Viewpoint

Here, a monthly perspective from Consumers Union on the latest challenges—and possible solutions—facing U.S. consumers today. See archived letters.

Cars must be safer

The recent Toyota recalls involving unintended acceleration have focused national attention on safety problems that are infrequent but potentially fatal. Such rare problems can be the hardest to catch.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is responsible for enforcing auto-safety standards, and carmakers have to be able to recognize and avoid such safety problems. NHTSA receives more than 30,000 complaints a year; only about 2,000 in the last decade were related to acceleration issues with Toyota models. Still, Consumers Union believes regulators and manufacturers should have moved more aggressively. Here are the issues:

Information is power

NHTSA collects complaints and data about autos from the public and from carmakers in separate databases. Both have limitations, including the fact that the data they provide aren't available in a single, simple place, making it more difficult for investigators to spot issues and for consumers to research models and compare safety records.

Automakers can build safer cars

Auto-safety experts, including Consumers Union's engineers, recommend changes that would make vehicles safer. Cars should be able to stop within a reasonable distance, even with the throttle fully open; have simple, standard controls that make it easy to turn off the engine in an emergency; have an intuitive, clearly labeled gear shift so that finding Neutral is straightforward; and be built with a minimum distance between the gas pedal and the floorboard, to reduce the risk of a floor mat trapping the pedal.

And why can't consumers get existing safety features without paying for luxury add-ons? One example: Buyers who want electronic stability control in a Honda Civic have to buy leather and heated seats, for thousands of dollars over the base price.

Regulators need money to function

In 2007, auto crashes made up 99 percent of all transportation-related deaths and injuries. Yet NHTSA's budget is currently just over 1 percent of the overall budget of its parent, the Department of Transportation. That's not enough for the realities of traffic and auto safety today.

At Consumer Reports, we vow to give you more auto information (see Many recalled cars don't get fixed for starters). We'll post more recall notices online so that you don't have to wait for one to come in the mail. And we'll ask readers about their experiences with recalls, because the more information we have, the safer we'll be.