NHTSA Blocking Release of Study Says Former Official

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Last week, The Wall Street Journal interviewed recently retired National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) official George Person who alleges that:

  1. NHTSA’s investigation of so-called “runaway” Toyotas is complete
  2. After studying 40 alleged instances of sudden, unintended acceleration, NHTSA determined 23 of these reports were plausible
  3. After reading the engine data recorder in each of these 23 vehicles, EVERY recorder showed that the vehicle’s throttle was wide open at the time of the crash

If this former head of NHTSA’s recall division is correct, NHTSA’s study is done…and it has found that Toyota has no electronic throttle problems.

This News Has Been Reported Before

This is the second time that The Wall Street Journal has reported this NHTSA study result. About three weeks ago, the WSJ said that NHTSA’s study seemed to have vindicated Toyota’s throttle systems. This news was “anonymously denied” almost immediately by someone in the Department of Transportation (DOT), and this anonymous DOT source claimed that the WSJ report was planted by Toyota.

Of course the Journal maintained that their report was correct, creating a situation where someone had to be lying. Could Toyota have planted a story, or was NHTSA trying to hide the results of their study from the public?

Congressman Joe Barton got involved and asked NHTSA to either:

  1. Come clean about the results of their study and share their data, or…
  2. Demand a retraction from the WSJ for printing a false report

The congressman’s demands – issued nearly two weeks ago – seem to have been ignored. NHTSA’s spokespeople maintain that their study is still being completed, yet the Journal has not been asked to retract their report.

Politics At Play?

Some conservative bloggers (yes – quite obviously biased but not necessarily incorrect) believe that NHTSA’s unwillingness to divulge their study results is a political play by the administration to garner union and/or trial lawyer support. While that may or may not be true, it’s easy to see why someone might think this process has been politicized…here’s a quote from Mr. Person that could be construed as proof of political influence:

“The information was compiled. The report was finished and submitted,” Mr Person said, “When I asked why it hadn’t been published I was told that the secretary’s office didn’t want to release it,”

According to The Truth About Cars (TTAC), this statement was in fact regarding DOT Secretary Ray LaHood (a proven idiot). According to TTAC:

For those who think the matter can’t possibly be political, and if at all, the poor NHTSA  is a victim of the media, George Person has a message: “It has become very political. There is a lot of anger towards Toyota.”

George Person’s damning conclusion: Transportation officials “are hoping against hope that they find something that points back to a flaw in Toyota vehicles.”

In their excellent report (link), TTAC made one other interesting discovery: The current head of NHTSA (David Strickland) was an associate director at the American Trial Lawyers Association between 1996 and 2001.

Adding it all up…

  1. The Wall Street Journal may have as many as two separate sources who claim that NHTSA’s investigation shows no Toyota throttle problems
  2. NHTSA has said that their investigation is not complete, but they have not asked the Journal to renounce or retract any reports
  3. A former NHTSA official claims that the report is being held back for political reasons
  4. The current head of NHTSA has strong ties to the Trial Lawyer’s Association
  5. Many members of the Trial Lawyer’s Association are currently suing Toyota, not to mention that this entity is a major campaign contributor for the Democratic party

Based on these facts, it doesn’t take much of a leap to conclude that politics are at work. Having said that, it’s just as likely this is nothing more than  government bureaucracy and inefficiency on display.

For the record, it really doesn’t matter why NHTSA’s report hasn’t been released. All that matters is that NHTSA’s investigation is accurate and thorough – the truth will come out (eventually). When it does, we’re sticking to our original point: Toyota’s electronic throttles are just fine.

*Special thanks to Chris for contacting us with a useful link that spurred this post.

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  1. Danny says:

    And the key terms and phrases that we have learned over this discussion is;
    1. market manipulation
    2. conspiracy
    3. liar, liar, pants on fire.
    4. shackled free enterprise or free trade
    5. absence of “transparancy” from NHTSA
    6. no “competition” when the government is the competition.
    7. “saving face”
    8. “Listen and think before you speak.” regarding LaHood.
    9. “political grand standing”
    10. add your comments here!

