Agency may seek more power over vehicle safety

WASHINGTON — Government vehicle-safety regulators may seek greater authority to investigate defects in cars and trucks and are weighing a range of new safety requirements in response to Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles over brake and acceleration problems.

David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Thursday his agency will take a "hard look" at the power it has to set safety standards for automakers. Current authority, acquired in the 1960s and 1970s, may not be enough to oversee the technology used in modern vehicles, he said.

But one lawmaker at a House hearing said the agency's problems seem to have more to do with "ineptitude" and lack of money than with insufficient powers.

Thursday's hearing of a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was the fourth in Congress related to Toyota's massive recalls for problems with faulty gas pedals and brake problems.

The committee was focused on the transportation-safety agency's oversight of the auto industry, which has been criticized for being too lax on automakers.

Under questioning from lawmakers, Strickland defended his agency's handling of the Toyota recalls and took exception to criticism that it is a "lap dog" of the industry, noting it opened eight investigations into reports of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyotas.

The agency will also review its ethics standards after claims that many former staffers head directly to automakers once they leave their jobs.

Strickland said his agency receives more than 30,000 complaints a year.