NHTSA admits fault in GM recall

Ever since General Motors began recalling cars with a defective ignition switch that has been linked to at least 109 deaths, Mary Barra, its chief executive, has repeatedly apologized for the automaker’s failing.

On Friday, it was auto regulators’ turn to acknowledge their role.

In a bluntly worded report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identified a series of its own failings, which allowed millions of small cars to go unrepaired for more than a decade. The ignition switch in some small cars is prone to turn off, stalling the engine and disabling the airbags.

The agency admitted in the report to having clues of the defect to which it did not pay attention, including a Wisconsin state trooper’s report in 2007 that suggested that a crash that killed two young women had resulted from a problem with the ignition switch position.

— From wire reports