By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com
February 8, 2006
The White House nominee to become the number one U.S. auto safety regulator promised she would carry out congressional demands for rollover prevention, roof strength and other priorities that she opposed as the Transportation Department's lobbyist on Capitol Hill.
Nicole Nason would be the youngest head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) if confirmed. Nason is 35.
She used her Senate confirmation hearing to answer criticism of her lack of experience and age. Nason told the Senate committee she supports federal incentives for stronger state seat belt laws and favors technology to help prevent rollovers.
Nason learned the dangers of auto crashes first hand. Nine years ago she was injured when another driver ran a stop sign and struck her sport utility vehicle. Nason's vehicle was then hit head-on by another vehicle. She was not issued a citation and spent several months in physical therapy after the accident.
"There's hardly a family in America who has not been impacted by a car crash," Nason told the Senate panel.
Nason's experience advocating the administration's transportation priorities on Capitol Hill has generated much of the opposition to her nomination. She was a senior member of the administration lobbying team opposing deadlines for auto safety provisions in last year's highway bill.
Joan Claybrook, president of the consumer group Public Citizen, was NHTSA administrator at age 39 during the Carter administration. Claybrook said Nason's age and lack of direct experience are less troubling than her lobbying activities on behalf of the Bush Administration.
"My major concern is that she represented the DOT on the highway in opposing auto safety provisions that she will now be responsible for administering," Claybrook said.
Nason would replace Jeffrey Runge, a medical doctor who is an expert in motor-vehicle injury care and prevention. Before his appointment, Runge was an NHTSA fellow and had won a highway safety leadership award from the agency. He also was on the board of advisers to the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.
Five of the agency's 12 administrators have been medical doctors. Others included a former director of the Washington state Department of Motor Vehicles and a retired U.S. Army general.
Both Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation supported Nason's nomination. Nason still must be confirmed by a vote of the full Senate before she takes over at NHTSA.
