As an attorney who handles vehicle defect cases I see unnecessary injuries when companies fail to disclose problems. But take a look at Toyota’s relationship with the National Highway Safety Administration (NHSTA) and its success in keeping defects out of the press and getting corrected.
Four unintended acceleration investigations of Toyota vehicles by the NHSTA were ended with the help of former NHTSA regulators hired by Toyota, warding off possible recalls, court and government records show.
Christopher Tinto and Christopher Santucci worked to persuade the NHSTA to end or limit probes.
“Toyota bamboozled NHTSA or NHTSA was bamboozled by itself,” said Joan Claybrook, an auto safety advocate and former NHTSA administrator in the Carter administration. “I think there is going to be a lot of heat on NHTSA over this.” See Bloomberg.Com. The point is if a vehicle isn’t recalled, don’t assume it is manufactured correctly.
