Month: November 2014

GM Recall Scandal – More Evidence on Who Knew What, When


GM Recall Scandal – More Evidence on Who Knew What, When

November, 2014

The GM Recall Defense yarn continues to unravel.

The Wall St. journal reports:“General Motors Co. ordered a half-million replacement ignition switches to fix Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars almost two months before it alerted federal safety regulators to the problem, according to emails viewed by The Wall Street Journal.”  See

The NY Times reports:

“Nearly two months before notifying federal regulators and the public that it was recalling cars with a dangerously defective ignition switch, General Motors placed an urgent order for 500,000 replacement switches, emails to its supplier Delphi Automotiveshow.

The emails were sent on Dec. 18, 2013, a day after a crucial committee met to discuss the switch issue but declined to order a recall. Despite the official inaction, a G.M. employee sent an email to Delphi the next day requesting the half-million replacement parts for “an urgent field action for our customers.””   See

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/business/gm-ordered-replacement-ignition-switches-months-before-recall.html

The truth continues to become known raising additional questions about who knew what, when at GM and NHTSA.  These email dates closely coincide with resignations by GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson and NHTSA Administrator David Strickland’s Revolving Door decision and the elevation of Mary Barra to be GM CEO.
Lou

 

Safety + Justice Delayed = Safety + Justice Denied


Safety + Justice Delayed = Safety + Justice Denied

November, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Progress In Safety & Justice

Attorneys, Citizen Safety Advocates, Legislators, Investigative Reporters, and  Editorial Boards are collecting and analyzing the evidence that GM covered up the tragedies of defective ignition switches.  And who knows how much more?   And how many more tragedies are yet to be identified?  

The LA Times reports: “Blumenthal called for further testimony from Barra to explain the delay in notifying drivers and regulators.

Hilliard’s firm represents about 2,200 individual plaintiffs in cases that he said involve at least 100 deaths.”

“The total number of deaths caused by GM’s conduct will never be known, because their coverup was successful,” Hilliard said. “They covered this up for 10 years. As a result, vehicles are gone, accident records cannot be restored, and no one remembers what car it was that ran that stoplight and caused someone’s death. As a result, a large victim population will never see justice.”   Seehttp://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gm-emails-20141111-story.html

The NY Times reports:

““Delphi is refusing to participate in the cover-up,” said Robert C. Hilliard, one of three lead plaintiffs attorneys in federal multidistrict litigation against G.M. “They are fully and honestly disclosing what we have a right under the rules to know.”

The emails showing the December order were produced by Delphi during discovery in the sweeping federal litigation. Mr. Hilliard obtained permission from Delphi to declassify them. Their existence was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Hilliard said he planned to depose current and former Delphi employees.”

How Much Justice & How Much Safety?
How much safety Americans get in the future is dependent upon how much justice past, present, and future crash victims receive.
As I recently wrote:   “The current reality is that GM vehicles are in 10,000 fatal crashes each year in the U.S.   About 7,000 are occupants of the GM vehicle and about 3,000 are persons killed in crashes with a GM vehicle.

As I have written, what GM and NHTSA have known since 2007 suggests the problems are bigger than the public knows.  Just the number of airbag non-deployment crashes analyzed by GM using OnStar data — and published by NHTSA in 2007 are alarming.  

“The number of frontal non-deployment crashes in 2005
amounts to 356 cases, or an average each day of about 1 such non-deployment frontal crash, where airbags met the GM deployment threshold.  Unknown is how many of these crashes GM and/or NHTSA investigated for defects, and outcomes since 2005.”  
Evidence of NHTSA and GM’s Failures Portend Changes Ahead

The evidence continues to grow.   When will we reach a tipping point?
Will there be a settlement that involves just money?  Or will there be a settlement that results in fundamental safety changes in both GM and NHTSA for the better?

Hopefully this will result in a substantial step toward meeting Vision Zero goals for the nation, GM, and all auto companies.”

Both Safety & Justice 
Whether Americans get the safety they need and deserve depends on how high up the chains of command are investigated in both courts of law and courts of public opinion.   Will former GM Chairman and CEO be deposed?
Will former NHTSA Administrator David Strickland be deposed?
Perhaps whistle blowers will add to the growing evidence that allows the public to connect the dots and see the picture of what has been happening to put and keep Americans in danger.
Crowd sourcing of who knew what, when, may be the factor that pushes America over the tipping point to achieve both safety and justice.
Lou

 

Nominee for NHTSA Administrator – Dr. Mark R. Rosekind


Nominee for NHTSA Administrator – Dr. Mark R. Rosekind

November, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Please see  http://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=746dfdde-d672-42f9-9736-66115efeba9ehttps://www.ntsb.gov/about/bio_rosekind.htmlhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-r-rosekind-ph-d-0009226/https://www.ntsb.gov/news/speeches/MRosekind/Pages/default.aspx

Lou

 

NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman – One Year and 30,000 Lives Lost Later


NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman – One Year and 30,000 Lives Lost Later

November, 2014

Dear Mr. Friedman – and Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Nearly one year ago we met for the first time at the beginning of a NHTSA led FICEMS public meeting.  I introduced myself and asked about the prospects for positive changes for safety at NHTSA.  You smiled broadly and said “I am happy.”  I returned to my seat to await my 5 minute opportunity to speak with a deep sense of disappointment.  

