Guardrails: And Now There Are 16 States


Guardrails: And Now There Are 16 States

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The NY Times, continuing to monitor progress in protecting American motorists, reports there are now 16 States that have taken positive guardrail safety actions.  New States are NY, TX, and ND.  See map of the 16 States and the 34 States currently Missing in Action at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/business/virginia-plans-to-remove-suspect-guardrail-parts.html?mabReward=RI%3A8&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&region=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine&_r=0

So this updates my previous blog at https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-dangerousguardrails.php

Still unsatisfactory safety performance at DOT NHTSA and FHWA.

Where are the defective guardrails nationwide?  How many deaths have happened at defective guardrail sites?  NHTSA has data on the location of virtually all fatal crashes since 2002.  That is more than 400,000 American crash deaths in the U.S.A.

The big, as yet untold, story is how much more can be done to protect Americans, when we can free DOT, FHWA, and NHTSA from corporate captivity.

Lou

 

NHTSA Under Review, Deputy Administrator Unlikely To Be Selected, Growing Hope

NHTSA Under Review, Deputy Administrator Unlikely To Be Selected, Growing Hope

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

NHTSA Safety Culture The AP reports:“Transportation officials are reviewing the “safety culture” of the U.S. agency that oversees auto recalls, a senior Obama administration official said Friday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been criticized by lawmakers and safety advocates for not acting aggressively enough regarding millions of vehicles with defective air bags or faulty ignition switches.

A special Transportation Department team is examining whether “we have the dial set correctly on risk management and our safety posture in general” throughout the department, especially at the safety administration, said the official, who asked that he not be named as a condition of briefing reporters…. Announcements related to the review are expected in the coming weeks, the official said. The White House is also expected to nominate an administrator to run the troubled agency within the next two weeks, he said.”

See http://www.pddnet.com/news/2014/10/us-official-auto-safety-agency-under-review-0

NHTSA Acting Administrator

And Reuters reports:“WASHINGTON — The acting chief of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, the top U.S. automotive safety regulator, is unlikely to be nominated for the job and a search is under way to fill the position, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday.

After a series of perceived failures at the administration, David Friedman, who has served this year as acting head of the agency, is not expected to be tapped by the Obama administration for the job, the source said….”

Rep. Fred Upton, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on Monday said the agency needs to hold itself to a higher standard and called on new leadership.

“This can begin with the naming of a new NHTSA chief — a critically important safety post that remains vacant to this day,” Upton said in a statement.”

See https://bangordailynews.com/2014/10/28/politics/obama-administration-considering-leadership-change-at-auto-safety-agency/?ref=comments

House Energy and Commerce Committee Statement

“House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) said, “It is well past time for some agency introspection, and I am pleased to hear NHTSA is finally taking steps to review its culture and practices. Mistakes have been made by both companies and regulators, and as the agency holds automakers accountable, it needs to hold itself to the same – if not a higher – standard as those it regulates. NHTSA must be willing to learn from the failures of the past so we can improve safety. This can begin with the naming of a new NHTSA chief – a critically important safety post that remains vacant to this day.” – See more at:http://energycommerce.house.gov/icymi/following-committee-investigation-auto-safety-regulator-review-culture#sthash.Le3oRmXb.dpuf

And at  http://energycommerce.house.gov/icymi/following-committee-investigation-auto-safety-regulator-review-culture

The Big Unfolding Story 

The big unfolding story of DOT is its captivity.  Senator Blumenthal has unearthed the root of the DOT problems of life and/or death importance to the American people.  See

https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-blumenthalonnhtsa.php

And see https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/CFCV-MonthlyReport-March2014.pdf

For the first time in years, I can sense some hope for light at the end of the auto safety tunnel — sunlight with its wholesome disinfecting power.

Lou

 

Golden Hour Decision Saves Lives in Afghanistan


Golden Hour Decision Saves Lives in Afghanistan

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

As readers know, I have been advocating faster and better rescue of crash victims since the early 1990s.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReport-May2013-Web.pdf andhttps://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforJuly2015final.pdf

Now a study of military policies and practices ordered by DOD Secretary Gates in 2009 shows the importance of optimal care for the injured.

The NY Times reports:

“WASHINGTON — As the Pentagon prepared to send tens of thousands of additional American forces to Afghanistan in 2009, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates became concerned that the rugged terrain and vast distances of the war zone were keeping wounded troops from reaching hospital care within 60 minutes. This is the so-called golden hour, which combat medical experts deem vital to survival.

Despite protests from the military, Mr. Gates ordered more helicopters to Afghanistan to evacuate troops wounded by gunfire, grenades and roadside bombs. He directed that helicopters previously set aside for rescuing downed pilots be reassigned to medical evacuation, because not a single fighter jet or bomber had been shot down in the war. Mr. Gates also increased the number of field hospitals.

The initiatives appear to have succeeded. A peer-reviewed medical study published online on Wednesday reports that the secretary’s orders saved an estimated 359 lives from June 2009 to March 2014, with important lessons today for the military and the Pentagon bureaucracy.”

Please see NY Times article at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/us/politics/study-says-faster-medical-evacuation-was-lifesaver-for-us-troops.html

The medical Journal article is attached.

