Category: Blog

Another Deadly Failing Grade on the Obama Administration’s Safety Record

Another Deadly Failing Grade on the Obama Administration’s Safety Record

December, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Please see Advocates Release below.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2016

Contact: Allison Kennedy, 202-408-1711, akennedy@saferoads.org

 

STATEMENT OF PETER KURDOCK,

DIRECTOR OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS

ON RELEASE OF DO-NOTHING

ENTRY-LEVEL DRIVER TRAINING RULE

 

Meaningless Rule Issued by FMCSA Disregards Congressional Mandates, Federal Court Precedent, Experts Convened by the Agency and Common Sense

Rule Only Adds to Agency’s Shameful Legacy of Failing to Issue Effective Training Rule to Advance Safety and Protect the Public

As fatal truck crashes reach levels not seen in years, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has once again shirked its duty to protect truck drivers and the public by issuing a rule that fails to require a minimum number of behind-the-wheel (BTW) training hours for new Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) applicants before sharing the road with American families. The agency’s history of issuing ineffective proposals for CDL training is simply inexcusable when the safety of the motoring public and commercial drivers is at stake.

 

Congress, safety groups and families of truck crash victims have been battling to get the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to act on a CDL training rule for over two decades.  Individuals operating a large commercial motor vehicle (CMV), either a truck weighing as much as 80,000 pounds or a motorcoach full of passengers traveling home for the holidays, need to have some actual BTW training. Currently, the FMCSA requires only 10 hours of classroom instruction with no BTW training requirement.  In 2005, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected a CDL training rule that failed to require BTW hours.  In 2012, Congress directed FMCSA to issue a rule requiring BTW training as part of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21, Pub. L. 112-141).  That same year, FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Safety Advisory Committee (MCSAC), comprised of transportation and safety experts also recommended that the agency require a minimum number of BTW hours as part of any training rule.

 

In 2015, FMCSA convened a group of experts to draft a training rule as part of a Negotiated Rulemaking. All but two members of the group supported a requirement that ensures candidates would receive a minimum amount of BTW training.  The vote was unanimous as to the members of the group representing safety groups, training schools, the motorcoach industry and individual drivers.  The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued earlier this year reflected the consensus reached by the group.  Yet, in a complete reversal, the Final Rule issued today strips the BTW requirement and ignores the consensus reached by experts who have collectively spent decades examining this issue.   

 

The FMCSA’s decision regarding BTW training also ignores established industry practice and defies common sense.  The leading CDL training schools already require that their students complete a minimum number of hours of BTW training.  Numerous states also require that licensed CDL training schools provide a minimum number of BTW hours.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires candidates seeking a commercial pilot’s license must have accumulated approximately 250 hours of flight time.  Transportation occupations are not alone in requiring that new entrants gain practical experience before earning a license.  Barbers licensed in Virginia must accumulate 490 hours of minimum performances and nail technicians must have 275 hours.  FMCSA, however, believes there should be no minimum hours required to master the difficult job of safely operating a CMV.

 

The agency’s utter failure to once again issue a training rule that will require that CDL applicants gain experience that can only be obtained by actually operating a CMV comes at a critical time.  In 2015, 4,067 people were killed in crashes involving large trucks, representing an increase of 4 percent from the previous year and a 20 percent increase from 2009.  This is the first time truck crash deaths have exceeded 4,000 since 2008.  Further, early release data for 2015 shows that 116,000 people were injured in crashes involving large trucks — an increase of 57 percent since 2009.  The annual cost to society from crashes involving commercial motor vehicles is estimated to be over $110 billion. 

 

The agency has a history of failing the public, and has once again done so by issuing a weak and ineffective rule that will do nothing to advance safety.

 

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Another “Shameful!” failure of the Obama Administration to protect people by working to end vehicle violence.

Watch the DOT Revolving Door.

