NHTSA Hunting Social Media Sites for Vehicle Defects
Tweeting about problems with your car could help lead to a recall and so could talking about it on Facebook.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is exploring alternative avenues to discover problems with vehicles that could lead to a defect investigation and ultimately a recall. NHTSA investigators are routinely searching enthusiast forums, trade publications and magazines to find possible areas to investigate, an agency spokeswoman said last week to Automotive News.
If there doesn’t seem to be substantial information, investigators also search social media sites for further early evidence before it might reach the agency through traditional channels.
Despite that, going on a Twitter rant isn’t likely to do much, even if a NHTSA investigator sees your internet screams. Recalls require a lengthy process that involve a defect investigation and then an engineering analysis before a recall can be issued. That process can take years.
That’s not to suggest there will be any storage in 2013, at least not if last year is any indication. NHTSA issued 17.8 million recalls in 2012 ranging over more than 650 campaigns.
[Source: Automotive News]
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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