December, 2016
November, 2016
See legislators release below:
Original Message From: Barry, Giselle (Markey) <Giselle_Barry@markey.senate.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2016
To: Barry, Giselle (Markey)
Subject: Markey, Blumenthal, DeGette to NHTSA: Update 50-Year-Old Seatback Safety Standard to Prevent Fatal Collapse, Investigate Automaker Compliance with Reporting Requirements
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Giselle Barry (Markey) 202-224-2742 Maria McElwain (Blumenthal) 202-224-6452 Lynne Weil (DeGette) 202-225-4431
Markey, Blumenthal, DeGette to NHTSA: Update 50-Year-Old Seatback Safety Standard to Prevent Fatal Collapse, Investigate Automaker Compliance with Reporting Requirements Lawmakers disappointed with automakers’ failure to prevent seatback collapse, notify federal government when death and injuries occur Washington (November 22, 2016) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) today sent a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) urging an update to the 50-year-old seat safety standard that can harm or kill backseat passengers when front seatbacks collapse during a rear-end crash. The Center for Auto Safety estimates the seat safety defect leads to the death of at least 50 children per year. The letter from Markey, Blumenthal, and DeGette also asks NHTSA to investigate automakers’ apparent failure, as discovered by the lawmakers’ investigation, to comply with the agency’s Early Warning Reporting (EWR) System requirements to submit information on incidents involving death or injury. Finally, the lawmakers call on NHTSA to strengthen EWR and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) so that the public can know if seatbacks are involved in injuries and fatalities. In May 2016, Senators Markey and Blumenthal sent letters<http://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/markey-and-blumenthal-query-automakers-on-seatback-safety> to 16 automakers asking them to respond to questions about vehicle seating systems and known incidents of seatback collapse. Most automakers did not fully or specifically respond to the lawmakers’ questions. The lawmakers’ analysis of the written responses, available records of seatback collapse incidents, and NHTSA’s databases demonstrates: * Although automakers claimed they sufficiently meet or exceed the 50-year-old seatback strength standard, accidents involving seatback collapse that lead to deaths and injuries continue to occur in many vehicle makes and models; * Automakers have not reported all cases of seatback collapse to NHTSA’s Early Warning Reporting (EWR) system as required by federal regulation, and NHTSA has not verified the accuracy or completeness of the EWR data that is submitted; and * Reporting categories in EWR and FARS lack specificity and transparency so that entries relating to incidents of seatback collapse (or other potential safety defects) are easily identifiable. “This standard is clearly out-of-date and must be updated to adequately protect back seat passengers,” write the lawmakers in the letter to NHTSA Director Mark Rosekind. A copy of the letter to NHTSA and the lawmakers’ analysis can be found HERE<http://www.markey.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/NHTSA-FMVSS%20207%20Nov%202016.pdf>. An ongoing investigation by CBS News found 107 cases of seatback collapse across 35 states that resulted in an injury or death over the last 30 years. Several of those cases that should have been reported to EWR weren’t found in the database, which is required by law. Additionally, the Center for Auto Safety found 3,455 injuries and 326 deaths listed in the EWR in which ‘seat’ was a contributing component, but it was impossible to determine whether a seatback collapse occurred because NHTSA does not require and automakers do not provide information sufficient to do so. In the letter, the lawmakers ask NHTSA to, provide copies of all death and injury reports requested by the agency for those injuries and deaths, and to share any police report information. “NHTSA previously indicated that there was not sufficient data on seatback collapse to permit an informed decision on rulemaking action in this area,” write the lawmakers in their analysis. “Information on injuries and fatalities due to seatback collapse would be readily available from police reports, but without a dedicated field in EWR or FARS to methodically collect and organize such information, it is likely that NHTSA will continue to claim the problem of seatback collapse does not exist or is not pervasive enough to change.” ###
November, 2016
Tributes to the great contributions to safety of us all made by Clarence Ditlow continue to be published.
