fire was reported, a CNN Money.com article indicates that the agency called it an isolated incident that was unable to be replicated. At the time, the agency released a statement published in The New York Times emphasizing the promise shown by electric cars and affirming the safety of the vehicles, declaring that “Based on the available data, N.H.T.S.A. does not believe the Volt or other electric vehicles are at a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles."

The Controversy Over the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Actions

While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration initially indicated that the fire was an isolated incident, additional evidence began to surface that suggested this statement was not entirely accurate. On November 26, for example, a story in the Detroit Free Press conveyed that two of three recent crash tests performed by the NHSTA indicated that there might be a fire risk. In the two crash tests in question, one battery actually caught fire while another began smoking and sparking.

Even as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began a more in depth investigation of the Volts based on the crash test results, the agency appeared to maintain its support of the vehicle, releasing a statement making clear that the "NHTSA continues to believe that electric vehicles have incredible potential to save consumers money at the pump, help protect the environment, create jobs and strengthen national security by reducing our dependence on oil."

Because of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s delay in releasing information about the Volt, the lack of documentation for original tests that allegedly were unable to replicate the fires, the use of an inexperienced mechanical engineer to evaluate the Volt, and the President and current administration's strong support of electric vehicles, many—including Safety Research & Strategies, Inc—question whether the agency acted properly in handling the Chevy Volt matter, explains a lawyer.

Given that it is the responsibility of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ensure the safety of motor vehicles entering markets in California and throughout the country, failing to disclose defects in the Volt that have the potential to cause personal injury to consumers should be considered an egregious offence by the federal government.