By Jeff Bennett
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will extend
its federal oversight of General Motors Co. for the next year, so
that it can keep tabs on the auto maker's efforts to improve the
safety of its vehicles.
GM must provide meet monthly with government officials and
provide updates on safety issues, according to the order made
public on Thursday. NHTSA originally sent a letter to GM informing
the company of its decision on May 14.
"We have used our monthly meetings with NHTSA to foster a
relationship that's candid, transparent and totally focused on the
safety of our customers," a GM spokesman said. "We've come a long
way and we fully intend to build on this progress."
The oversight is the direct fallout from the auto maker's recall
of 2.6 million older cars tied to faulty ignition switches. A
jostling of the ignition key can cause the switches to move from
the "run" mode to "accessory," thereby cutting power to the air
bags and brakes. Records show GM engineers knew about the problem
for nearly 10 years before a recall was officially launched last
year.
A total of 104 deaths and 191 injuries have been linked to
accidents involving the switches. That number is expected to
continue to grow, as claims are sorted out. The auto maker agreed
in May 2014 to pay a $35 million civil penalty and participate in
the oversight process.
"GM learned a hard lesson last year," U.S. Transportation
Secretary Anthony Foxx said. "We expect to see the improvements
they've made continue and that their new approaches are applied to
every GM safety issue and every recall. Today's action will help
keep them on the right track."
NHTSA has the option of extending the agreement until May
2017.
Write to Jeff Bennett at jeff.bennett@wsj.com
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