If only President Obama and NHTSA Administrators had acted with similar focus on saving lives of crash victims here in America, many more tragedies could have been prevented. Lou

 

GM Plans to Increase Profits


GM Plans to Increase Profits

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

NY Times reports:“Mary T. Barra, G.M.’s chief executive, touted the plan as a fresh start for the nation’s largest automaker, which has been struggling to stabilize operations in the wake of its recall this year of millions of defective small cars tied to at least 23 deaths.

The recall, which began in February, has already cost G.M. about $4 billion, and cast doubt on the quality and safety of its products.

The crisis has also spurred dozens of subsequent recalls of other models and forced Ms. Barra and her management team to confront deep, systemic problems within the company.”

An internal investigation revealed that some G.M. employees had known of problems for a decade with the ignition switches of compact cars that could cause the vehicles to lose power suddenly and deactivate air bags.

The revelations spurred congressional hearings and a $35 million fine by federal regulators for G.M.’s failure to report the safety defect in a timely manner. The company is still under investigation for possible criminal and civil charges by the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and 45 state attorneys general.

It also faces a rising tide of private litigation, even as it starts paying out compensation to victims of the faulty switch through a fund run by the lawyer Kenneth R. Feinberg.

Ms. Barra did not mention the recalls and the mounting death toll tied to the defect in her prepared remarks to investors and analysts.”  See

Lou

 

Will GM Be Too Big To Jail Too?


Will GM Be Too Big To Jail Too?

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Mr. Joe Nocera asks important questions in the NY Times:“So the question worth asking, as Holder plans to step down, is not what his department did but why it did so little. Why was it so reluctant to pursue the financial crimes connected to the 2008 crisis?…. “Adam Levitin, a professor at Georgetown Law School, had his own list of reasons, which he emailed me. They included fear that the Obama administration would be accused of an anti-business witch hunt if it went after Wall Street; “deep personal, cultural, financial and political ties” between the administration and Wall Street; and a lack of understanding of the products and markets involved. “What it all boils down to,” Levitin concluded, “is that we didn’t have prosecutions because no one ever really wanted to prosecute.”  Seearticle and comments at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/30/opinion/joe-nocera-the-hole-in-holders-legacy.html?mabReward=RI%3A5&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&region=Footer&module=Recommendation&src=recg&pgtype=article

If past is prologue, this history is not good news for those who want an end to crash deaths and serious injuries and justice for crash victims.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-holderresign.php

Lou

 

U.S. DOT Continues To Fail in Protecting Motorists – Guardrails That Kill and Maim – Part 2


U.S. DOT Continues To Fail in Protecting Motorists – Guardrails That Kill and Maim – Part 2

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Here is an Update on this important NY Times article.  See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/13/business/highway-guardrail-may-be-deadly-states-say.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSumSmallMediaHigh&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news NY Times has added a document – a coverup memo from the U.S. DOT FHWA Associate Administrator for Safety, Tony Furst, sent on Oct. 10, 2014 to Division Administrators and Director of Field Services.  In essence: 1. we did our part, 2. the rest is a local decision, 3. send information.  See Copy attached along with other documents.

If Mr. Furst really cared, he could ask for analyses by NHTSA of the Guardrail problem and lots more.  See NHTSA data brochure attached.
In addition, he could invite researchers from The Safety Institute to meet with FHWA in the presence of the media.  Sean Kane is a respected safety advocate that has pioneered investigation of the guardrail (and many other safety problems).  
Mr. Kane kindly wrote me of his recent work on guardrails as follows:“You may be aware of the work we did at The Safety Institute (the non-profit I founded) – our study (co-funded by the state of Missouri) became the impetus for Massachusetts to pull the ET-Plus from the Qualified Products List.   

http://www.thesafetyinstitute.org/the-safety-institute-releases-study-questioning-safety-of-guardrail-end-terminals/

Also, several of the documents cited by the NYT are documents that we obtained through vigorous FOIAs.  In fact, we’re currently litigating a FOIA lawsuit against FHWA related to materials associated with the ET-Plus

(See http://www.safetyresearch.net/blog/articles/safety-research-strategies-sues-fhwa-guardrail-documents) and just settled an open records case with the state of FL (seehttp://www.safetyresearch.net/blog/articles/safety-research-strategies-wins-foia-case-against-florida-dot)

Best Regards,

Sean

Safety Research & Strategies, Inc.

340 Anawan St.

Rehoboth, MA 02769

508-252-2333

www.safetyresearch.net”

That is the kind of advocacy the American people need when the Federal Agencies are captured by corporate interests.

Lou

 

U.S. DOT Continues To Fail in Protecting Motorists – Guardrails That Kill & Maim


U.S. DOT Continues To Fail in Protecting Motorists – Guardrails That Kill & Maim

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The NY Times has excellently highlighted another failure of federal officials to protect Americans. “By last month, state transportation officials in Missouri said they had seen enough.

Federal highway officials had long insisted that guardrails throughout the state were safe. But some guardrail heads had apparently malfunctioned, in essence turning the rails into spears when cars hit them and injuring people instead of cushioning the blow, Missouri officials said.”

Especially Note:  

  • Video Report by ABC “20/20” and
  • Readers’ Picks in NY Times Comments
Hopefully Congressional committees will continue to investigate and publish documents and transcripts to better educate the public as to Federal failures to protect Americans.
Lou