| An investigation by The Times into the agency's handling of major safety defects over the past decade found that it frequently has been slow to identify problems, tentative to act and reluctant to employ its full legal powers against companies. Even as more cars are recalled for safety problems, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has awarded an increased number of high safety ratings -- two thirds of 2015 models tested so far received the top rating, an important marketing claim. Not only does the agency spend about as much money rating new cars -- a favorite marketing tool for automakers -- as it does investigating potentially deadly manufacturing defects, but it also has been so deferential to automakers that it made a key question it poses about fatal accidents optional . |
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