Excellent Washington Post article on Clarence’s life work is at https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/clarence-ditlow-crusading-consumer-advocate-for-auto-safety-dies-at-72/2016/11/11/4141f65e-9b9f-11e6-a0ed-ab0774c1eaa5_story.html#comments
NY Times Obit: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/business/clarence-ditlow-died.html?_r=1
November, 2016
Kudos to IIHS and NPR for an article on designs of vehicles by auto companies. IIHS conducted a frontal crash test of two Nissan vehicles. Watch video of the test of a Nissan vehicle designed to meet U.S. standards with airbags and a Nissan designed and built without airbags for sale in Mexico. See http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/11/20/502346360/crash-test-dummies-show-the-difference-between-cars-in-mexico-and-u-s?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20161127&utm_campaign=bestofnpr&utm_term=nprnews
We reached out to Nissan for comment. A Nissan spokesman said the company was aware of the “car-to-car crash demonstration” test and noted: “Nissan vehicles meet or exceed safety regulations for the markets in which they are sold. The Tsuru has been one of the most popular subcompact vehicles in Mexico for more than three decades due to its affordability and its proven reliability. Nissan Mexico recently announced it will discontinue Tsuru production in May 2017.” He added that Nissan in Mexico has incorporated safety features in its current vehicle lineup.
When we asked GM about safety disparities, a spokesman told Goats & Soda that all of its cars will meet minimum safety standards by 2019, and that “front dual airbags and three-point seat belts in all seating positions [will be] standard” on eight models by 2018.”
Past Nissan NCAP Story
November, 2016
The NY Times carries a story of a crash victim that describes some of the consequences of crashes that we can and must work to prevent, treat, and rehabilitate.
November, 2016
On every average day in the U.S.A. today about 100 Americans die of injuries from vehicle violence. Another 400 Americans suffer serious injuries (burns, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations, etc.) from vehicle violence.
For 20 years I have worked to improve care for crash victims. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/home/urgency
Today, medical “experts” are recommending emergency physicians work 24 hour shifts. See https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/first-year-doctors-would-be-allowed-to-work-24-hour-shifts-under-new-rules/2016/11/04/c1b928c2-a282-11e6-8832-23a007c77bb4_story.html#comments
Thankfully, in this month of Thanksgiving, the American public is being warned. Public Citizen reports: “Nov. 4, 2016Proposal to Allow First-Year Resident Physicians to Work 28 Hours in a Row Puts Residents, Patients, Public at Risk of Serious Injury, DeathAmericans Overwhelmingly Oppose ACGME Work-Hour Proposal WASHINGTON, D.C. − A proposal to allow first-year medical residents to work 28 hours in a row without sleep is a dangerous step backward and, if implemented, would expose residents, their patients and the general public to the risk of serious injury and death, Public Citizen said today. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) today proposed a new set of requirements for the number of hours worked by resident physicians. The proposal removes the five-year-old 16 consecutive-hour limit on first-year resident work shifts and allows them to work up to 28 hours straight without sleep, while caring for patients. The proposal comes amid intense pressure from dozens of physician groups to do away with the limit. “Study after study shows that sleep-deprived resident physicians are a danger to themselves, their patients and the public,” said Dr. Michael Carome, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group. “It’s disheartening to see the ACGME cave to pressure from organized medicine and let their misguided wishes trump public health.” See http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/pressroomredirect.cfm?ID=9048
U.S.A. or U.$.A.
November, 2016
In 1961, my wife was in a white VW Beetle. She stalled coming out of a shopping center at night and was struck on the driver side by a car coming over a hill. The driver swerved to the right and struck the VW just behind the driver side door. Luckily, my wife was not physically injured but she was badly shaken. I had picked white as the color because it would be cooler (no air conditioning). I was not thinking safety back then.
During all my years working on safety I could not get NHTSA to do analyses on fatality rates by car color. Only after I left NHTSA did researchers in Australia do such research and found that white cars were 10% safer. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-enddstincreasesafety/
In 2015, I was pleased to learn that white had become the most popular car color on the planet. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/consumersbuyingmorewhitecarsandgreatersafety/
For the year 2015, no one can be pleased to learn that NHTSA recorded: * The Nation saw 2,348 more fatalities from motor vehicle crashes in 2015 than in 2014—a 7.2-percent increase. For pedestrians and cyclists color is also important for safety.
