Automakers and federal regulators have a duty to ensure the safety of consumers. Defective auto parts put us and our families at risk, so it is important that once a defect is found, it is promptly corrected.

The Center for Auto Safety has criticized the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for failing to correct a safety defect present in millions of vehicles that would only cost $1 per vehicle to fix. According to the Center for Auto Safety, millions of cars have a defect that can kill or injure children during rear-end accidents.

The defect causes front seats to propel backwards at high speeds during rear-end accidents, potentially injuring other passengers. For decades, NHTSA has claimed children are ‘safest’ sitting in backseats, and parents have listened. Unfortunately, seatback failures are most likely to catastrophically injure or kill children.

A family in Texas was recently awarded $124.5 million after their child suffered a severe traumatic brain injury due to a seatback failure. An innocent child who had his entire life to look forward to now suffers from partial paralysis and cannot perform simple tasks. Engineers for auto companies admitted seatback failures could be prevented at a low cost of $1 per vehicle.

Why NHTSA Must Work to Prevent Seatback Failures

NHTSA has claimed seatback failures are too rare to regulate, but that is hardly any excuse. CBS News claims more than 100 people have been catastrophically injured or killed by seatback failures since 1989, and the majority were children.

It is unacceptable that NHTSA would not create safeguards against seatback failures when the fix might only cost $1 per vehicle. Let’s consider that Audi was forced to pay 55 percent of $124.5 million to a Texas family for a seatback failure. That money could have been spent ensuring children were kept safe from a preventable auto defect.