H.R. 5654, the "Vehicle Safety Improvement Act of 2014"

The Vehicle Safety Improvement Act of 2014 -- which builds on H.R. 4364, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2014, a bill introduced by Ranking Member Waxman in April 2014 -- takes several steps that the Committee’s investigation made clear are necessary to respond to auto manufaturer's failure to recall defective vehicles.  This legislation strengthens transparency and oversight, provides the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with additional and amended safety authorities, and establishes several new protections for consumers of motor vehicles.  Among other measures, this bill:

• Requires that manufacturers’ safety-related communications regarding defective parts be made public on NHTSA’s website;
• Improves the Early Warning Reporting system, by making more reported information public and ensuring that NHTSA receives significantly more information from manufacturers on any fatal incident involving a safety defect, including the manufacturer’s assessment of why a fatal incident may have occurred; 
• Requires NHTSA to improve its website by making it more readily searchable;
• Grants NHTSA the authority to expedite auto company recalls in the case of an “imminent hazard,” when a defect substantially increases the likelihood of serious injury or death if not remedied immediately;  
• Requires that all recalls occur on a national basis;
• Requires the establishment of standards for motor vehicles to reduce the number of injuries and death of pedestrians struck by vehicles;
• Requires auto dealers to notify buyers or lessees of any safety-related defect that has not been remedied, and for buyers or lessees to acknowledge in writing that the dealer informed them of the defect; and
• Increases the penalties that could be assessed, and in most cases uncaps the statutory maximum penalty, for violations of federal motor vehicle safety laws, like the failure to disclose relevant information to regulators in a timely manner.