Category: Blog

Buyer Beware: Used Cars May Be Under Recall


Buyer Beware: Used Cars May Be Under Recall

December, 2016

Dear Care For Crash Victims Community Members:

People who buy used cars are in danger and put us all in danger thanks to government actions and in-actions.

Excellent articles that can help people thinking of buying used vehicles are being published.

The NY Times reports:

“The public has long been wary of used cars and the claims of roadworthiness by the dealers who sell them. On Friday, the nation’s main advertising regulator issued a ruling that consumer groups complained will give used-car dealers too much leeway in the disclosures they are required to make.

The Federal Trade Commission, in a decision that also drew criticism from some lawmakers, said that General Motors and two big used-car chains could advertise their used vehicles as having been carefully inspected and repaired even if the cars might still be subject to safety recalls for problems that had not been fixed.

The only requirement would be that the dealers must advise buyers that the cars could be subject to recalls and tell them how to determine if they are. There would be no requirement that any recall problems be specified or that any repairs be made.

The ruling follows a succession of high-profile cases in which automakers concealed crucial information from car owners, including General Motors’ failure to disclose a deadly ignition switch flaw, Volkswagen’s misrepresentation of pollution emissions, and Honda’s failure to report potential safety problems for more than a decade.”  See

James R. Hood of Consumer Affairs reports:
“CarMax Inc. and two other major car dealers have admitted they sold used cars with unrepaired safety recalls despite touting the supposed rigor with which they inspect cars before selling them.

The dealers have settled Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges by agreeing to a consent order saying they won’t do it again, but Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) says she’s disappointed with the decision. 
“Cars shouldn’t be sold with open recalls – and they definitely shouldn’t be advertised as safe,” said Schakowsky. “I am very disappointed by the FTC’s decision. Instead of stopping deceptive advertising outright, today’s consent orders still allows used car dealers to use a confusing disclaimer that the vehicle may or may not be under recall while continue to advertise it as ‘certified, pre-owned’ or passing a ‘rigorous safety inspection.’
Schakowsky is sponsoring a bill that would ban the practice.
“I have introduced the Vehicle Safety Improvement Act to end the sale of used cars with open recalls, and I will keep fighting to stop car sellers from putting dangerous vehicles on the road. I urge anyone buying a used car to go to www.safercar.gov and check if there’s a safety recall that the seller isn’t telling you about.””

Jim Gorzelany reports on how recalls records differ among manufacturers :“According to published reports, more than 45 million vehicles that were the subject of safety recalls issued between 2013 and 2015 had yet to be brought in for covered repairs as of summer’s end, 2016.

Virtually every manufacturer large and small has been the subject of a recall in recent years, but some brands fare better than others in this regard. To that end, the statisticians at the car shopping website iSeeCars.com in Boston, Mass., analyzed recall histories going back to 1985 to determine which brands have recalled the lowest percentage of vehicles, relative to those sold in a given year, and which brands’ recalls pose the fewest dire consequences, among other metrics.”  See 

We are all in mortal danger of vehicle violence due to many and repeated corporate and governmental failures to protect us.
Lou Lombardo

 

– CVehicle Violence Harms Us Physically and Fiscally – care For Crash Victims


Vehicle Violence Harms Us Physically and Fiscally

December, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Vehicle violence hurts us in so many ways including our health through the air we breathe, our climate, and our pocketbooks.

Bloomberg reports:

Nov. 30 — Advocates will play up the competitiveness and economic advantages of retaining federal greenhouse gas standards for passenger vehicles in a bid to win support from an incoming Trump administration that has suggested the rules could be scaled back.

Retaining the Environmental Protection Agency’s tailpipe standards, which require vehicle manufacturers to achieve the equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon on average in model year 2025 if all of the required emissions reductions are met solely through fuel economy improvements, will save cash-strapped consumers money at the gas pump and place American manufacturers on equal footing with their foreign competitors, advocates say.

“If these standard are reduced, it’s his strongest base of support that will be hurt the most,” Jack Gillis, an automotive expert at the Consumer Federation of America, told Bloomberg BNA….

While automakers have so far only sought tweaks to the federal program, rolling back the standards could push some states, particularly California, to pursue their own requirements. That would lead to the sort of patchwork regulatory approach manufacturers sought to avoid with their initial support for the EPA and NHTSA’s joint federal standards.

