February, 2016
Nader’s latest column is a must read for all of us concerned with people, safety, and Justice.
See http://dissidentvoice.org/2016/02/the-conundrums-of-justice-scalia/
Lou
February, 2016
February 27, is Nader’s birthday.
On Friday, February 26, I purchased a copy of “The Car Book, 2016” that became available from the Center for Auto Safety – founded by Nader more than 4 decades ago.
“The Car Book, 2016” can be purchased online from the Center for Auto Safety at http://www.autosafety.org/books-reports
I am in the process of reviewing “The Car Book, 2016”, but readers can see my review of the 2015 edition at https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforJanuary2015.pdf
In the April 2016 issue of Consumer Reports we read something else we can thank Nader for:
“A recent Consumer Reports survey shows that safety tops the list of factors buyers value most when they are considering new cars.”
That is a market improvement contributed to by 36 years of publishing “The Car Book”.
Imagine not just the lives saved and the injuries prevented by informed consumers who obtain and act on safety information, but also the regrets, aggravation, time, and money saved.
February, 2016
“Now Congress is trying to make things even worse. A package of regulatory “reforms” — including a few of Sunstein’s proposals — will soon be introduced in the U.S. Senate. As a recent editorial from The New York Times pointed out, these measures would harm our system of public protections by letting Big Business rig the rules in its favor at the expense of working families, consumers and small businesses.
It is not surprising that Sunstein has a blind spot when it comes to delays. Regulatory delays at the U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) were systemic and reached unprecedented levels while he served as the agency’s administrator, levels even worse than under past administrations that were openly hostile to regulation of any kind.
Cost-benefit analysis is not the panacea for the regulatory system that Sunstein claims it to be. Rather, overreliance on cost-benefit analysis is one of the major problems right now in our regulatory process and is linked to excessive regulatory delay. The examples are legion.
New passenger rail safety technology that would have prevented the Amtrak train derailment in Pennsylvania last year was derided by Sunstein when he was administrator of OIRA as not passing a cost-benefit test. The head of the railroad industry lobby cited Sunstein’s remarks in urging Congress to delay a requirement that the new technology be in place by the end of 2015, seven years after the railroad safety law was passed. Railroad safety officials, on the other hand, have called the railroad safety technology “one of the top ten most wanted transportation safety improvements of 2016.”
Another casualty of cost-benefit analysis was the so-called “backover rule,” which required car manufacturers to include rear-view cameras in their cars. They are a proven and effective way of preventing fatalities when drivers accidentally back over pedestrians, often young children. By law, the rule was supposed to be finalized in 2011, but wasn’t actually finalized until 2014. Sunstein’s OIRA would not clear the rule because it didn’t pass his beloved cost-benefit test.
While the costs to car manufacturers were well-known, the benefits of saving pedestrians from being backed over, particularly young children, and the anguish of parents and drivers who accidentally did so, were impossible to monetize. In Sunstein’s view, this inability to assign monetary values to the lives of innocent children meant it didn’t pass his cost-benefit test.
OIRA eventually cleared the rule, but only after Sunstein left and only after Public Citizen sued the U.S. Department of Transportation to finalize and issue the rule. Hundreds of lives were needlessly lost while the rule was delayed.” Seehttps://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/the-administration/268005-why-cass-sunstein-is-wrong-on-regulatory-reform
Who is Cass Sunstein? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cass_Sunstein
Why did the Obama Administration appoint Cass Sunstein to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs? What happens when people who value money over people are elected or appointed to high positions in government? People suffer and die – needlessly.
February, 2016
One our members continues to examine the major problem of crash deaths and serious injuries – and what we can do to end preventable tragedies that have been going on for way too long. See her post that cites Lemov’s book Car Safety Wars.
February, 2016
“An auto safety advocate is calling on the government to reopen an investigation of rear-crash fires in older Jeep SUVs after finding at least 11 more deaths since the vehicles were recalled.
The deaths show that the recall repair — installing a trailer hitch to protect gas tanks in low-speed crashes — hasn’t been effective, said Clarence Ditlow, head of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety.
He is calling on the government to investigate, saying the Jeeps are unsafe and a remedy should be developed that saves lives.
“As far as Fiat Chrysler is concerned, Jeeps can continue to crash and burn until they are all off the road,” Ditlow wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx dated Thursday.
It’s been almost three years since Fiat Chrysler, which makes Jeeps, began recalling 1.56 million SUVs with plastic gas tanks that are mounted behind the rear axle and can rupture in a crash, spilling gasoline.
Ditlow said he found a total of 19 fire deaths in older Jeeps in a fatal accident database maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Eleven were in Jeeps that had been recalled, with eight more in SUVs not included in the recall, he said.
The deaths since the June 2013 recall bring the number of people killed in fiery crashes involving the Jeeps to as many as 86. Before the recall, NHTSA counted 75 deaths. The recalled vehicles include 1993-1998 Grand Cherokees and 2002 to 2007 Libertys….
The article continues and contains the information that
“Fiat Chrysler has agreed to offer $1,000 above market value trade-in prices on a new vehicle to owners of 1993 to 1998 Grand Cherokees. Owners of both the recalled Liberty and Grand Cherokee SUVs would get $100 gift cards to have their vehicles repaired.”
The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) letter to current DOT Secretary Foxx and current NHTSA Administrator Rosekind along with photos, and data on the fatal crashes found are included in the following release.
February 19, 2016202-328-7700
CAS Asks DOT Secretary Foxx and NHTSA Administrator Rosekind to Reopen Jeep InvestigationJeep Fire Deaths Since NHTSA Jeep Recall Request in June 2013 Exceed All Takata Deaths
Based on examination of Jeep fire crashes in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2013 & 2014 FARS database and police/medical/court records that showed more fire deaths than Takata airbag inflator shrapnel deaths, the Center for Auto Safety today called on DOT Secretary Foxx and NHTSA Administrator Rosekind to reopen the defect investigation into the 1993-04 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1993-01 Cherokee and 2002-07 Liberty.
CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlow said:
“The most lethal vehicle safety defect in America today is not the Takata airbag inflator. It’s the fuel tank behind the rear axle in the 1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1993-01 Cherokee and 2002-07 Liberty. The Takata airbag inflator has claimed 9 lives in the US. Just since June 3, 2013 when NHTSA asked Chrysler to recall the 1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and 2002-07 Liberty, there have been 47 deaths in fatal fire crashes in the investigated Jeeps, at least 19 of which have been fire deaths according to NHTSA or medical records. The Grand Cherokee and Liberty accounted for 14 of the 19 fire deaths with 12 deaths occurring in direct rear impact crashes.
This is the recall that Chrysler never wanted to do and will never do right. As far as Fiat-Chrysler is concerned Jeeps can continue to crash and burn until they are all off the road. The Center for Auto Safety calls on you as the Secretary of Transportation and as the Administrator of NHTSA to reopen the Jeep fuel tank investigation and obtain a remedy that saves lives versus the fire deaths that will continue to occur if Fiat-Chrysler is left alone.”
# # #
CAS Letter to DOT Secretary Foxx and NHTSA Administrator Rosekind
Jeep Fire Fatalities and Injuries Since NHTSA Recall Request
Photos of Jeep Victims:
Skyler Anderson-Coughlin Chantae and Danny Reed
Kayla White
February, 2016
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
* Quick Facts 2014 (DOT HS 812 234): NCSA has released the 2014 Quick Facts publication as a quick reference to the most asked questions regarding motor vehicle traffic fatalities and crashes. This publication provides the most current data at your fingertips. See http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812234.pdf
February, 2016
Lou
