Category: Blog

Engineering Paths To Vision Zero Crash Deaths

Engineering Paths To Vision Zero Crash Deaths

November, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Too many Americans do not yet know about Vision Zero – the magazine that carries valuable information on how much good can be done by engineering safer vehicles.

The January 2017 issue of Vision Zero is available online this Thanksgiving day in America.  See article about Adrian Lund (head of IIHS) written by Byron Bloch at http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/6664faa8#/6664faa8/16

Many worthy articles on how engineers can move us closer to ending vehicle violence thanks to the publisher Tony Robinson and his staff.

Thanks,

Lou

 

Lifelong Republican Questions Anti – regulation Policies

Lifelong Republican Questions Anti – regulation Policies

November, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

This is worth reading and heeding.

http://annaleahmary.com/2016/11/lifelong-republican-questions-party-support-of-industry-profit-vs-bipartisan-solutions-to-save-lives/

Lou Lombardo

 

Rating Auto Insurance Companies

Rating Auto Insurance Companies

November, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports rates auto insurance companies and found USAA, Amica, and NJM had the highest Reader Scores.  See http://www.consumerreports.org/products/car-insurance/ratings-overview/
NY Times

Now the NY Times published an article on auto insurance that gives useful information to consumers citing work created by a crash victim.  The same three auto companies were found to be highly rated.

“There’s a conflict here between shareholders and policyholders,” Mr. Karr said. “We’re showing how companies have run their businesses, and that’s not always in the interest of the policyholder.”

 

The ValChoice study divided the auto insurance market into three types of companies. The largest group — 48.3 percent — are publicly traded corporations like Allstate, Geico (which is part of Warren E. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate) and Progressive.

 

Among mutual companies, there are two different business models. Some companies return earnings to their policyholders in the form of dividends, while others do not pay dividends but keep the earnings at the company.

Mutual companies that do not consistently pay dividends to auto policyholders make up 42.3 percent of the market; Liberty Mutual is one of them.

 

Those that do pay dividends are the smallest subset of the market, with approximately 8 percent, ValChoice said. Also sometimes known as reciprocal insurance exchanges, they include USAA, the Automobile Club of Southern California, Amica Mutual and NJM Insurance….

 

When shopping for insurance, consumers often focus solely on price. Figuring out the differences in claims payment histories at companies is much harder to do because the data is not readily available and requires significant digging to unearth. Analyzing the data, Mr. Karr said, can give consumers a better idea of the value they are receiving for the insurance premiums they pay.

 

“The paid loss ratio is such a direct measure of the actual value of an insurance policy,” said Mr. Karr. “If I’m paying money for insurance, it tells me how much is likely to come back to me if I have an accident.”

In essence, Mr. Karr said, consumers who buy from companies whose claims payments are lower are paying for lesser coverage. That value loss can add up to billions of dollars.

 

Charles M. Chamness, chief executive of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, agreed. “Mutuals exist to serve policyholders and allow management to focus on service and longtime financial security,” he said.

Mr. Karr got the idea to start ValChoice after he was hit by a car and had trouble getting his medical bills paid by insurers.

“When I came away from it, I thought there was a lot people who needed to know about the operating characteristics of these companies,” Mr. Karr said. “People are mandated by law to buy insurance; they should be able to get quality information about what it is they are buying.”  See 

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/20/business/the-kind-of-car-insurer-that-gives-consumers-the-best-value.html?emc=eta1

 

ValChoice

You can get a free report on your insurance at ValChoice.  See https://www.valchoice.com/

Lou Lombardo

 

The Obama DOT Holds “Road To Zero” Conference as Vehicle Violence Deaths Jump

The Obama DOT Holds “Road To Zero” Conference as Vehicle Violence Deaths Jump

October, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Words and numbers that hopefully will work to achieve Vision Zero were heard yesterday at the DOT “Road to Zero” Conference.

Particularly inspiring were the remarks of Deborah Hersman, head of the National Safety Council and formerly Chair of the NTSB.  See attached.

