M O T O R V E H IC L E S A F E T Y A C T

OF

2015

S E C T IO N - B Y -S E C T IO N S U M M A R Y
TITLE I—TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

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S EC . 101. P UBLIC AVAILABILITY OF EARLY WARNING DATA .

Section 101 changes the presumption of disclosure under the Transportation Recall
Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation Act (TREAD Act) to require that information
submitted by manufacturers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
through the Early Warning Reporting system be disclosed unless it is exempt from disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This section further requires NHTSA to rewrite
the rule on “Confidential Business Information” with a presumption in favor of maximum public
availability of Early Warning information.
S EC . 102. A DDITIONAL EARLY WARNING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS .

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Section 102 requires motor vehicle and equipment manufacturers to automatically submit the
accident report or other document that first alerted them to a fatality involving their vehicle or
equipment to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting database. NHTSA is then required to
automatically make those documents public unless they are exempted from public disclosure
under FOIA or are subject to attorney-client privilege. The section also requires NHTSA to
consider Early Warning Reporting information when it is investigating potential safety defects
and when it is evaluating citizen petitions for motor vehicle safety standards or enforcement
actions.
S EC . 103. I MPROVED N ATIONAL H IGHWAY T RAFFIC S AFETY A DMINISTRATION VEHICLE
SAFETY DATABASES .

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Section 103 requires NHTSA to upgrade its online databases to improve searchability, integrate
its different databases so they can all be searched at once, and ensure that documents obtained or
created by NHTSA related to a safety incident are made both publicly available and keyword
searchable in its databases. The section also requires NHTSA to provide public, searchable
notices of all inspection and investigation activities it undertakes.

S EC . 104. C ORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY FOR NHTSA REPORTS .
Section 104 requires that a manufacturer designate a senior executive in the United States to
certify the accuracy and completeness of all responses to NHTSA’s requests for information
relating to safety investigations.

S EC . 105. R EPORTS TO C ONGRESS .
This section requires the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT OIG)
to issue follow-up reports to Congress on NHTSA’s implementation of 17 reforms it
recommended in its recent report that highlighted severe deficiencies within the Office of
Defects Investigation.
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 TITLE II—ENHANCED SAFETY AUTHORITY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
S EC . 201. C IVIL PENALTIES .
Section 201 removes the cap on NHTSA’s civil penalty authority, which is currently at $35
million.

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S EC . 202. C RIMINAL PENALTIES .

Section 202 makes it a crime, punishable by fines and up to five years in prison, for a corporate
officer to knowingly conceal the fact that a corporate action or product poses a danger of death
or serious physical injury. Federal agencies must be verbally informed within 24 hours of the
entity or person acquiring actual knowledge of a serious danger, and they must be further
informed by writing within 15 days. Any affected employees of the business entity must be
informed in writing as soon as practicable, as well as any other identifiable individual who may
be exposed to the serious danger. In addition, the section would create a safe harbor from that
criminal liability in cases where that corporate officer notifies a federal regulatory agency and
individuals subject to the danger.
This section also clarifies NHTSA’s enforcement authority against persons who use electronic
devices to affect the performance of a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment of which they are
not the individual owner. Section 202 further includes criminal penalties for violations by persons
who knowingly use these devices to endanger public safety or with reckless disregard for the safety
of human life.

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S EC . 203. C OOPERATION WITH FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS .

Section 203 directs NHTSA to engage in cooperative agreements with its foreign counterparts in
order to better monitor and address safety defects in globally manufactured and sold vehicles.

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The agency currently is limited in its ability to collaborate with its foreign counterparts on
transportation matters, and certain research projects would benefit from the ability to also share
resources and funding.

S EC . 204. I MMINENT HAZARD AUTHORITY .

Section 204 provides NHTSA with the authority to expedite a recall order in the case of a
substantial likelihood of death or serious injury to the public.

S EC . 205. U SED PASSENGER MOTOR VEHICLE CONSUMER PROTECTION .
Section 205 prohibits the sale or lease of a used vehicle that has an unrepaired safety defect or
does not comply with an applicable motor vehicle safety standard. The prohibition does not
apply to circumstances where recall information is not available or accessible at the time the
vehicle is sold or leased.

S EC . 206. U NATTENDED CHILDREN WARNING SYSTEM .
Section 206 calls on NHTSA to conduct a safety research initiative into possible technological
means for preventing deaths of children who are accidentally left behind in vehicles by
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 caretakers. The section directs NHTSA to either commence a rulemaking within a year of
completing the two-year research initiative or to submit a report to Congress on its reasons for
not commencing such a rulemaking.
S EC . 207. C OLLISION AVOIDANCE TECHNOLOGIES .

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Section 208 requires the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a rulemaking process within two
years to require vehicles with a gross weight greater than 26,000 pounds be equipped with crash
mitigation and avoidance technologies. The regulations are to establish standards for equipment
that prevents collisions with moving and stationary vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, and road users.
S EC . 208. P EDESTRIAN SAFETY .

Section 208 requires NHTSA to establish standards for vehicle hoods and bumpers in order to
reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries.
TITLE III—FUNDING

S EC . 301. A UTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS .

Section 301 authorizes increased resources for NHTSA at the same levels proposed in the
Administration’s GROW AMERICA Act.
TITLE IV—RECALL PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS

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S EC . 401. R ECALL OBLIGATIONS UNDER BANKRUPTCY .

Section 401 preserves all recall obligations for manufacturers that are subject to Chapter 11
bankruptcy proceedings.

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S EC . 402. D EALER REQUIREMENT TO CHECK FOR AND REMEDY RECALL .

Section 402 requires authorized dealers to check for and fix safety defects subject to open recalls
when consumers take their cars in for routine maintenance.

S EC . 403. A PPLICATION OF REMEDIES FOR DEFECTS AND NONCOMPLIANCE .
Section 403 removes the 10-year limitation on the obligation of auto and parts manufacturers to
replace or fix defects at no charge to consumers.

S EC . 404. D IRECT VEHICLE NOTIFICATION OF RECALLS .
Section 404 directs NHTSA to promulgate rules that would require new vehicles to feature a
warning feature – similar to tire pressure monitor light on the dashboard – that would notify
consumers that their cars are subject to a safety recall.

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 S EC . 405. S TATE NOTIFICATION OF OPEN SAFETY RECALLS .
Section 405 establishes a grant program for State motor vehicle registration agencies to check
each registered vehicle for open safety recalls (using the NHTSA recall database) and to notify
registered owners and lessees of those recalls when they send out registration reminders and
registration documents.

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S EC . 406. R ECALL COMPLETION PILOT GRANT PROGRAM .

Section 406 establishes a pilot grant program for State motor vehicle registration agencies to
implement a system that requires each owner or lessee to complete all safety recall remedies
prior to registration, when the parts and labor are available and the owner or lessee has had
sufficient time to complete the recall remedy.
S EC . 407. I MPROVEMENTS TO NOTIFICATION OF DEFECT OR NONCOMPLIANCE .

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Section 407 directs NHTSA to promulgate rules that would require recall notifications be
delivered via electronic means (e.g., e-mail) in addition to first-class mail. In addition, the
section allows manufacturers to notify NHTSA of defects via electronic mail.

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