In my testimony, I noted the need for national leadership in auto safety.
I asked for NHTSA to adopt a simple goal for “Timely and optimal treatment for serious crash injuries within a decade” and other related policies. My testimony is available at  https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-petitiontoNHTSA.php

Here we are today, nearly one year, 30,000 crash deaths, and more than 100,000 serious crash injuries, later.  After regularly emailing you all my blog posts and reports and my petitions only to be unanswered by NHTSA, I sadly regret to note that I have tried to inform you of the public’s safety needs and potential positive actions you could take.

Little did I know at that time that Administrator Strickland was about to resign and take a job with the corporate law firm Venable, that has done work for Chrysler, leaving you as Acting NHTSA Administrator.  His resignation came just after a questionable agreement with Chrysler on the Jeep Recall for gas tanks exploding in fiery crashes.

This week you may be testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee facing many difficult questions that probably will not make you “happy” — nor anyone else happy.  I say this not in a sense of gloating, but in a deep sense of regret that my citizen efforts have not been sufficient to avoid this state of affairs for the American people.  “Told you so.” are bitter words of disappointment to express.  I wish I were in a position to express better words to say such as “Bravo!  Job well done!”

As my mother taught me “Next time better.”  Hopefully, in your remaining days at NHTSA you can do better.  The American people certainly need you to do better.  Many more lives and livelihoods depend on it.

Lou

 

NHTSA Authority, NHTSA Nominee, AZ Attorney General Sues GM, A Safer Future?


NHTSA Authority, NHTSA Nominee, AZ Attorney General Sues GM, A Safer Future?

November, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Busy times in the difficult struggle for good over evil.

NHTSA Authority

NY Times editorial notes “Three Bills to Curb Corporate Wrongdoing”:“When it was learned this year that General Motors had long failed to notify regulators and the public about fatal ignition-switch defects, theoutrage in Congress was bipartisan. Recent reports in The New York Times that the Japanese manufacturer Takata hid deadly airbag defects are also sure to inspire rebukes from members of both parties. Takata has rebutted the reports, but lawmakers have appropriately scheduled a hearing for Thursday and called for a criminal inquiry by the Justice Department.…new laws are needed to deter corporations from covering up safety defects and punish those individuals and companies that do. Three bills introduced by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut and a former state attorney general, would cover many of the prominent issues.”  See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/opinion/three-bills-to-curb-corporate-wrongdoing.html?emc=edit_tnt_20141119&nlid=37926955&tntemail0=y
NHTSA Nominee Mark R. Rosekind, Currently of NTSB
Reuters reports:

“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.”

See http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/19/usa-autos-nhtsa-idUSL2N0T931D20141119

AZ Attorney General Sues GM“The attorney general of Arizona said on Wednesday that the state had filed suit against General Motors, claiming that the automaker had defrauded the state’s consumers of an estimated $3 billion…. “In filing suit, Arizona has broken from a group of 48 state attorneys general that has been pursuing a multistate investigation into G.M. for its handling of the ignition-switch defect. The state had been on the executive committee of that multistate inquiry, led by South Carolina and Ohio.

“We’re proceeding with our own suit because it’s the best way to protect the citizens of Arizona,” Attorney General Thomas C. Horne, a Republican, said in an interview. “General Motors represented that it was taking care of the safety of its cars, and in fact there were serious defects that it did not disclose to the public for years.”  See

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/20/business/arizona-sues-gm-for-3-billion-over-recalls.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Who Will Win, What, Where, How, Why & When? Congressional Leaders Boehner and McConnell wrote about their Republican goals as reforming:

“• Excessive regulations and frivolous lawsuits that are driving up costs for families and preventing the economy from growing;

• An antiquated government bureaucracy ill-equipped to serve a citizenry facing 21st-century challenges, from disease control to caring for veterans;”  Seehttp://online.wsj.com/articles/john-boehner-and-mitch-mcconnell-now-we-can-get-congress-going-1415232759

For crash victims, past, present, and future, the answers may be found following the money.  About $4 billion was spent in the 2014 elections.
Let’s remember the lesson that “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
The next two years appear to be a tipping point in the struggle for a Safer future.
Lou

 

Sen. Markey Statement on Honda Plan for Nationwide Recall & NHTSA’s Regional Recall Failure


Sen. Markey Statement on Honda Plan for Nationwide Recall & NHTSA’s Regional Recall Failure

November, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Press Release from Senator Markey:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Eben Burnham-Snyder (Markey) 202-224-2742

 

Markey Statement on Honda’s Nationwide Takata Airbag Replacement Program

 

NHTSA should require all companies to do the same, notify all customers

 

WASHINGTON (November 17, 2014) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who has called for a nationwide recall of the deadly, defective Takata airbags, today released the following statement regarding Honda’s unpublicized plan to allow customers nationwide to replace their airbags, not just the customers in the regional recall zones. Senator Markey is a member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and this news was reported first by AP.

 

“Our highway safety agency, not Honda, should have been the first to call for this nationwide replacement of deadly airbags. NHTSA should require a nationwide recall, and should require Honda and other affected car companies to immediately announce mandatory nationwide recalls to protect American drivers.

 

“Three of the four known deaths that have occurred from these deadly airbags happened outside of the regional recall boundaries, which prove that this haphazard geographic safety regime doesn’t work. It’s time to send this regional recall policy to the junkyard, and protect all drivers on America’s roads.”