Created by the 1966 highway-safety acts that followed Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed. Its standards made seat belts, airbags, and electronic stability control universal, and it now referees the rollout of automated driving systems.
Open the interactive page for NHTSA →Created byHighway Safety Act of 1970 (title II of P.L. 91-605, Dec. 31, 1970), succeeding the National Highway Safety Bureau created under the 1966 traffic-safety acts
Head appointed49 U.S.C. § 105(b): 'The head of the Administration is the Administrator who is appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate'; no fixed term (PAS)
Removal standardno statutory protection — at will
Funded underAnnual Transportation-HUD appropriations act; highway-safety grant programs (23 U.S.C. ch. 4) and part of operations draw contract authority from the Highway Trust Fund, 26 U.S.C. § 9503; vehicle-safety enforcement from the general fund
Congressional oversightHouse Energy and Commerce (motor vehicle safety); House Transportation and Infrastructure shares jurisdiction over highway-safety grants · Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Inspector generalDepartment of Transportation OIG (PAS IG under the Inspector General Act, 5 U.S.C. § 403)
Judicial reviewMotor vehicle safety standards reviewed directly in the court of appeals where petitioner resides or has its principal place of business, filed 'not later than 59 days after the order,' 49 U.S.C. § 30161; other actions (e.g., defect-petition denials) via APA; no private right of action, but state tort suits preserved by savings clause, 49 U.S.C. § 30103(e)
File a vehicle-defect complaint at nhtsa.gov; clusters of complaints can trigger a recall investigation; petition for a new safety standard or comment on proposed rules.
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