 

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

 

Senators Markey and Blumenthal and Rep. DeGette Urge NHTSA to Remedy 50 Year Old Weak Standard on Deadly Seat Backs

November, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

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.” ###

For more info on this tragic dereliction of duty by NHTSA see:https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-seatbackfailuresresponsibility/
Stop Vehicle Violence!
Lou Lombardo

Consumer Advocates Sue NHTSA for Ignoring Automatic Emergency Braking Petition

Consumer Advocates Sue NHTSA for Ignoring Automatic Emergency Braking Petition

November, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Press Release:Nov. 30, 2016

Contact: Harvey Rosenfield, harvey@consumerwatchdog.org, (310) 392-0072 Adina Rosenbaum, arosenbaum@citizen.org, (202) 588-7720 David Rosen, drosen@citizen.org, (202) 588-7742

Consumer Advocates Sue NHTSA for Ignoring Automatic Emergency Braking Petition

Agency Response to Request for Rules Requiring New Technologies Is Six Months Overdue

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three of the nation’s leading consumer advocates have sued the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in a federal district court in Washington, D.C., for failing to respond to a formal request that the agency require automakers to adopt advanced safety technologies that could prevent or limit the injuries and property damage from an estimated 910,000 automobile crashes every year.

On Jan. 16, Consumer Watchdog, the Center for Auto Safety and Joan Claybrook, former NHTSA administrator and president emeritus of Public Citizen, petitioned NHTSA to require cars to use Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) – a set of three technologies that use combinations of radar, lidar (reflected laser light) and cameras to alert the driver and intervene if a rear-end crash is imminent.

Under federal law, NHTSA was supposed to grant or deny the petition within 120 days – by May 12. NHTSA has yet do to so.

In the meantime, on March 17, NHTSA announced that it had reached an agreement negotiated behind closed doors with 20 car companies to allow them to roll out weak versions of the technology on an unenforceable “voluntary” basis over a 10-year period, evading formal federal safety protections. Represented by Public Citizen and Consumer Watchdog, the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on Nov. 23, asking the court to order NHTSA to issue a decision on the petition within 30 days.

As the complaint states: “The danger to public safety caused by defendants’ failure to initiate a rulemaking to require AEB technologies to be installed in light vehicles counsels in favor of expeditious action on plaintiffs’ petition. The pace of defendants’ decisional process is unreasonable in light of the statutory deadline for responding to the petition… and the nature and extent of the public interests at stake.”

“This year, NHTSA has devoted enormous agency resources to ‘driverless vehicles,’ which are years or even decades away, while a safety system that is ready to start saving lives right now has been relegated to the whims of the auto companies,” said Harvey Rosenfield, founder of Consumer Watchdog and one of the lawyers in the case.

“NHTSA continues to allow automakers to introduce advanced safety features at their own pace, by issuing ‘voluntary’ guidelines with no force of law,” said Michael Brooks, acting director at the Center for Auto Safety. “For too long, the agency has postponed requiring the proven lifesaving technology of Automatic Emergency Braking. NHTSA should immediately issue a rulemaking that defines performance requirements for these systems and mandates their installation in all vehicles without delay.”

“Voluntary standards don’t work,” said Claybrook, the former NHTSA administrator and president emeritus of Public Citizen. “They protect manufacturers, not consumers. AEB is one of the most important lifesaving automotive systems available today. Yet the U.S. Department of Transportation is refusing to use its statutory authority to assure that consumers can rely on a safe AEB system in every car sold in the U.S. and won’t even answer our consumer petition for action.”

“The agency’s time to respond to the petition has long since passed,” said Adina Rosenbaum, the attorney at Public Citizen representing the plaintiffs. “The agency should end its delay at once and comply with its statutory obligation to respond.”

About the Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) Petition

AEB consists of a suite of three technologies:

  • Forward Collision Warning alerts a motorist (via audio or visual signals) that a collision with a car in front is imminent;
  • Crash Imminent Braking intervenes when the driver does not respond to the Forward Collision Warning by automatically applying the brakes to prevent a collision or reduce the vehicle’s speed at impact; and
  • Dynamic Brake Support applies supplemental braking when the braking applied by the driver is insufficient to avoid a collision.

NHTSA has already endorsed the AEB system and already rates new cars on whether they include these safety features. The agency is considering whether to require installation of the equipment in heavy vehicles such as trucks. But the voluntary agreement announced in March does not require that AEB become standard equipment in cars. Instead, it represents an unenforceable pledge to implement weak versions of the systems. Neither NHTSA nor consumers may challenge the automakers’ violation of the agreement.

A copy of the federal complaint is available for download here.  Click here to download a copy of the Jan. 16 petition and here to download the May 23 letter from the consumer advocates urging NHTSA to act on the petition.

