General Motors did not share critical info before fatal crashes, NHTSA says
General Motors did not share key information that would have helped identify a defect that is now linked to at least 13 deaths and a recall of 2.6 million General Motors cars, the head of the NHTSA said in defense of his agency.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra addressing the media during a roundtable meeting with journalists in Detroit. Barra will be asked by two Congressional subcommittees why it took GM a decade to recall cars with faulty ignition switches that the company says are now linked to 13 deaths.
Carlos Osorio/AP/File
Washington
The head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defended his agency's decision not to open a formal investigation into defective聽ignition switches聽in some聽General聽Motors聽cars聽and pointed a finger at the automaker for not sharing information with the agency.
In testimony prepared for a congressional hearing on Tuesday, NHTSA acting Administrator聽David Friedman聽said: "GM聽had critical information that would have helped identify this defect."
GM聽has recalled 2.6 million聽cars聽to repair a defective聽ignition switch聽that is linked to at least 13 deaths. The automaker has said it first learned of problems with the part in 2001, before the Saturn Ions, Chevy Cobalts and other recalled聽models聽were even produced.
The聽Center for Auto Safety聽and other watchdog groups have criticized NHTSA for not opening a formal investigation in 2007, when evidence had mounted of the deadly defect.
But Friedman, who joined the agency last year, said NHTSA did not have enough data to support a more extensive probe.
"The data available at the time of (the 2007) evaluation did not indicate a safety defect or defect trend that would warrant the agency opening a formal investigation," he said.
Friedman said the聽GM聽cars聽that had since been recalled generally had the same rate of accidents and injuries as similar vehicles from other manufacturers.
He called the聽GM聽probe "a difficult case," but defended his agency's actions.
"We are not aware of any information to suggest that NHTSA failed to properly carry out its safety mission based on the data available to it and the process it followed," Friedman said.