"A Culture of Timidity": Ralph Nader on How Regulators Ignored a GM Safety Defect Tied to 13 Deaths | Democracy Now!

"A Culture of Timidity": Ralph Nader on How Regulators Ignored a GM Safety Defect Tied to 13 Deaths | Democracy Now!

 After hundreds of complaints and 13 deaths, the Justice Department has
launched a criminal investigation into how the nation’s largest
automaker, General Motors, may have covered up deadly safety defects in
its compact cars. Six GM models made from 2003 to 2007 suddenly turned
off while being driven — leaving drivers with no engine power, no power
steering, no breaks and no air bags. For 11 years, GM reportedly treated
the defect as a matter of customer satisfaction, not safety. Federal
regulators also failed to take action, declining to investigate despite a
flood of complaints. GM finally announced a massive recall of some 1.6
million vehicles last month. We speak with consumer advocate Ralph
Nader, who is no stranger to GM. After writing "Unsafe at Any Speed: The
Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile," he won a major
settlement against the auto giant for spying on him and trying to
discredit him. Nader faults what he calls "a culture of timidity" in the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "bred by the lack of
backing by the Bush White House and, to some similar extent, by the
Obama White House." He adds: "That of course leads to a reluctance to
follow up on the evidence, to stand tall for the American motorist. That
is not why we established the auto safety agency in 1966, so maybe this
will help turn it around. Often it takes a tragedy like this to turn it
around."