The Biden administration’s nominee for the top auto safety regulator in the United States promised to “prioritize” the replacement of outdated federal strength standards for car seats, which was the focus of CBS's six-year news investigation.

"CBS focused on this issue," Senator Ed Markey (Massachusetts Democrat) said when asked about Dr. Stevencliffe, who was appointed the next National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator. "I think it is important for us to put safety first and complete it once and for all."

Cliff responded to his confirmation hearing on Thursday, saying: "If confirmed, I will give priority to the leadership you provide to advance rulemaking."

Senator Markey and Connecticut's Richard Blumenthal (Richard Blumenthal) are also Democrats and jointly authorized legislation to force NHTSA to replace CBS. News found that the regulations were too low and the banquet chair could be passed. Congresswoman Catherine Rice (DN.Y.) led the work in the House of Representatives.

This measure is included in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that President Biden signed into law in November.

"We look forward to prioritizing the instructions given to us by the law," Cliff said in testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee. 

In a series of stories that began to air in 2015, CBS News revealed that when hit from behind, the front seats of the car may break, and their occupants may be forcefully pushed into the rear seats where children usually sit. superior.

CBS News confirmed more than 100 people, most of them children, who have suffered serious injuries or deaths due to suspected seat back failures in the past 30 years.

Safety advocates estimate that at least 50 children die in such accidents each year, and the number may be even higher: in 2016, the then NHTSA administrator Mark Ruskin admitted that such accidents were not closely tracked. 

Senator Markey told CBS News that he posed this question to Cliff before the hearing-Cliff's testimony was "very enlightening."

In order to meet its Congressional authorization, NHTSA has two years to draft a new vehicle seat strength standard, which will be approved by the Secretary of Transportation. 

"We need NHTSA to act quickly to pass the regulation so that the automotive industry can change its practices," Markey told CBS News. "I believe that NHTSA will pass regulations to provide safety for children in the back seat of a car."

Kris Van Cleave is a congressional correspondent for CBS News in Washington, D.C.

First released on December 17, 2021 / 2:06 AM

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