Category: Blog

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

We have to thank Harold Meyerson for a great analysis of the rise of Progressive Mayors such as Mayor de Blasio in the U.S. Mr. Meyerson wrote in the Washington Post : “Twenty years ago, half of America’s dozen largest cities had Republican mayors. Today, just one does. Of the 30 largest U.S. cities, 26 have Democratic mayors…”

See http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/harold-meyerson-progressives-take-manhattan-and-many-other-us-places/2014/04/23/8f727cf0-cb17-11e3-a75e-463587891b57_story.html

Former Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx recently announced grants to 3 cities (NY, Louisville, and Philadelphia) for pedestrian protection. See

http://www.dot.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-announces-winners-pedestrian-safety-grants

This is a positive small step forward. But as Table 8 in the latest NHTSA Report attached shows many other cities have significant pedestrian safety problems too. In 2012, while NYC had 127 pedestrian deaths, Los Angeles had 99 (Philadelphia had 31 and Louisville 6).

As I commented to NHTSA in February:

“Please consider Executive actions to achieve Vision Zero crash deaths nationally by the year 2024 for the nation – as Mayor de Blasio has nobly and morally done for NYC.

The NY Times reports “Only two weeks into his administration, Mr. de Blasio set a sweeping goal on Wednesday: to bring the number of New Yorkers killed in traffic “literally” to zero, saying it would be “a central focus” of his administration.”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/nyregion/de-blasio-announces-steps-to-reduce-traffic-deaths.html

• • Imagine a challenge from citizens to Mayors de Blasio, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, and former Mayor Anthony Foxx to create such a race to stop crash deaths.
  • Imagine the competition of the two cities NY and LA with the highest annual number of crash fatalities to achieve Vision Zero crash fatalities first.
  • Imagine the LA Times challenging the NY Times on coverage of this race.
  • Imagine bi-coastal competitions engaging Boston, Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley.
  • Imagine citizens demanding that Mayors challenge the students in Universities to get involved to discover and help apply safety countermeasures.
  • Imagine a challenge to students with a worthy goal. Unleash the energy and ability of students in Schools of Law, Medicine, Engineering, Public Health and Safety, Journalism, Public Administration and Management – each year for the next decade – until we achieve Vision Zero Crash Deaths in America.
  • Challenge students to research crashes, injuries, treatments, and outcomes and offer solutions.”

See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/com-NHTSA-strategic-plan.pdf

As citizens concerned with improving auto safety we have a duty to petition, challenge, and help our government to act on our behalf.

As of 3/20/2014, citizens in NYC have recorded on their Vision Zero Clock progress in achieving Mayor de Blasio’s vision zero goal and it showed that NYC is behind in achieving the goal with more than half the deaths in the city being pedestrian deaths.

See http://www.rightofway.org/vision-zero-clock

Let’s help achieve this worthy goal, please.

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The Hearings next week could make safety progress if…

Attached in my Monthly Report are citizen suggestions for making progress.

As about 200 Americans will die of crash injuries and about 800 Americans will suffer serious injuries over the two days of Hearings time will tell how much safety progress is made.

Associated Documents:

Monthly Report March 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Please see Monthly Report #2 for March, 2014 attached and with attachments.

Hopefully the Hearings will not miss the forest for detailed examination of the trees.

Focus on processes, definitions of sufficiency of evidence, and what low level people did or did not do will “dead end” in weeds in the forest.

We can and must do better than this protecting Americans from crash injuries.

Associated Documents:

2nd Monthly Report March 2014

NHTSA Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Overview

NHTSA Organizational Chart

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Bloomberg reports:

“U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said there’s no reason for General Motors Co. (GM) to pull cars affected by its ignition-switch recall off the road while waiting for new parts to be available.

Foxx said in a May 6 letter to lawmakers that he’s satisfied GM has limited safety risk by advising customers of precautions to take until their cars are repaired.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration examined the geometry and physics of the cars’ keys, ignition switches and steering columns, Foxx said. Regulators evaluated GM’s testing of cars driven with a single ignition key under different road conditions and believe they’re safe, he said.

“NHTSA is satisfied that for now, until the permanent remedy is applied, the safety risk posed by the defect in affected vehicles is sufficiently mitigated,” Foxx said in the letter to Senators Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.”

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-07/no-need-to-park-gm-s-recalled-cars-foxx-tells-senators.html

This raises questions of who in NHTSA provided this advice? Was anyone at NHTSA involved that previously worked for GM or another auto company? Or reported to someone who previously did so? Or is hopeful of future corporate rewards? The evidence is growing that

NHTSA has been driving under the influence of GM since 2001.

See: https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-lastdecade.php

When NHTSA won’t even issue a public safety advisory, what is the public to do? As Nader recently said about his new book

“Unstoppable” politicians need to hear the rumble of the people.

Listen to his eloquent lecture at:

http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/live_at_politics/2014/05/ralph_nader_unstoppable_the_activist_discusses_his_new_book.html

The media has a role here to inform motorists to protect themselves, because, sadly, the present DOT NHTSA management won’t.