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Byron Bloch on Safe Designs For Autonomous Vehicles

Byron Bloch on Safe Designs For Autonomous Vehicles

November, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Byron Bloch participated in the recent “Autonomous Vehicle Safety Regulation World Congress” held in Novi, Michigan and provided attendees with useful information to lawyers, engineers, and policy makers as autonomous vehicle development proceeds.   With Byron’s permission, his material is attached for your use.

Lou Lombardo

 

Statement of Center for Auto Safety on Clarence M. Ditlow III

Statement of Center for Auto Safety on Clarence M. Ditlow III

November, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

I am beyond sad to pass along this announcement of a tragic loss for humanity.  Clarence’s long, hard and great work for safety for more more than 4 decades made us all safer.

“November 11, 2016

Clarence M. Ditlow, III, the Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety since 1976, died on November 10 at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington. He was 72 years old.

Spanning four decades, his work forced the auto industry to make vast improvements in the safety, reliability and fuel efficiency of the vehicles on which Americans depend daily.

His accomplishments included safety recalls of tens of millions of vehicles that saved untold thousands of lives, and lemon laws in all 50 states.  Since the center was founded in 1970, the death rate on America’s roads has dropped dramatically, from 5.2 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 1969 to 1.1 per 100 million vehicle miles in 2010. Ralph Nader and Consumers Union established the Center to provide consumers a voice for auto safety and quality in Washington and to help owners of “lemon” vehicles fight back across the country.

Under Mr. Ditlow, the Center played a major role in these recalls, among others: 6.7 million Chevrolets for defective engine mounts, 15 million Firestone 500 tires, 1.5 million Ford Pintos for exploding gas tanks, and 3 million Evenflo child seats for defective latches.

In the past seven years alone, the Center was the primary force behind the recalls of 7 million Toyotas for sudden acceleration, 2 million Jeeps for fuel tank fires, 11 million GM vehicles for defective ignition switches, and more than 60 million faulty Takata airbag inflators.”

Time magazine’s cover of October 17, 2016 has a centuries old quote of wisdom and insight: “Whoever saves one life, saves all of humanity”.

 

http://www.autosafety.org/statement-of-the-center-for-auto-safety-on-the-death-of-executive-director-clarence-m-ditlow-iii/

Clarence’s work has saved and continues to save countless lives.
See tribute to this safety leader with video at https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-tributeditlowmarkey/
Lou Lombardo

 

Tributes To Clarence M. Ditlow, III on How One Man’s Life Saved – & Continues To Saves – Many Lives

Tributes To Clarence M. Ditlow, III on How One Man’s Life Saved – & Continues To Save – Many Lives

November, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Tributes to the great contributions to safety of us all made by Clarence Ditlow continue to be published.

Video of Clarence’s inspirational and informative presentation this past Spring at the Nader Conference is at https://youtu.be/TiYi2zjEp5c?t=5h4m45s
Ralph Nader’s excellent article on Clarence, the man,  and Clarence’s work since 1970 is at https://nader.org/2016/11/11/the-guardian-angel-for-americas-motorists/
Consumer Reports has an excellent article by Jeff Plungis at http://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/clarence-ditlow-passionate-advocate-for-car-safety/
The LA Times fittingly (because LA has been a leader in dealing with auto related matters for decades) carried an informative article by Ralph Vartabedian on Clarence at http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ditlow-obit-20161111-story.html
Consumer Federation of America’s Jack Gillis wrote about Clarence See attached. 
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety’s Jackie Gillan remembered Clarence at  http://saferoads.org/2016/11/12/statement-on-the-death-of-clarence-ditlow/
Automotive News remembers Clarence Ditlow’s work at:http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20161111/OEM02/161119972
It is true, as the centuries old saying states “Whoever saves one life, saves all of humanity”.  
It is also true that Clarence’s life saved all of humanity many times over and will continue to do so long into the future.
As Newton said we stand on the shoulders of giants.
But as Clarence would have urged we must continue his good work since in just the U.S.A. today
*  100 lives are lost to vehicle violence injuries each day
*  400 Americans suffer serious injuries each day from vehicle violence
*  $2 Billion (DOT values) are lost each day to vehicle violence
And all this at a time when never before in the history of humankind have we had available more technology and science to end vehicle violence in or by new vehicles in a decade.
What we lack is a Vision Zero Goal.  See www.careforcrashvictims.com
Lou Lombardo