The team last month reported discrepancies with VW’s required death and injury filings to the federal agency, hinting at potential violation of reporting regulations.
The four examples were discovered by looking at 13 random civil lawsuits filed against the German automaker in the past 11 years, however the actual number of unreported incidents could be much higher. The company told the NHTSA of just 34 deaths and injuries per million vehicles on the road, far below the industry average of 306 deaths per million vehicles.
An outside firm has been commissioned to conduct a safety audit, which will include NHTSA reporting compliance. The company promises to share the conclusions with government agencies.
Automakers are under increasing pressure from the NHTSA in the wake of General Motors’ ignition-switch scandal. Ferrari was hit with a $3.5 million fine a year ago for failing to comply with reporting requirements, while Honda agreed to pay $70 million to settle similar allegations.
VW could face fines if the NHTSA determines that the company did not submit necessary notifications of serious accidents. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is also currently under investigation for such behavior.
The NHTSA considers death and injury statistics in its defect investigations, helping the agency determine if an issue is minor or potentially life threatening.
Leave a Reply