ID:

451

Date:

2008-07-23

Headline:

Court Upholds Public Access to Crash Data

Reporter's name:

Delay/denial:

No

Lawsuit:

No

Fees:

No

Media outlet:

ConsumerAffairs.com

City:

Washington, DC

Summary:

Public-interest groups used FOIA to obtain access to "early warning data" about vehicle crashes that lead to death, injury, or property damage, which the Department of Transportation had kept from the public at the behest of the Rubber Manufacturers Association. Federal law was amended in 2000 (effective 2003) in response to tire-related roll-over deaths in the United States and Ford Motor Company's overseas recalls.

Notes:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made early warning data available two months later on a new website, www.safercar.gov, though consumer advocates described the database as insufficient to meet the public's needs.

Keywords:

vehicle, crash, data, injury, death, consumer, automobile, manufacturers, early warning data, Ford Explorer, Firestone tire, rollover, recalls, NHTSA, Public Citizen

URL:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/07/nhtsa_tires.html

Agencies:

DOT
NHTSA

States:

DC

Categories:

business
transportation