The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Misses Deadline to Make Vehicle Seats Stronger
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The nation's top auto safety regulator was given two years by order of Congress to make vehicle seats stronger, following a multi-year CBS News investigation. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, missed the deadline.
Now, 10 U.S. senators are demanding answers.
"I'm going to turn up the heat on NHTSA," Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, told CBS News in a recent interview. "It shouldn't be hard. This is actually very simple. We're not trying to put somebody on a mission to Mars. We're just trying to make sure kids in the back seat are protected."
Markey leads the effort in Congress to require NHTSA to draft a new strength standard for vehicle seats within two years. It passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure law enacted in November of 2021.
A year later, NHTSA told Markey in a December 2022 letter that it was on pace to meet the deadline to update the regulation dating to 1967.
That, however, did not happen.
"Honestly, I'm heading to the president of the United States," said Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who is another vocal proponent of the legislation. "And I'm going to tell him that we cannot afford to have this agency delaying and stalling when the lives of children are at risk."
A CBS News investigation, which began in 2015, revealed that the current strength standard from 1967 leaves vehicle front seats vulnerable to collapsing in rear-end crashes, thereby putting children in the back seat at a higher risk of injury or death.
Safety advocates estimate that at least 50 children die each year in accidents involving seatback collapses. Crash test videos obtained during our CBS News investigation demonstrate how, when cars are struck from behind, the front driver and passenger seats in many vehicles can collapse backwards, propelling the occupants into the backseat area.
November marked 13 years since the tragic death of 16-month-old Taylor Warner. Taylor was killed when the family minivan was rear-ended while stopped at a sign. The impact of the crash caused her father Andy's seat to collapse backwards, colliding with Taylor who was securely fastened in her car seat.
"I didn't want my daughter's death to be in vain, and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that this issue is addressed," Andy said.
Andy and Liz Warner, from Littleton, Colorado, have become advocates for changing the seatback strength standard and had hoped that this year would bring some relief in the form of new regulations.
"As a mom, it just makes me angry,"
Said Liz Warner.
"Every day I put my kids in the car and I worry to this day, cuz you don't know it could happen again."
Safety advocates including the Center for Auto Safety in Washington, D.C., also expressed frustration with the missed deadline.
"It shouldn't require an act of Congress to get them to act on regulation. We shouldn't have to wait for people to die to take action,"
National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy told CBS News.
"There are recommendations on recommendations upon recommendations that the NTSB has issued over and over and over again to NHTSA and others. There hasn't been action. That tells me you're not serious about safety. So get serious."
While NHTSA is the nation's top auto safety regulator, the NTSB is an independent federal agency focused on investigating civil transportation safety accidents and making recommendations on preventing future incidents.
In November, 10 democratic senators wrote to NHTSA seeking an update on the status of the 10 auto-safety improvements called for in the bill including the seatback legislation asking for a response by Dec. 15.
NHTSA responded days before Christmas.
NHTSA is making progress to comply with the mandates and requirements of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, according to a letter from NHTSA to Senator Markey. The agency plans to publish an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) in the coming months and expects to complete the rulemaking after considering public input.
In addition to Senator Markey, Senators Blumenthal, Luján, Reed, Van Hollen, Warren, Klobuchar, Durbin, Wyden, and Brown also expressed their concerns in a letter to NHTSA in November.
CBS News approached Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for his response to NHTSA missing the congressionally mandated deadline. Secretary Buttigieg emphasized the importance of prioritizing safety and making informed decisions, given the limited resources and numerous requirements faced by NHTSA.
CBS News conducted a multi-year investigation and uncovered crash tests that demonstrated the dangers of seat collapse in rear-end collisions, particularly when children are seated in the back. Surprisingly, all the seats that failed in these tests met or exceeded the outdated federal strength standard.
Seatback Collapse Issue in Cars
In a recent investigation, it has been discovered that even a simple banquet chair can pass the only required test for the standard. The test involves placing a brace across a seat, attaching it to a winch, and pulling it.
Concerns about seatback collapses were raised by NHTSA's own researchers in the early 1990s. They provided examples of major or fatal injuries caused by such incidents.
Automakers have long been aware of this issue. In a 1996 deposition, a General Motors engineer admitted that the company had started tying down its test dummies because they were expensive and the chances of losing them during rear-end crash tests were high. Another deposition revealed that the cost to fix the problem was minimal, only about a dollar per seat.
NHTSA has responded to these concerns and has taken steps to address them. The agency has issued a proposed rule to require automatic emergency braking in new vehicles and has also allowed for adaptive driving beam headlights in new vehicles, as directed by the infrastructure bill.
"The agency is currently working to complete all Bipartisan Infrastructure Law requirements," stated a spokesperson from NHTSA. "Significant progress has already been made on several of those directives."
According to NHTSA's online dashboard, the seatback regulation is currently in the "Prerule Stage." You can find more information about the regulation here.
"It requires immediate attention and must be resolved without delay," stated Andy Warner.
