Study: Feds Need to Step Up Oversight of Auto Electronics

Do you ever get the feeling that today's appliances, cars and electronic gadgets are becoming so complicated that no one really understands them? If so, it may be comforting -- or frightening, depending on your point of view -- to learn that a unit of the National Academy of Sciences agrees with you. 

The National Research Council's Transportation Research Board has been studying the incidents, recalls, charges and counter-charges surrounding reports of unexplained sudden acceleration in Toyota cars during 2009 and 2010.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) attributed the problems to drivers hitting the gas pedal by mistake and to pedals sticking and becoming trapped by floormats.  NHTSA ruled out misbehaving electronic throttle controls but asked NASA to backstop it and also asked the National Research Council to look into the matter.  

NASA wound up supporting NHTSA's conclusion and now, the Research Council says that while it finds NHTSA justified in closing its investigation, it finds it "troubling" that NHTSA could not convincingly address public concerns about the safety of automotive electronics. 

Compared to the newer electronics systems being deployed and developed, electronic throttle controls are simple and mature technologies, the council said in a report released today. It cautioned that to respond effectively and confidently to claims of defects in the more complex electronic systems, both in present-day and future vehicles, NHTSA will require additional specialized technical expertise.

"It's unrealistic to expect NHTSA to hire and maintain personnel who have all of the specialized technical and design knowledge relevant to this constantly evolving field," said Louis Lanzerotti, Distinguished Research Professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and chair of the committee that wrote the report.  "A standing advisory committee is one way NHTSA can interact with industry and with technical experts in electronics to keep abreast of these technologies and oversee their safety. 

"Neither the automotive industry, NHTSA, nor motorists can afford a recurrence of something like the unintended acceleration controversy," Lanzerotti cautioned.

The researchers concluded that NHTSA will need to become more familiar with how manufacturers design safety and security into electronics systems, identify and investigate system faults that may leave no physical trace, and respond convincingly when concerns arise about system safety. 

The report recommends that NHTSA establish a standing technical advisory panel of individuals with backgrounds central to the design, development, and safety assurance of automotive electronics systems.  Composed of experts on software and systems engineering, human factors, and electronics hardware, the panel should be consulted on relevant technical matters that arise throughout the agency's vehicle safety programs, including regulatory reviews, defect investigation processes, and research needs assessments.

NHTSA should also conduct a comprehensive review of its Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) to determine the specific capabilities needed to monitor and investigate flaws in electronics-intensive vehicles, the report said. 

The report recommends that NHTSA's research program assist ODI in finding ways to improve consumer complaint reports and other data that the office relies on to identify safety defects in vehicles and to assess their possible causes.