“The auto companies need to be careful what they wish for,” Dan Becker, director of the Center for Auto Safety’s Safe Climate Campaign, told Bloomberg BNA.

 

Fwd: Letter to U.S. DOT Sec. Foxx on “Tired Trucker” provision in govt spending bill


Fwd: Letter to U.S. DOT Sec. Foxx on “Tired Trucker” provision in govt spending bill

December, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Crash victims and consumer groups ask for help of “Lame Duck” DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx.

It may be too late, but it is nice to see the organization of grieving families raising their voices for safety to protect all of us from future harm.

Let’s help them.

Lou Lombardo

———- Forwarded message ———- From: Cathy Chase <cchase@saferoads.org> Date: Fri, Dec 2, 2016 at 1:59 PM Subject: Letter to U.S. DOT Sec. Foxx on “Tired Trucker” provision in govt spending bill To: Cathy Chase <cchase@saferoads.org>

The following (and attached) letter was sent to Secretary Foxx today expressing urgent concern about the “tired trucker” anomaly, which would remove two safety safeguards in the Obama Administration hours of service (HOS) rule, being attached to the government spending bill next week.

Thank you, Cathy

 

 

 

December 2, 2016

 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx

Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

Washington, D.C.  20590

 

Dear Secretary Foxx:

 

As representatives of the nation’s leading consumer, public health, law enforcement and safety organizations, as well as grieving families whose loved ones were needlessly killed in truck crashes, we are writing to urge you to protect the Obama Administration truck driver hours of service (HOS) rule.  Two critically important safety provisions in the Obama rule are under attack in Congress, and without your leadership and strong opposition, they will be attached to and enacted as part of the government funding bill. 

 

Just recently the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) launched the “Road to Zero” campaign with the goal of ending fatalities on the nation’s roads within the next thirty years.  Your statement on the urgent need for every stakeholder including government to commit to “setting the bar for safety to the highest possible standard” resonated deeply with us.  Now is the time for the Obama Administration to draw a line in the sand and oppose any provisions in the lame duck session that lower the safety bar by repealing and revising truck safety laws and regulations.   

 

Your commitment to bringing down highway deaths and injuries comes at a critical time.  As you are aware, truck crash deaths and injuries are increasing dramatically.  In 2015, 4,067 people died in crashes involving large trucks, the highest number in seven years and a 20 percent increase from 2009.  Additionally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recently released preliminary figures revealing that 116,000 people were injured in large truck crashes. This represents a 57 percent increase since 2009.  Moreover, the economic cost of truck crashes topped $100 billion in 2013, according to the.  No other industry involved in the movement of freight has such an abysmal safety record.  In 2014, according to data from the U.S. DOT, the combined death toll attributed to commercial aviation, rail freight, pipelines and commercial vessels was less than 600 fatalities.

 

A major cause of truck crashes is driver fatigue.  According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), fatigue can be as deadly as alcohol and drug impairment.  Just a few weeks ago the NTSB included reducing fatigue on their 2017-2018 Most Wanted List of transportation safety improvements.  Working and driving hours for truck drivers are already grueling and often more than double the average American work week of 40 hours.  Even in light of this alarming evidence, provisions in the pending Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bills (H.R. 2577/H.R. 5394) attack and weaken critical protections against fatigued truck driving.  

 

The Senate and House THUD bills contain separate provisions (Sections 131 and132 respectively) that will gut key safety features of the Obama Administration’s hours of service (HOS) rule.  Specifically, the THUD bill seeks to undo a change to the HOS rule adopted by the DOT in 2011.  Prior to making this change, a truck driver who has exhausted his/her maximum driving and working hours in 7 days, had to take just 34 hours off to allow for rest and recovery before beginning to drive again.  Because the so-called “34-hour restart” was significantly less than a full weekend, the 2011 HOS rule issued by the Obama Administration, included a requirement that the 34-hour off duty period cover two consecutive “nights off,” between the hours of 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.  This modification was made in order to ensure two nights of quality rest that is compatible with human biorhythms.  Also, the 2011 HOS rule limited drivers to using the 34-hour restart to just once per week. Removing these important safety protections on behalf of trucking interests is dangerous and deadly to the safety of all motorists including truck drivers.

 

The HOS rule was changed by the DOT after extensive review and thorough consideration of 21,000 formal docket comments submitted by the public, truck drivers, motor carriers, law enforcement, safety advocates, medical experts, and trucking industry associations; 6 public listening sessions; review and consideration of 80 sources of scientific research and data; a Regulatory Impact Analysis of nearly 50 scientific sources; 10 years of rulemaking; and, 3 lawsuits. 

Further, Section 134 of the House THUD bill would preempt state laws affording needed meal and rest breaks beyond the federally required 30-minute rest break, for truck drivers operating within their states.  This provision is a threat to the health, safety and protection of workers.  It is aimed at eliminating some of the critical job and labor protections which insure a safe transportation system.

 

When sound science stands in the way of business profits, special trucking interests run to Congress to advance their economic agenda and bypass public scrutiny and government review.  These efforts are especially egregious and unconscionable given the current mortality and morbidity toll on our roadways.  If these provisions were stand-alone bills, subject to oversight by the Congressional Committees of jurisdiction, they would never move forward.  

 

The American public depends on your leadership and commitment to safety to stop these provisions from becoming law.  The “Road to Zero” starts here. 

 

Sincerely, 

 

Jackie Gillan, President

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety 

 

Dominick Stokes, Vice President for Legislative Affairs

Federal Law Enforcement Office Association

 

Steve Owings, Co-Founder

Road Safe America

 

Andrew McGuire, Executive Director

Trauma Foundation

 

John Lannen, Executive Director

Truck Safety Coalition

 

Sally Greenberg, Executive Director

National Consumers League

 

Gary Smith, President

Child Injury Prevention Alliance

 

Laura MacCleery, Vice President

Consumer Policy and Mobilization Consumers Union

 

Wanda Lindsay, Founder

The John Lindsay Foundation

Joan Claybrook, Chair

Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH)

 

Jack Gillis, Director of Public Affairs

Consumer Federation of America

 

Stephen W. Hargarten, M.D., MPH

Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research

 

Ian Weston, MPP, QAS, Executive Director

American Trauma Society

 

Rosemary Shahan, President

Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety 

 

Melissa Wandall, President

National Coalition for Safer Roads

 

Janette Fennell, Founder and President

KidsAndCars.org

 

Daphne Izer, Co-Founder

Parents Against Tired Truckers (PATT)

 

Dawn King

Davisburg, MI

President, Truck Safety Coalition

Board Member, CRASH

Daughter of Bill Badger

Killed in truck crash 12/23/04

 

Jennifer Tierney

Kernersville, NC

Board Member, CRASH

Daughter of James Mooney

Killed in a truck crash 9/20/83

 

Steve Izer

Lisbon, ME                

Board Member, PATT                                                

Father of Jeff Izer

Killed in a truck crash 10/10/93

 

Lisa Shrum

Fayette, MO

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Daughter of Virginia Baker, Step-daughter of Randy Baker

Killed in a truck crash 10/10/06

 

Nancy Meuleners

Bloomington, MN

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Injured in a truck crash 12/19/89

 

Ed Slattery 

Lutherville, MD 

Board Member, PATT            

Husband of Susan Slattery

Killed in a truck crash 8/16/10                        

Sons Matthew & Peter Slattery critically injured

 

Kate Brown 

Gurnee, IL

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Mother of Graham Brown

Injured in a truck crash 5/2/05

 

Jerry Karth

Rocky Mount, NC

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Founder, AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety

Father of AnnaLeah and Mary Karth

Killed in a truck crash 5/4/13

 

 

 

Frank Wood 

Falls Church, VA

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Father of Dana Wood

Killed in a truck crash 10/15/02

 

Marchelle Wood 

Falls Church, VA

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Mother of Dana Wood

Killed in a truck crash 10/15/02

 

Jackie Novak

Edneyville, NC           

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition      

Mother of Charles “Chuck” Novak                

Killed in a truck crash 10/24/10

 

Ron Wood

Washington, D.C.

