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under this section to publish notices and information concerning defects in those situations where so doing will bring about a higher level of safety. In this connection, the committee is confident that the manufacturers will be active in notifying purchasers and users so that defects will be corrected as quickly as possible.

Senate Passed Act

Congressional Record-Senate
June 24, 1966, 14259

Notification

SEC. 116. (a) Every manufacturer of motor vehicles shall furnish notification of any defect in any motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment produced by such manufacturer which he determines, in good faith, relates to motor vehicle safety, to the purchaser (where known to the manufacturer) of such motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment, within a reasonable time after such manufacturer has discovered such defect.

(b) The notification required by subsection (a) shall be accomplished—

(1) by certified mail to the first purchaser (not including any dealer of such manufacturer) of the motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment containing a defect; and

(2) by certified mail or other more expeditious means to the dealer or dealers of such manufacturer to whom such motor vehicle or equipment was delivered.

(c) The notification required by subsection (a) shall contain a clear description of the defect, an evaluation of the risk to trafic safety reasonably related to the defect, and a statement of the measures to be taken to repair the defect.

(d) Every manufacturer of motor vehicles shall furnish to the Secretary a true or representative copy of all notices, bulletins, and other communications to the dealers of such manufacturer or purchasers of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment of such manufacturer regarding any defect in such vehicle or equipment sold or serviced by such dealer. The Secretary shall disclose so much of the information contained in such notice or other information obtained under subsection 114(a) to the public as he deems will assist in carying out the purposes of this Act, but he shall not disclose any information which contains or relates to a trade

secret or other matter referred to in section 1905 of title 18 of the United States Code unless he determines that it is necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

(e) If through testing, inspection, investigation, or research carried out pursuant to this title, or examination of reports pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, or otherwise, the Secretary determines that any motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment

(1) does not comply with an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard prescribed pursuant to sections 102 and 103; or (2) contains a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety;

then he shall immediately notify the manufacturer of such motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment of such defect or failure to comply. The notice shall contain the findings of the Secretary and shall include all information upon which the indings are based. The Secretary shall afford such manufacturer an opportunity to present his views and evidence in suport thereof, to establish that there is no failure of compliance or that the alleged defect does not affect motor vehicle safety. If after such presentation by the manufacturer the Secretary determines that such vehicle or item of equipment does not comply with applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards, or contains a defect which relates to motor vehicle safety, the Secretary shall direct the manufacturer to furnish the notification specified in subsection (c) of this section to the purchaser of such motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment as provided in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

Senate Debate

Congressional Record-Senate
June 24, 1966, 14247

Mr. MONDALE.

I am particularly pleased to see included in this bill the fair warning amendment I proposed several months ago. This provision requires every manufacturer of motor vehicles to notify the purchaser of any defect which the manufacturer determines in good faith relates to safety. The manufacturer would have to furnish such notification within a reasonable time after discovery. No time limit is included in the legislative language because of the probability that such a limit would be unduly restrictive and subject the manufacturer to a civil penalty. My original amendment set a time to furnish notification, and I would hope that the Secretary would attempt to use this as a guideline.

The bill also requires the manufacturer to send the safety defect notification by certified mail to the purchaser and by certified mail or more expeditious means to the dealer or dealers of the vehicle or equipment in which there is a safety defect. The notification must contain a clear description of the defect, an evaluation of the safety risk involved in the defect, and a statement of the measures to be taken to repair the defect.

I have always considered this latter requirement an essential part of any type of fair warning to the consumer, but my resolve on this matter was greatly strengthened the other day when a recent letter addressed to Ralph Nader from a gentleman in Falls Church, Va., came to my attention. Enclosed was a letter from his Buick service manager which I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the RECORD.

There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

DEAR BUICK OWNER: It has been called to our attention by Buick Motor Division that a bolt installation on the brake mechanism of your particular Buick LeSabre, Serial or Vehicle No. which we delivered to you might prove to be troublesome some time in the future.

In order to forestall this possibility, it would be appreciated if you would bring your car into our Service Department in the immediate future in order that we may check this installation and make any necessary

corrections.

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Fortunately, the braking system, up to now, is one of the things that has not caused trouble or inconvenience. Nonetheless, I am moved to sympathize with those other owners of 1965 LeSabre Convertibles who, belatedly, may have found "a bolt installation troublesome. 99 some time in the past 18 months. One cannot help but wonder about the seriousness of the trouble that may have been experienced by such owners and their families. Also, I am inclined to speculate as to whether or not Buick and/or GM, at this late date, would have incurred the expense involved in the modification of early 1965 models had it not been for the pressure of public opinion generated by your excellent research and tireless determination.

The letter from the Buick service manager, although it suggests corrective action as soon as possible, makes no mention of the fact that the problem may endanger the life and limb of the occupants of the car. On inquiry yesterday, the service manager stated that the problem involved the bolts on the brake locking plate which he said were not selflocking and might work loose. If they did work loose, he said, the wheel could fall off without warning. I do not consider it necessary to speculate whether a wheel falling off without warning is a safety hazard. Obviously, it is.

Yet, the letter to the owner did not make clear either the problem or the great risk involved. Rather, it attempted, with clever wording, to conceal the nature of the problem and the danger involved.