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

We citizens can stimulate a safety race that will save lives.

I hope you find this January 2014 Report helpful.

Associated Document:

Monthly Report – February 2014

DOT HS 811882 – Updated Estimates of Fatality Reduction…

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Today, Ralph Nader, on his birthday, publishes an article on retiring Congressman John Dingell.

Nader wrote: “Congressman John Dingell (D-MI), the longest serving member of Congress in history (59 years), did much good and much bad. Reports of his retirement stressed his work in championing Medicare, civil rights legislation, and several environmental laws. Less noticed was his vigorous oversight and investigations of federal departments and agencies that were lax, riven with conflicts of interest, or mistreated whistle-blowers.

But Dingell had another, darker side to his otherwise liberal image. He was totally and cruelly indentured to the auto industry even though he was from an overwhelmingly safe Democratic district. More than any other lawmaker, Democratic or Republican, he fought to make sure that the auto Goliaths got their way in Congress and at the EPA and the Department of Transportation.

I observed his tenacity in delaying the issuance of the life-saving airbag standard, in opposing noxious emission controls on motor vehicles and, most irrationally, in freezing fuel-efficiency rules for many years. He did this with sheer stubborn willpower and by forging a mutually destructive alliance between the Big Three auto companies – GM, Ford, and Chrysler –and the United Auto Workers (UAW).

In the greatest ironies of his lengthy career, he helped mightily in sheltering the technological stagnation of Detroit’s auto barons from innovation-advancing regulation that eventually cost them massive market share to more fuel efficient and higher quality foreign imports from Germany and Japan. This also cost the UAW tens of thousands of jobs.

When, in recent years, the domestic auto industry’s demise was finally clear to him, he began to relent on fuel efficiency but it was too late to save the industry from its own mismanagement and illusions.

The resultant impact on the health and safety of the American people was his most lasting devastating legacy. Year after year people breathed more vehicle emissions and lost their lives or were injured in less safe vehicles because of Mr. Dingell’s huge presence on Capitol Hill.”

See http://nader.org/2014/02/27/congressman-dingell-motor-vehicle-safety/

I have a personal story about my work that was influenced by both Nader — inspiring — and Rep. Dingell — disappointing.

During the period 1972 – 1978 I was inspired to do public interest work. One issue was gasoline octane posting. It was a lonely effort but educational.

“Results: Advocacy resulted in enactment of Title II – Octane Disclosure – of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (P.L. 95-297) requiring the posting of gasoline octane quality ratings on all gasoline pumps to reduce consumer octane overbuying. Octane overbuying in the 1970s was resulting, each day, in an economic waste of three million consumer dollars, energy waste of one million gallons of gasoline, and air pollution of 400,000 pounds of lead.”

See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/about-louis.php

Rep. Dingell was the legislative leader on that legislation. The oil industry launched a lobbying campaign to change the formula that would be used on the labels from Research Octane (R) to the average of the Research and Motor Octane ratings = (R+M)/2.

I pointed out that this would compromise the effectiveness of posting because millions of motorists had become used to the Research octane ratings recommended in their owner’s manuals. The Average Octane ratings were about 4 points lower than the Research Octane ratings. So I advocated that the formula be amended to [(R+M)/2] + 4 to prevent the confusion. The Congress adopted the oil industry formula.

About a decade later I analyzed the data to see if the posting had any statistical effect in reducing octane overbuying. I could find no detectable effect in saving money, energy, or air pollution due to posting of octane ratings. Disappointing.

But today is Ralph Nader’s birthday and we should all thank him and wish that all his inspiring work will long continue to help build a safer America.

Thanks and Happy Birthday Ralph Nader!

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Everyone who cares for crash victims – past, present, and future, have cause to be pleased with the moral leadership shown the world by NYC Mayor de Blasio setting a worthy goal and a specific plan.

Now the NYC Vision Zero Plan has been released and is at my Blog and in the NY Times Editorial of support.

NY Times Editorial with excellent links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/20/opinion/calmer-streets-safer-city.html?emc=eta1

In addition, civic activist Keegan Stephan of rightofway.org provided this link on the development of political support that preceded this historic moment.

http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/11/11/from-promise-to-progress-in-de-blasios-nyc-safer-streets-and-better-transit/

Recent News reports:

Video: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/New-York-City-Traffic-Deaths-Children-Mayor-De-Blasio-Plan-Vision-Zero-240367081.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/16/nyregion/de-blasio-announces-steps-to-reduce-traffic-deaths.html

NY Times Room for Debate forum at:

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/02/19/making-new-york-city-safe-for-pedestrians/redesign-streets-and-sidewalks-for-pedestrian-safety

The Care for Crash Victims January 2014 Report

We also provided both National context and suggestions how Vision Zero could be expanded to other cities as well.

See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/monthly-report-jan2014.pdf

Let’s salute the citizens of NYC, the new Mayor, the NY Times and the media for covering this worthy goal and plan for saving lives.

True Hope and Change for the Better!

Associated Document:

NYC Vision Zero Plan (PDF – 19 MB)