Asleep at the Wheel - Enforcers Aren't Enforcing

by WashDCDemocrat


Toyota got away with months of sticky pedal problems before their company's reputation was driven into the ground. So where was the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)?

Massey Energy faced down a number of citations for lack of safety at their mining facilities, paying only a fraction of their fines. Only when the worst mining accident in a quarter-century left 25 miners dead would they even consider owning up to their responsibilities. Where was the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)?

After accidents and corporate misdeeds, interest groups are the first to rally for more regulations. Loopholes and loose regulations, they argue, allow companies to operate with impunity while the public suffers. This is true. But regulations are worthless if they can't be enforced effectively. Regulation is only the first step.

Consider, for example, the NHTSA, an organization allocated $870 million, and hired 635 employees at last count. Not bad, right? Compare that to the Federal Aviation Administration, hiring an excess of 17,000 employees and granted $16 billion dollars (Washington Post, 2/10/2010). How is the NHTSA expected to keep tabs on automakers with such a dismal budget?

MSHA also is woefully underfunded, receiving a lowly $354 million in funding this year. Significant portions of their work are geared towards public awareness, telling non-miners to keep clear of abandoned mining areas. They regularly impose fines - over 175,000 citations were issued in 2009, with over 100,000 of them going to coal mines. In 2009, the violations per inspection hour was at .21, which means that mines committed a violation every five hours. Despite the issuing of citations, however, corporations have the right to appeal the issuing of citations and delay the payment process, making unsafe mines a danger to those inside.

The dangers of relaxed enforcement could become far worse. Imagine, if you will, the dangers of untested public water, unsupervised hospitals, or un-inspected restaurants. The safety of the public will be in grave danger if we lose sight of the tools we need to ensure our own safety. The passage of law is not the last step, but rather the first.