Blumenthal, Markey Statement on NHTSA's "Path Forward" Report

Press Release

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), members of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, released the following joint statement after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today made public reports and initiatives that address failings in its GM ignition switch investigation and other safety efforts:

"We are pleased that NHTSA has acknowledged neglecting critical information that should have moved it to take action much earlier on faulty GM ignition switches that were killing drivers and passengers for years. Unfortunately, for more than a decade, NHTSA failed to address the information and evidence it had in its own database linking defective ignition switch to fatal accidents. It is incumbent upon Administrator Rosekind to put in place permanent measures necessary to prevent another tragedy like this from ever happening again. Those measures must include a requirement that the types of secret documents that NHTSA had access to are made public, and the enactment of our legislation that requires more information to be reported to NHTSA's Early Warning Reporting database when auto manufacturers first become aware of incidents involving fatalities."

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