The NHTSA -- represented by Administrator Mark Rosekind -- alongside U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, consumer safety advocates, and others called on Congress earlier this week to pass legislation requiring rental car companies and used car dealers to fix safety defects before selling or renting vehicles subject to recalls. 

You have likely heard a friend or family member deem a used or rental vehicle a "lemon," but the NHTSA has set out to eliminate this recurring issue. The main reason being of course, that if a driver is given a vehicle that has some sort of safety defect, it is putting that driver's life -- and the lives of innocent others -- in danger knowingly.

The new legislation would require used car dealers and rental car agencies to fix any vehicle subject to recall prior to selling or renting the automobile. Under the current law, only new cars must be fixed prior to sale, meaning rental agencies and used car dealers do not have fix any issues. 

“Every vehicle under an open safety recall should be repaired as soon as possible,” said Secretary Foxx in a press release from NHTSA. “Requiring rental car agencies and used car dealers to fix defective vehicles before renting is a common-sense solution that would make our roads safer. Safety advocates and the rental car industry have taken a stand for safety, and we need Congress to do so as well.”

While no decision was made yet, we will keep you updated as this story develops. Hopefully Congress moves forward with the NHTSA's plan in order to keep our roads safer.

Drunk driving has been a major issue on U.S. roadways for years, but after more than a decade combating the epidemic, drinking and driving has slowly declined.

While we celebrate our roads being safer with less drunk driving, a new issue has developed with other impaired drivers according to the NHTSA; namely those under the influence of drugs such as marijuana and prescription pills. 

According to the latest version of NHTSA’s Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers, drinking and driving has declined nearly 33 percent since 2007, and more than 75 percent since the initial Roadside survey in 1973. 

Unfortunately, as one issue fades away, another becomes more prevalent as that same survey found a large increase in the number of impaired drivers using marijuana or other illegal drugs behind the wheel. In the 2014 survey, nearly 25 percent of drivers tested positive for at least one drug that could affect safety while driving.

As we have previously mentioned in an earlier blog (read more here), DUI's can occur from more than just alcohol. Any drug that impairs your ability to drive can earn you a ticket to jail alongside a DUI.

“America made drunk driving a national issue and while there is no victory as long as a single American dies in an alcohol-related crash, a one-third reduction in alcohol use over just seven years shows how a focused effort and cooperation among the federal government, states and communities, law enforcement, safety advocates and industry can make an enormous difference,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. 

“At the same time, the latest Roadside Survey raises significant questions about drug use and highway safety," Rosekind continued. "The rising prevalence of marijuana and other drugs is a challenge to everyone who is dedicated to saving lives and reducing crashes.”

It all comes down to choices in the end: Choose not to drink and drive, and more importantly, choose not to drive impaired under any substance whatsoever. As you can see, together we can make our roadways safer, one issue at a time. 

When the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent out a consumer advisory in late October to request drivers to take action urgently if they owned a vehicle with defective Takata airbags or a defective electronic component manufactured by TRW, the NHTSA was hoping the initial recall would solve the issues at hand.

Now nearly four months later, the NHTSA has begun a follow-up recall for 2.12 million cars and SUV's that still have the defective airbags. According to the NHTSA website, "Acura, Dodge, Jeep, Honda, Pontiac, and Toyota vehicles (were recalled) for a defect that may cause airbags to deploy inadvertently. The (new) recalls will provide vehicle owners with a new remedy after the manufacturers’ original attempts to fix the defects proved ineffective in some vehicles."

Apparently, after the first attempt to remedy the situation, some vehicles were still having their airbags deployed inadvertently. In total, NHTSA noted that about 40 vehicles airbags deployed following the initial remedy from the first recall.  

“NHTSA is committed to using every tool available to make our roads safer, and that includes using our authority and influence to make sure companies are doing what they should do to protect safety,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said.

Hopefully this round of recalls will quell the issue at hand, thus saving lives in the process. Read more about the latest NHTSA recall here.