July 24 I consent decree of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles seeks to punish and remedy safety deficiencies automaker while addressing issues across the industry annoying memory.
The agreement and its record $ 105 million penalty came from the NHTSA probe into violations that occurred in Chrysler Fiat 23 safety recalls since 2009. But the terms of the pact, especially its list of about 30 "performance obligations "They are also designed to spread and consolidate the lessons of the recent security crisis General Motors, Honda and Takata.
"It has no teeth with other OEMs, but what you are trying to do is create a model or standard of behavior within the industry," said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety here and a critic Chrysler recently opened Fiat.
Central to the agreement is a renewal from top to bottom of the practices of current defects removal and FCA, a process that will be overseen by an independent monitor who will report to the NHTSA and will have broad authority to hire staff and to investigate security issues. That represents a deeper level of scrutiny similar consent orders imposed on GM and American Honda Motor Co., in the last 18 months.
"What we have seen is an evolution of consent orders to try to get more and more the future security," said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind journalists last week. "What began in GM with some independent oversight clearly has now evolved to have a monitor that was used by the Department of Justice previously with Toyota. We tried to take the best of what we have learned from each of them and continue to improve each of these actions. "
This approach can help meet NHTSA part of the public demand for stricter safety standards and enforcement, as well as legislative efforts to strengthen laws of self-security and increase the resources of regulators languishing in Congress.
"This may be a way for NHTSA to leverage its limited manpower in the area of application by requiring this independent monitor to do a lot of field work that NHTSA can not do himself because he has the personality power to do so, "said Allan Kam, a former lawyer and consultant NHTSA safety application.
For example, the agreement calls for the FCA to impose sanctions such as retention incentives, dealerships that sell unrepaired recalled vehicles, new or used. That has led directly to tighten the call lagoon used car that has allowed unrepaired used cars to be sold to unsuspecting buyers, as was the case of Carols Solis IV, who died in Texas in January lesions caused a defective air bag Takata in a Honda Accord that had bought secondhand.
Federal and state lawmakers have proposed several bills to close the gap in the past year, but have faced resistance from traders and lobbying industry who consider it too expensive.
NHTSA FCA will alleviate that burden, ordering to lead an effort to gather data recovery - based on the vehicle identification number - of other automakers to be available for searching bulk memory, a key requirement for distributors USA- wishing to check their inventories of cars recalled for cars.
Another provision prohibits FCA to postpone a decision on whether to issue a recall until it finds a root cause or a proposed settlement. That was a factor in both the switch GM and Takata airbag cases.
Under the deal, Fiat Chrysler to finance a number of initiatives "extension" in the next three years to share best safety practices and help improve the participation of all the industry reminder.
It requires, for example, to develop and "scientific" testing options for notifications more efficient removal.
With so much work entrusted to the FCA, effective monitoring will be key, Ditlow said.
"If it comes to a show of Fiat Chrysler from beginning to end, it is what will really be good?" he asked. "Because it is a function of the same company that had bad practice for so many years that led to this consent agreement."
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