NHTSA Wants to Boost Safety Probe Staff Eightfold

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which currently has 54 fulltime investigators of vehicle safety defects, says it needs more than 400 people to do the job well.

In a 50-page report, NHTSA notes the huge increase in onboard electronics makes it far more difficult to pinpoint the source of many vehicle defects. It also says the current staff of its Office of Defects Investigation has been hard pressed to keep up with a surge in complaints from vehicle owners its best indicator of possible safety defects to more than 77,000 in 2014 from a historical annual norm of 45,000.

NHTSA has proposed a $24 million boost to ODI's fiscal 2016 budget that would allow it to expand staff by 92 people. The increase would enable the unit to cope with its current workload but remain a reactive organization, according to the report.

To become proactive, NHTSA suggests a "new paradigm" plan that would hike ODI's budget by $89 million and add 380 new staffers.

The agency says the approach also would beef up its computing abilities to mine crash data, consumer complaints and warranty work for possible safety problems. Among other things, the agency envisions staffing up to probe defects at the factory level and test proposed remedies before carmakers implement them.