Advocates Push to Update U.S. Safety Reporting that Ignores Older Cars

The U.S. early-warning system created to quickly detect possible safety defects doesn't monitor cars that are more than 10 years old. That made sense when most cars were scrapped after 6-8 years. But now the average car on the road is more than 11 years old and rising.

That means the early-warning system doesn't monitor nearly half the cars on the road today some 121 million cars and trucks, according to IHS Automotive. Bloomberg News reports that safety advocates say it's time to rework the regulation to cover problems that arise through the entire life of the vehicle.

Bloomberg notes that U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) introduced legislation in February that, among other things, would eliminate the 10-year limit. The bill is being reviewed in committee.

A parallel question is who should pay for recalls involving elderly cars, Bloomberg adds. Congress currently requires manufacturers not to charge owners for safety-related recall repairs on vehicles that are no more than 10 years old. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that carmakers often perform free repairs on older recalled models anyway.