The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) held a "Retooling Recalls" workshop Tuesday that will benefit the safety of the American public.
The workshop included dealers, manufacturers, automotive safety advocates, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) personnel and other leaders in the transportation industry. The workshop discussed ways to improve the recall process and identifying and implementing recalls of products and vehicles with defects related to safety.
In 2014, the NHTSA initiated 803 recalls for 63.9 million vehicles. This is the highest number of recalls for vehicles in over 30 years. Two of the largest recalls in the U.S. occurred in 2014.
During the past several months, NHTSA staff have started to improve their methods of identifying defects in vehicles. It is not enough to identify defects – the defects must be solved. As of today, approximately 20 percent or more recalled vehicles do not receive repairs, continuing to threaten American safety.
NHTSA said it has already identified recall remedy areas that must be addressed: customer and dealership outreach, public education, parts production challenges and public outreach.
Recalls are a collaborative effort, which is why leaders at the DOT headquarters met to brainstorm better ideas for recalls. Drawing on the most recent high-profile recalls, the leaders discussed lessons that have been learned about the obstacles in the way of higher recall completion rates. They created new ways to carry out the recall process that will improve the entire system.
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