You can see the conference at http://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/symposiums/october2016/index.html

What was noteworthy – but not inspiring – is that consumer advocates and crash victims were not visible at this Conference unlike the Nader Conference on Breaking Through Power that included crash victims.  See https://www.breakingthroughpower.org/

Consumer Affairs article by Jim Hood’s article summed it up:“Traffic fatalities continue to grow at an unusual clip, but safety regulators say they have a “zero fatalities” plan that they think will eliminate traffic fatalities completely. The catch? It won’t happen until 2046.”   Seehttps://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/traffic-deaths-surging-but-officials-have-a-zero-fatalities-plan-for-2046-100616.html

If the Obama Administration were serious, why did they not include people, such as Ralph Nader?   The work of Nader, Joan Claybrook, Clarence Ditlow and many others contributed more to saving lives than many of the panelists at this Conference.  
Automotive News also produced an excellent article on the Conference.  See it at http://www.autonews.com/article/20161005/OEM11/161009944/new-u-s-coalition-seeks-to-eliminate-traffic-fatalities
David Shepardson of Reuters asked about the interim goals were and was told that was to be determined.  See his article at http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-traffic-idUSKCN1251GZ
One measure of the safety seriousness of the Obama Administration is the money it is setting aside for this project – $1 million per year over the next 3 years.  Compare that with the current DOT policy value of saving just one life of $9.6 million.  Seehttps://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/VSL%20Guidance%202016.pdf
Another measure of the safety seriousness of the Obama Administration is the DOT Budget for 2016 amounts to $94.7 billion. See https://www.transportation.gov/mission/budget/fiscal-year-2016-budget-highlights
At NHTSA we heard every DOT Secretary repeatedly say “Safety is our Number 1 priority.”  It became a hallway joke about the hypocrisy of Department Officials.  Many DOT Secretaries have gone through the DOT Revolving Door to the auto industry.  So keep that in mind when you hear DOT Officials talk about the 94% of the problem being due to human error.  And keep your eye on the Revolving Door.
Lou

 

Injury + Inequality + Injustice = Tragedies Past, Present, and Future

Injury + Inequality + Injustice = Tragedies Past, Present, and Future

October, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

An article published by the Washington Post, on the front page Oct. 26, 2016, provides insights into the legal “system” as it currently values awards for injured people’s lives differently based on race, gender, and age.  And then secrecy in settlements is used to minimize compensation, costs, deterrence, and accountability.“In one case, when a 6-year-old girl and a male fetus were killed in the same car crash, the settlement for the fetus was calculated to be up to 84 percent higher than the girl’s, according to court records.”…

The debate over this use of demographic averages pits two tenets of the American justice system – fairness and accuracy – against each other.

Martha Chamallas, a law professor at Ohio State, called the practice reminiscent of “something Ruth Bader Ginsburg and civil rights advocates [fought] in the 1960s.” Jennifer Wriggins, a law professor at the University of Maine, said it “reinforces past discrimination and pushes it out into the future and endorses it.”

Defenders say it is the most accurate way to make calculations about the losses people incur when they are injured. “If there’s a difference in society, it is what it is. It’s a difference, and the economist’s job is to figure out what would have happened,” said James Woods, a forensic economist in Houston…

Law professors who study the practice in the United States say it deserves a fresh look, given America’s increasing awareness of the role race plays in the justice system – as well as the progress women have made in closing other economic disparities….Although G.M.M.’s case took place in open court, 95 percent of personal injury cases are settled behind closed doors, according to Lawrence Spizman, the president of the National Association of Forensic Economics. These settlements – which largely make up the $35 billion personal-injury industry, according to IBIS World – are almost always attached to confidentiality agreements preventing the victims from discussing the terms reached…. In a 2009 survey by the National Association of Forensic Economics, 44 percent said they considered race and 92 percent said they considered gender when projecting the annual wage for an injured child. Race and gender also come into play in many other calculations as well.”  See https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/business/wonk/settlements/

Thanks to the Post and author Kim Soffen for this revealing examination of how our legal “system” fails victims.

As for why lawyers do not use the DOT value of a statistical life of $9 million, I leave it to readers to judge.  

Feinberg did not use $9 million in the GM ignition scandal.  As I wrote: “First, the Feinberg team, in devising their compensation plan,  did not consider the DOT guidance on the higher value of a statistical life of $9.1 million.  Although Mr. Feinberg did ask for that information to be submitted for their consideration.  So yesterday I submitted the attached DOT Policy Guidance document.” See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-feinberg-comp.php

Lou Lombardo

 

Tribute to Clarence Ditlow From Senator Markey

Tribute to Clarence Ditlow From Senator Markey

October, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

I have known Clarence Ditlow for 44 years.  His life of hard work for the safety of all Americans has earned him the following tribute from Senator Markey.  His engineering and legal research and safety advocacy based on long hour days – year after year – has earned him the appreciation of all Americans.  His work has protected us all from harm.   

“Congressional Record Thursday, September 29, 2016 TRIBUTE TO CLARENCE M. DITLOW III Mr. MARKEY. Madam President, today I wish to recognize and thank Mr. Clarence M. Ditlow III for his commitment to protecting the American people. Through a lifetime of work improving automotive and safety laws, Mr. Ditlow has helped save thousands of lives and prevented many more injuries than would otherwise have occurred. A tireless champion for consumers, his work has resulted in better government oversight of automakers, the installation of key safety features, and the exposure of safety defects in millions of cars, SUVs, and other trucks. A 1965 chemical engineering graduate of Lehigh University, Mr. Ditlow pivoted to the legal profession following the completion of a JD from Georgetown University in 1970 and an LLM from Harvard Law School in 1971. Since then, he has been instrumental in improving auto safety, reliability, and efficiency as executive director of the Center for Auto Safety. Mr. Ditlow’s discovery of numerous automotive defects, combined with his persistent pressure on safety agencies and automakers alike, led to the removal of many unsafe vehicles from the road. His direct efforts led to the automotive recalls of 6.7 million Chevrolets with defective engine mounts, 15 million Firestone 500 tires, 1.5 million Ford Pintos and 2 million Jeeps with exploding gas tanks, 3 million Evenflo child seats with defective latches, 7 million Toyotas because of sudden acceleration defects, 2 million GM vehicles with defective ignition switches, and over 30 million Takata airbag inflators. He also led consumer efforts to get ‘‘lemon laws’’ passed in all 50 States. I offer my sincere appreciation to Mr. Clarence M. Ditlow III and the Center for Automotive Safety for indefatigable dedication to auto safety and vigilance in uncovering automotive safety threats. Clarence demonstrates the impact a devoted industry watchdog can have on informing the public and saving lives. I am grateful for his years of collaboration with and assistance to Members of Congress, Federal and State safety agencies, and a myriad of other stakeholders, to improve automotive and public safety.”
See Nader ‘s Introduction of Clarence and Clarence’s presentation at a recent Conference to learn how we all have been protected.Watch it athttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiYi2zjEp5c  Time starts at5:04:45 to 5:23:10
Lou Lombardo

 

Trust Your Government To Do The Right Thing?

Trust Your Government To Do The Right Thing?

October, 2016

Dear Care For Crash Victims Community Members:
The Problem Nader has said:  “This country has far more problems than it deserves and far more solutions than it applies.”
The U.S.A. continues to face vehicle violence problems resulting in:
*  100 deaths per day – and rising
*  400 serious injuries per day
*  Losses valued by DOT at about $2 Billion per day
The U.S. has more safety technology available than ever before in history.
And yet the Obama Administration has failed for nearly 8 years – and nearly 250,000 deaths due to vehicle violence – to set a national Vision Zero Goal.  For example, Volvo has set such a goal for zero deaths in or by a new Volvo by the year 2020.   Why? 
Where is the hope and change for the better, that President Obama promised us?
Happy People

My recent article on the DOT NHTSA Revolving Door brought me the attached photo of DOT NHTSA and Auto Company Executives.  Lots of smiles as the Obama Administration comes to a close.

Some in the media have noted the Revolving Door and coziness of regulators and the “regulated”.  Seehttp://www.fairwarning.org/2016/06/self-driving-cars/

But not enough people know about the specific problems of vehicle violence and how government has failed to protect them.

Unhappy People

What percentage of the American people think that they can trust their government to do the right thing?
The Pew Poll reports: The public’s trust in the federal government continues to be at historically low levels. Only 19% of Americans today say they can trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” (3%) or “most of the time” (16%).  See  http://www.people-press.org/2015/11/23/1-trust-in-government-1958-2015/
Reminds me of the lyrics “The country’s in the very best of hands”  See http://www.allmusicals.com/lyrics/lilabner/thecountrysintheverybestofhands.htm
Lou Lombardo