A U.S. District Court judge in Texas has put the brakes on an attempt to compel General Motors to tell owners of recalled vehicles to keep their cars parked pending repairs.
Last month, plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against GM had asked the court to consider ordering the carmaker to issue as so-called “park it” order for the 2.6 million vehicles involved in the ongoing ignition-related recall.
The defect at the core of this recall has resulted in at least 13 deaths and has uncovered a culture of putting cost above safety at GM, which repeatedly ignored signs of a problem going back more than a decade.
The plaintiffs believe that these vehicles are not safe to drive until they have been repaired and had hoped to compel GM to issue notices to owners advising them that the vehicles should not be driven.
GM has maintained that the cars are indeed safe to drive if drivers take the precaution of not attaching to the car’s key while it’s in the ignition.
In her ruling this morning, the judge deferred to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has not deemed the vehicles unsafe for operation.
“The court is of the opinion that NHTSA is far better equipped than this court to address the broad and complex issues of automotive safety and the regulation of automotive companies in connection with the nationwide recall,” wrote the judge.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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