releases: http://cartwright.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/cartwright-introduces-legislation-to-protect-consumers-from-faulty
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://cartwright.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/cartwright-introduces-legislation-to-protect-consumers-from-faulty | Cartwright Introduces Legislation to Protect Consumers from Faulty Automobiles and Equipment | 2014-12-11 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Democrat | House | PA | Matt Cartwright | C001090 | cartwright.house.gov | legacy | Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright introduced the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act of 2014. U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has introduced similar legislation in the Senate. The legislation would require automobile and equipment manufacturers to automatically submit the accident report or other documents that first alerted them to a fatality involving their vehicle or equipment to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Early Warning Reporting database. “While the NHTSA is responsible for overseeing the safety of our roadways, they do not always have the information they need to protect the public, and have at times failed to actively investigate car defects,” said Rep. Cartwright. “The recent GM Cobalt and Saturn Ion recalls related to an ignition switch defect the company knew about for at least ten years highlights the need for companies to provide more information about accidents involving fatalities to the NHTSA.” The issue hits home for northeastern Pennsylvania; in January 2010, Kelly Ruddy of Scranton was only 21 years old when she lost her life in a deadly crash on Interstate 81. Kelly was driving north near the Bear Creek exit when she lost control of her 2005 Chevy Cobalt. Ruddy’s parents, fought the vehicle manufacturer, General Motors, for four years and finally GM settled with them for their daughter`s death. General Motors is now admitting that a faulty ignition switch is responsible for numerous crashes and deaths across the nation, and the company recalled 2.6 million vehicles, including 2005 Cobalts, earlier this year. The CDC estimates that in 2011, more than 2.6 million drivers and passengers were treated in emergency rooms as a result of being injured in motor vehicle crashed. In 2010, motor vehicle related injuries cost the states and our nation an estimated $99 billion in lifetime medical care and lost productivity. Tragically, close to 34,000 people died in motor vehicle traffic incidents in 2012. To address this critical issue, the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act of 2014 would: Require automobile and equipment manufacturers to automatically submit the accident report or other documents that first alerted them to a fatality involving their vehicle or equipment to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting database. NHTSA is then required to automatically make those documents public unless they are exempted from public disclosure under FOIA. Require NHTSA to consider Early Warning Reporting information when it is investigating potential safety defects and when it is evaluating citizen petitions for automobile safety standards or enforcement actions. Require NHTSA to upgrade its online database to improve searchability, integrate its different databases so they can all be searched at once, and ensure that all documents obtained or created by NHTSA related to a safety incident are both made publicly available and keyword searchable in its databases. Require NHTSA to provide public, searchable notices of all inspection and investigation activities it undertakes. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |