Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Legal Reader has published an article in tribute to Clarence Ditlow’s work and added financial contributions to a new Fund to continue Clarence’s work.
Please see http://www.legalreader.com/tribute-to-clarence-m-ditlow-iii/
The efforts to build a just and safer America continues!
Lou Lombardo
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Christopher Jensen of Forbes reports:
“A woman who lobbied for safety reforms after her daughter died in the crash of a Chevrolet Cobalt with the ignition-switch defect is being honored with the first Clarence M. Ditlow III Safety Champion Award.
“Laura Christian exemplifies the stalwart commitment to consumer protection and vehicle safety that characterized Clarence’s life,” said Joan Claybrook, the co-chair of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, which announced the award this morning.
Ditlow, who died in November, was the executive director of The Center for Auto Safety for four decades. He served on the Advocates’ board of directors for 27 years.
He was generally regarded as the nation’s foremost advocate and expert on automotive safety, consumer rights and the workings of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.” See http://www.forbes.com/sites/
GM Recall Survivors
For an excellent information resource created and maintained by Laura Christian see https://www.facebook.com/
Lou Lombardo
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
This year, the 37th Edition, is out. This edition has a wonderful tribute by author Jack Gillis to the life saving work of Clarence Ditlow.
Jack notes how he and Clarence worked together to continue publishing The Car Book after the Reagan Administration stopped its publication by NHTSA.
Michael Brooks, current Acting Director of the Center for Auto Safety notes in an excellent Preface that when the 1966 Motor Vehicle and Traffic Safety Acts became law the fatality rate in the U.S. was nearly 26 fatalities per hundred thousand population. Today it is about 10 fatalities per hundred thousand population. Had the earlier rate continued 83,000 lives would have been lost in 2014 instead of the expected 38,700 expected in 2016.
The daily losses are still a massive national tragedy:
What I like most about the handy Car Book is that in addition to the one page summary ratings of each model vehicle, there is reliable auto buying advice. Useful information on insurance, tires, warranties, reliability, maintenance, and safety options all in one place. I keep it in my trunk with all auto repair bills.
The Car Book information helps people make wise choices on one of the most expensive and dangerous consumer products.
The Center for Auto Safety web site will have a link to purchase the Car Book up next week. See www.autosafety.org
Please buy it, be safe, write about it, and help us all be safer.
Lou Lombardo
January, 2017
Legal Reader has published an excellent article on GM’s “sorry” petition. “The Takata airbag inflator saga continues as GM tells NHTSA some Takata airbag safety risks are inconsequential. As surprising as that may seem, the company asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to relieve it of any notification and remedy obligations pertaining to some passenger-side airbag inflators in its GMT900 vehicle platform. If granted, GM will not have to tell vehicle owners and lessors about the defects in these airbag inflators, much less replace them.” See Jay W. Belle Isle’s article at http://www.legalreader.com/gm-tells-nhtsa-some-takata-airbag-safety-risks-are-inconsequential/
Lou Lombardo
January, 2017
A new guide, created by former Congressional Staffers, is now available. See “Indivisible” at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5855a354cd0f68bab2089b40/t/585d48356b8f5b56cc9b0aed/1482508344874/IndivisibleGuide_2016-12-23_v1.pdf
Lou Lombardo
January, 2017
Perhaps as never before, the public needs investigative reporting to protect our health, safety, and happiness.
One leading producer of investigative reports is Fair Warning.
Fair Warning is now looking for strong news tips. See http://www.fairwarning.org/2017/01/strong-news-tip-let-us-hear/
Lives depend on such reporting.
Lou Lombardo
January, 2017
I can share this invitation with you so that you can join us at a tribute to Clarence’s life of work that helped us all advance safety. Clarence’s Tribute is sponsored by the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) and the Center for the Study of Responsive Law.
Carnegie Institute of Washington
1530 P Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20005
See links below from Katherine A. Meyer, Board Member of the CAS.
Here are the links to RSVP: Either one should work
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-tribute-to-clarence-ditlow-tickets-29874197529
Thanks,
Kathy
Katherine A. Meyer
Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP
4115 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.
Suite 210
Washington, D.C. 20016
(202) 588-5049 (fax)
