FAST Act Recall Pilot Program Gets Underway In Maryland

One of the more bedeviling problems for the automotive industry (and for manufacturers in general) is how to alert consumers to pending recalls, and getting consumers to comply with those recalls. According to NHTSA, only 70% of recalled vehicles are repaired, even though such recalls are frequently safety-sensitive and repairs are free to consumers.

One of the provisions of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, or FAST Act, enacted in late 2015, aimed to improve those recall rates by involving state governments in the notification process, under a pilot program to be rolled out by the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FAST Act authorized DOT to issue grants to state governments to carry out that pilot program.