By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday nominated transportation expert Mark Rosekind to lead the top U.S. auto safety regulator, which has come under criticism this year for a perceived slow response to major scandals.
Rosekind, if confirmed by the Senate, would come to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) after spending the past four years as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the agency that investigates major transportation accidents.
The White House announced the nomination on the eve of a Senate hearing into how regulators and the auto industry have handled a rapidly expanding recall of millions of potentially defective air bags manufactured by Japan's Takata Corp.
The air bags, which can rupture upon deployment and spray metal shards into cars, have been linked to at least five deaths.
Safety advocates have criticized NHTSA for not responding more quickly to years of evidence about the deadly defect.
The agency was similarly criticized for its sluggish response to more than a decade of evidence that millions of General Motors Co vehicles were equipped with a potentially deadly ignition switch flaw.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a leading NHTSA critic, called Rosekind's nomination "long overdue" and said he hoped it "will breathe new life into this battered and beleaguered agency."
NHTSA has been lacking a permanent head since David Strickland resigned in December 2013. Deputy Administrator David Friedman has been running NHTSA in the interim.
According to the NTSB's biography of Rosekind, he is "one of the world's foremost human fatigue experts" and a founder of Alertness Solutions, a consulting firm that specializes in fatigue management.
Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said he was surprised the nominee didn't have a background in auto safety.
"Given the GM ignition switch and now Takata I would have expected someone with more of a hands-on experience in vehicle safety," Ditlow said.
Senator John Thune, the top Republican on the committee that will consider the nomination, said he looked forward to hearing Rosekind's "plans to address the rising number of motor vehicle safety recalls."
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx called Rosekind "a leader ready-made for this critical responsibility," and said he expects him to hold the auto industry accountable.
It is unclear if the Senate will consider the nomination before its planned adjournment for the year in mid-December.
(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Karey Van Hall, Sandra Maler and Eric Walsh)