This New York Times blog entry notes that it’s become almost impossible to extract information out of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — the very agency in charge of providing car safety data to the public.

From the entry: “Without special permission, officials there are no longer allowed to provide information to reporters except on a background basis, which means it cannot be attributed to a spokesman.”

That policy, in the uninentional hilarity that often shows up in information control efforts, even extends to the communications office. But reporters can get information from Nicole R. Nason, the agency’s administrator.

Of course, she’s not a safety expert. She’s a political appointee.

Don’t you feel safer?