It is my view that the fair-warning provision is essential to make sure that the automobile consumer is warned of hazards such as this.

It is only fair, in view of the vast organizations established for the sale and service of these automobiles, to notify the owner in clear and unmistakable terms, once a safety defect is known that a safety hazard is involved, what it is, and what corrective steps can be taken.

I compliment the members of the committee for accepting my fair-warning amendment, so that this long overdue inadequacy in notifying owners can be corrected, as required by the provisions of the bill.

I was pleased that the Commerce Committee adopted other measures concerning defects, such as the requirements that

the manufacturer furnish the Secretary with representative copies of all notices, bulletins, and other communications to dealers of any defect, and authority for the Secretary to make public the information contained in such notices. Also, in the same section of the bill is another fine addition. If the Secretary determines, after allowing the manufacturer chance for rebuttal, that a vehicle or item of equipment does not comply with Federal safety standards or contains a safety defect, he must direct the manufacturer to notify the purchaser of this noncompliance or safety defect, as provided in my fair warning amendment.

These provisions, the fair-warning amendment, and other defect amendments which were adopted in committee on the recommendation of several Senators combine to make a neat package which recognizes the consumer's right to know about the hazards of the product he purchases and the manufacturer's obligation to inform him.

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The Senate conferees accepted, as a most constructive addition, the House provision authorizing the Secretary to require manufacturers to disclose safety performance and technical data on their products to new car purchasers. For that purpose, the Secretary is authorized to require manufacturers to furnish him with such data so that he can determine what should be disclosed to purchasers. In so doing, the Secretary is not expected to divulge manufacturers' trade secrets, except to the extent that he determines such information should be in the hands of prospective purchasers.

The House managers also accepted the Senate defect notification procedures to require that the manufacturer furnish the Secretary with the substances of oral as well as written defect communications to their dealers. While the manufacturer will not be required to advise the Secretary of every isolated telephone communication with a dealer concerning a possible defect in a car, the Secretary will be expected to adopt regulations to

insure that he is informed of the substance of all communications relating to significant defects.

In addition, the Senate notification procedure makes it clear that the Secretary can make public information concerning safety-related defects or noncompliance with standards where necessary for the public safety. As was stated in the Senate report explaining this procedure, the Secretary will be expected to avoid premature publicity, to check with the manufacturer, and to afford him an opportunity, wherever practicable, to accomplish the required notification and correction through the manufacturers' own procedures.

Senate Committee Report

Senate Report 1301, Pages 8 and 9

NOTIFICATION

In order to insure the uniform notification of car owners as to any safety-related defects and to facilitate the prompt curing of such defects, the bill provides that every manufacturer of motor vehicles notify the purchaser of any vehicle which the manufacturer determines, in good faith, contains a safety-related defect (sec. 116).

A "defect" is defined to include any defect in design, construction, components or materials in motor vehicles or motor vehicle equip

ment (sec. 101 (1)). The term "defect" is used in the sense of an error or mistake in design, manufacture or assembly.

Such notification must be accomplished within a reasonable time (sec. 116(a)) after the manufacturer has discovered the defect and formulated the corrective procedure (sec. 116(c)) and must be made by certified mail to the first purchaser and by certified mail or more expeditious means to the manufacturer's dealer (sec. 116(b)). More- 9 over, the notification must contain a clear disclosure of the defect, an evaluation of the risks to traffic safety reasonably related to the defect and a statement of the measures to be taken to repair the defect (sec. 116(c)).

In addition, every manufacturer is required to furnish the Secretary copies of all communications with his dealers relating to any defect, whether or not safety-related (sec. 116(d)).

The Secretary is directed to notify the manufacturer of any failure to conform to safety standards or any other safety-related defect which he determines to exist on the basis of evidence that comes to his attention through reports from manufacturers, Government research and testing, complaints or other sources, and to require that the manufacturer furnish the purchaser and dealer appropriate notification (sec. 116(e)).

This process would be in addition to and not in place of, nor a condition upon, taking any other enforcement action under the provisions of the act. The Secretary could elect to impose a civil penalty (sec. 110) for a violation and require notification of defects of noncompliance with a safety standard (sec. 116). The Attorney General could also seek an injunction to stop the sale of a noncomplying vehicle (sec. 111). These and all alternative enforcement techniques should be exercised within the administrative discretion of the responsible officials.

The Secretary is also authorized to make public information concerning safety-related defects or noncompliance with standards where necessary for the public safety (sec. 116(d)).

The committee expects that the Secretary would use this power to publish defect information as a last resport. It is the committee's expectation that the Secretary would promptly review the matter with the manufacturer and give the manufacturer an opportunity to accomplish the required notification and correction through the manufacturer's own procedures. Publicity would be invoked only if the Secretary concluded that the manufacturer's own actions would fail or had failed to provide car owners with adequate and prompt notice on the existence and safety significance of the defect and the procedure for correction.

The committee also expects that the Secretary will act with extreme caution to avoid premature publicity of unevaluated reports as to suspected defects, before the suspicions have been evaluated. Permature publicity of this type, of course, can cause undue public alarm, with a damaging and unwarranted effect on vehicle sales even though the suspicions may ultimately prove to be without foundation.

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