Car-safety data to be kept from the public

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> Car-safety data to be kept from the public

>

> http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/34780.php

 

> Car-safety data to be kept from the public

> Federal agency's rule is based largely on industry

> arguments

 

> By Jeffrey McCracken

> KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS

>

> DETROIT - The federal agency that oversees auto

> safety has decided - based largely on arguments from

> automakers and their Washington, D.C., lobbyists -

> that data relating to unsafe automobiles or

> defective parts will not be available to the public.

>

> Specifically, the government has banned the release

> of car and truck warranty-claims information,

> customer complaints and early-warning reports about

> defects from dealers, automakers and rental-car

> companies. The information is shielded even if media

> outlets or other groups push for it under the

> Freedom of Information Act.

> Federal officials say the rule will make them better

> able to enforce vehicle safety, and that the

> information was never public anyway.

> The rule, finalized earlier this year, is a

> two-paragraph decision buried deep within the

> Federal Register, which runs hundreds of pages each

> day. Few, outside automakers, their lobbyists and

> some public-interest groups are even aware of it.

> But awareness is growing.

> One consumer-advocacy group has sued the federal

> government, arguing this information should be made

> public and calling the decision a " paternalistic

> ruling that basically argues consumers are stupid

> and would be easily misled. "

> Automakers such as General Motors Corp. and the

> federal government say this auto-safety data should

> not be made public for two main reasons - the

> information would give competitors too much

> information and it would be of little use to

> consumers, who might be overwhelmed or confused by

> all the data.

> " Our view is this data is very sensitive to us and

> shouldn't be in the public domain, " said Chris

> Preuss, Washington-based spokesman for GM. " There's

> already a tremendous amount of data out there for

> consumers. "

> Consumer-advocacy groups say the automaker arguments

> puzzle them.

> " Apparently the automakers and the government have

> decided they don't want people to have accurate

> information because they might get misled, because

> they can't be trusted with this data, " said Scott

> Nelson, a lawyer for Washington-based consumer

> advocacy group Public Citizen. " They are arguing

> this information is too confusing for the public,

> but at the same time they argue this information is

> so valuable their competitors could ferret out

> detailed data from it. It makes me scratch my head. "

>

> Consumer advocates criticize one automaker argument

> in particular: that rivals should have to make their

> own mistakes - build a flawed product or use a

> defective part - and not have the advantage of

> learning from the mistakes or financial losses of

> another who has already learned the lesson.

> Automakers say it would be unfair if other

> automakers were able to learn from the mistakes of

> their competitors.

> " It's a shocking argument by the automakers, " said

> Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen and the

> head of National Highway Traffic Safety

> Administration under the Carter administration.

> " They want their rivals to keep making defective

> products because of competitive reasons. "

> GM's Preuss said he could not comment on that

> particular argument. Eron Shosteck, spokesman for a

> leading auto trade-association, the Alliance of Auto

> Manufacturers, emphasized automakers and suppliers

> " simply want to protect proprietary information from

> their rivals. "

> The NHTSA, which oversees auto safety and made the

> decision, notes the data had never been public

> before, and that further argues that what really

> matters is that it is now getting the information

> and can move more quickly to correct safety defects.

> Keeping the information private, says the agency, is

> part of the tradeoff of getting good, honest data

> from automakers.

> " We as monitors of vehicle safety have better access

> to early-warning data now than we ever had, " said

> Rae Tyson, NHTSA's chief spokesman. " You need to

> keep that in perspective. "

> This information began streaming in to the safety

> agency late last year as part of the TREAD Act, a

> law passed in 2000 in response to rollovers of Ford

> Motor Co. Explorers equipped with certain Firestone

> tires. The law requires quarterly reports from

> automakers, tiremakers and suppliers on warranty

> claims, customer complaints, injuries, fatalities

> and other auto-safety information.

> Consumer advocates argue the TREAD Act was not just

> designed to get more data to the safety agency, but

> to get more data to the public so it can make sure

> the NHTSA is doing its job of policing automakers.

> " With the NHTSA ruling to keep this data secret, now

> the watchdogs can't watch NHTSA to make sure they

> are doing what Congress demands they do, " said

> Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto

> Safety.