Auto Recall Rules May be Tightened by NHTSA

WASHINGTON - Safety advocates say government regulators may take a more urgent and tougher position on recalls, following Toyota's callback of millions of vehicles, The Detroit News reported.

Automakers have often resisted recalls, acting only when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is poised to order them. At other times, they have fought them off completely or argued to scale them back.

But after Toyota's two recalls linked to sudden acceleration -- 5.4 million vehicles linked to floor mats and 2.3 million to sticky gas pedals -- things may change for good for NHTSA as well as for the automakers.

NHTSA is considering issuing civil penalties in Toyota's handling of the back-to-back recalls. It also is likely that the agency will act more quickly to enforce future "stop sales," like the one ordered by Toyota, if automakers don't have a fix.

"I think that NHTSA has been stung by (the Toyota recalls) and they should be. They have been behind the eight ball and haven't used the authority given to them," former NHTSA administrator Joan Claybrook told The Detroit News.

While Toyota maintains it acted promptly, NHTSA may be less willing to accept what automakers say at face value, next time.

If President Obama gets his way, the agency will get a 15 percent increase in the number of administrators, from about 60 now to 68.