U.S. safety chief praises automakers

"We are now seeing the manufacturers stepping up, looking harder at their own decisions," NHTSA chief David Strickland told the Detroit News, adding that automakers are making "the right decisions in terms of safety and consumers."

Strickland, meeting last week with the companies that make up the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the trade association representing Detroit's Big Three automakers, Toyota and eight others, told them "our working relationship on safety is bearing fruit."

NHTSA is opening investigations faster, and after fewer complaints, than in the past, he said.

Charles Territo, a spokesman for the manufacturers' alliance, said NHTSA and automakers share the same goal on safety.

"It's important that we maintain an open dialogue with the agency so that we can better understand their priorities and they can better understand the challenges we face," Territo said.

Toyota, especially hard hit by recalls, came in for praise from Strickland.
There's been a "change in how (Toyota) approaches defects," Strickland said, adding Toyota is "working very hard to be a better company going forward."

"Toyota really is taking safety much more seriously than they did before I took office," Strickland, who has been on the job since January, said.

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