    Furthermore, if NHTSA is withholding data that is damning to Toyota, they are also withholding data that is important to public safety. If so, who’s being neglegent now? That makes you think, doesn’t it.
    If Toyota is at fault, then say so. Then we can have the problem fixed.
    If Toyota isn’t at fault, have the kahoona’s to say so.

  2. Jason says:

    Danny – I agree. I’m still not convinced that this is intentional, but it’s bordering on ridiculous that NHTSA hasn’t come forward with anything.

    After all, if this is really about public safety, we should be getting details as soon as they’re available…not waiting for someone in some office to sign off on this report.

    As for Toyota, I try to remind myself every time I write something like this that Toyota did this to themselves. If they didn’t have a habit of hiding information, denying reports, and ignoring the American public, this might not ever have gotten to this point.

    Toyota isn’t innocent here, but that’s no excuse for dragging this study out (at least not in my opinion).

  3. Mickey says:

    If they are holding out for the lawyers, I hate to be there when Toyota turns around and sue both the lawyers and NHTSA for witholding evidence. It will come out and it will backfire on those who are trying to cover this up. Now do we state to Mr. Lahood He can’t drive anything since he can’t tell the truth? Isn’t withholding evidence like that a crime when these lawyers are on trial with Toyota? This will be a torpedo in those lawyers attack on Toyota. Now with all the hoopla against Toyota for withholding info go to the same for NHTSA? I understand Jason about Toyota brought this to themselves but this doesn’t give the NHTSA a free ride and do the same. Can we take the govt. to court?

  4. rich says:

    Taking the govt to court is like taking yourself to court…lol. However if a govt representative acts outside of his or hers scope of duty then they can be held responsible for civil or criminal action. All along we’ve said duplicate the issue…now its becoming more clear that no one can do this. LaHood will have a lot of explaining to do. It’ll all come out and then Toyota can conduct a huge sympathy campaign to regain public trust.

  5. Danny says:

    Jason,
    As for Toyota bringing this on themselves, how are they really any different than any other American company or any global corporation. The more and more this looks like a witch hunt, the more Toyota looks right in denying reports and stuff. Even the “negotiation” from a recall is no worse than GM and Ford’s legal wranglings from the past. Furthermore, if nothing was wrong, what did you negotiate from? I’m not familiar with the Toyota memo in question so i could be way off base on that quip. Don’t get me wrong, i’m really not defending Toyota but i does make you think. Nonetheless, Toyota is guilty. Of what, i dont know but i’m sure the feds and the naysayers will come up with something. Either way, it doesnt really matter what NHTSA comes up with. Vehicle sales and owner loyalty will determine what the buying public really thinks when it comes to quality, value, safety and reliability.

  6. Danny says:

    Jason,
    sorry if that previous comment sounded like a challenge. I was just voicing the other side of the bench.
    Peace.

  7. Jason says:

    Mickey – I doubt Toyota could sue NHTSA…the NHTSA people can say that they’re simply taking their time to make sure things are right. All we have is the word of a retired official and a WSJ reporter – until some NHTSA official admits that he or she has been trying to stifle this report, Toyota can’t prove anything.

    Still, I hear what you’re saying. Toyota deserves fair treatment from NHTSA just like any other automaker.

    Rich – I hope you’re correct that Toyota can get back some of their credibility, and I hope that someone forces LaHood to explain himself too. He needs to be held accountable for his agency’s missteps and his own vitriolic statements.

    Danny – No worries! I welcome all disagreements and challenges, especially when they’re phrased so politely. 🙂

    You are certainly correct in that other companies have done the same things Toyota has done and gotten away without a scratch. My admonition of them probably should take that into account.

    Still, what I find objectionable is the pattern. Toyota has/had a lot of bad cultural habits, and they all contributed to mismanaging this issue. If Toyota wasn’t so focused on secrecy and Japan-centric decision making, Toyota could have addressed reports from 2003 or 2006 and taken the wind out of this thing years ago. Instead, they act as if nothing is wrong, deny all allegations, and then fail to react when they are shown to be lying.

    Of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps ignoring these complaints was the right move all along, current circumstances included.

    Either way, the good news is that Toyota’s corporate culture is getting a much needed makeover.

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