Week ahead: Highway safety pick faces first test

President Obama’s nominee to lead the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) will face his first test in the Senate this week. 

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee is scheduled to hold an executive session Wednesday to consider Obama’s choice of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Mark Rosekind for the vacant highway safety post. 

Obama announced in November that he was tapping Rosekind to lead the Highway Safety agency, which has come under fire in the past year for its handling of auto recalls by several car companies. 

{mosads}Rosekind, who appeared before the lawmakers for the first time since receiving the nomination last week, will be the agency’s first full-time chief in nearly a year if he is confirmed by the Senate.

The Highway Safety Administration has been operating with a full-time chief since its former Administrator David Strickland resigned at the beginning of the year. 

Lawmakers on the Senate panel pressed Rosekind during a hearing last week for answers about how he would handle recalls that have plagued the U.S. auto industry differently. 

“We are on pace to have the all-time worst year for auto recalls in U.S. history, with roughly 56 million vehicles being subject to recalls so far,” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said during the hearing last week Rosekind’s nomination to lead the beleaguered highway safety agency. 

“In many of these cases, there are legitimate questions about whether NHTSA should have identified the defective products earlier and communicated more effectively with the public,” Thune continued. “That is why Dr. Rosekind will face substantial challenges at NHTSA, should he be confirmed.” 

Rosekind pledged to use his experience at the accident investigation agency and other transportation-related positions to bolster the highway safety administration if his nomination is ultimately approved. 

“If confirmed, you have my commitment that I will maintain an aggressive focus on continuing to improve NHTSA’s safety record and ensuring that NHTSA’s regulatory regime is current for today’s safety environment,” he told the panel. “To this task, I will bring a fresh set of eyes and a different perspective honed over the years as a safety professional and manager at NASA, NTSB and in the private sector.” 

Lawmakers have taken the Highway Safety Administration to task for its handling of earlier problems at General Motors in addition to the Takata recall, accusing officials there of failing to notice trends of accidents involving faulty auto parts in both cases. 

Elsewhere this week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of allowing nonmilitary drones flying alongside commercial airplanes in the U.S.