Fiat Chrysler has had a rough go in the safety department lately, or at least in how they’ve clashed with America’s safety regulators. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced Fiat Chrysler had a “significant” under-reporting of deaths and injuries in their cars, as required by law.
The Detroit News reported Fiat Chrysler actually disclosed this to NHTSA in late July around the time they reached a record $105 million settlement over how the automaker handled (or mishandled) recalls over the years. Thanks to the extra requirements in their settlement with NHTSA, Fiat Chrysler reportedly looked at their data and “identified deficiencies in its reporting of death and injury reports.”
In other words, more people have been hurt or killed in their cars than has been reported, although the exact details of those cases have not been disclosed yet.
Here’s the statement from NHTSA, in part:
Preliminary information suggests that this under-reporting is the result of a number of problems with FCA’s systems for gathering and reporting EWR [Early Warning Report - Ed.] data. This represents a significant failure to meet a manufacturer’s safety responsibilities. NHTSA will take appropriate action after gathering additional information on the scope and causes of this failure.
The News reports Fiat Chrysler is taking the issue “extremely seriously.” More on this as we get it.
Photo credit AP
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