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Son of Betsy Wood, Brother of Lisa Wood Martin, Uncle of Chance, Brock, and Reid Martin

Killed in a truck crash 9/20/04

 

Cindy Southern

Cleveland, TN

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Wife of James Whitaker, sister-in-law Anthony Hixon and aunt of Amber Hixon 

Killed in a truck crash 9/18/09

 

Sandra Lance

Chesterfield, VA

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Mother of Kristen Belair

Killed in a truck crash 8/26/09

 

Alan Dana

Plattsburgh, NY

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Son of Janet Dana, Uncle of Caitlyn & Lauryn Dana, Brother-in-law of Laurie Dana

Killed in a truck crash 7/19/12

 

Amy Fletcher

Perrysburg, OH 

Volunteer, Truck Safety Coalition

Wife of John Fletcher

Killed in a truck crash 1/24/12

 

IIHS Ratings and Rankings for Safest 2017 Vehicles


IIHS Ratings and Rankings for Safest 2017 Vehicles

December, 2016

Then thank Ralph Nader for having fought to have insurers crash test vehicles.
Lou Lombardo

 

Power of People to Protect People


Power of People to Protect People

December, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Power of People to Protect People
Legal Reader has published an article that I authored “Power Of People To Protect People”.  See http://www.legalreader.com/power-of-people-to-protect-people/ This article was inspired by the lifetime of safety work by:  *  Clarence Ditlow:  See his presentation at http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=16672 *  Joan Claybrook:  See her presentation at http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=17360 *  Ralph Nader:  See his presentation and many others at his Conference “Breaking Through Power” at  https://www.breakingthroughpower.org/    The Graphic of Lady Justice was inspired by the writings of Marianne Karth, a mother of two daughters tragically killed in a crash that should have been prevented by regulations on truck under-ride guards delayed for decades.  See http://annaleahmary.com/2016/12/road-to-zero-coalition-considers-priority-actions-to-reduce-traffic-fatalities/  Lady Justice Graphic is available to the public for free use with attribution to Legal Reader and the artist Neil F. Angeles.
Never underestimate the power of people – especially crash survivors and victims – to protect other people.   *  Cally Houck, mother who lost two daughters in a recalled but unfixed rental car.  Seehttp://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/news/200/ben-kelley-on-death-by-rental-car/ *  Stella Gurr, mother who lost a son in a 15 passenger vehicle crash.  Seehttp://blog.vanangels.ca/2015/03/mothers-say-changes-to-motor-vehicle.html. *  Laura Christian, mother who lost her daughter in a GM vehicle with a defective ignition switch.  See http://www.gmrecallsurvivors.com/  They also inspire and continue to work to save others because they suffered losses to vehicle violence.
Presidential Power Failure
The record of Presidential failures to protect people dictates that we the people have to step up and use our power.

The Power of People was written as Americans approach the end of 8 years of one Administration with a tragically disappointing auto safety record with a NHTSA  estimated  251,647 deaths due to vehicle violence under President Obama from 2009 through the first six months of 2016.   NHTSA data shows that the number of motor vehicle related deaths is accelerating and estimated to increase an additional 10% approaching an Obama legacy of 270,000 vehicle deaths.  See https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812332

Nader and Ditlow told us so.  See https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/opinion/weak-oversight-deadly-cars.html

President Obama failed year after year to adopt a Vision Zero Goal despite petitions of the American people.  The Swedish Parliament adopted Vision Zero in 1997.  Seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_Zero
Powers of People – Needed Now More Than Ever
Daily losses due to vehicle violence in the U.S.A. today: 
*  100 deaths
*  400 serious injuries
*  $2 Billion
This is at a time when we have more technologies available to achieve an end to vehicle violence in or by new vehicles in a decade than ever before in human history.

Now as we face an incoming Administration that is talking more about the problems of regulations on business than about the problems of deaths and injuries to people, we need to begin anew conversations about what people can do to protect people.   Ralph Nader warns us of the Trump people and policies that we face.   Seehttp://www.eurasiareview.com/27122016-ralph-nader-tripwires-for-the-trumpsters-oped/

Lou Lombardo

 

Power of People to Protect People: The Consumer Reports Example


Power of People to Protect People: The Consumer Reports Example

December, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Consumer Reports (CR) has worked successfully for 80 years to protect Americans.  Testing by Consumers Union and reporting by CR has made us all safer.  

Please see their recognition of Clarence Ditlow, former long time Board Member for his lifetime of contributions to making us all safer.

See http://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/a-legacy-of-safety-lives-on-from-our-president-february-2017/

Their work shows what good work can do to save us money, time, and aggravation – and save lives.

Give a little to not get hurt.

Lou Lombardo