It’s probably foolish to hope for any bipartisan legislation from Congress these days, but Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are working on new auto safety legislation that could be a real help to consumers.
The proposed legislation is in response to the recent recalls by Toyota, and would require auto manufacturers to install technology that would prevent “runaway” vehicles. Examples would be brake override systems and easier methods of shutting down a moving vehicle. Beefing up staffing at the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and hiking the maximum amount of fines could also be part of the new proposal.
