Category: Blog

Fwd A Grandma To Be Heard And Heeded

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Marianne Karth, who lost two daughters in a crash, wrote:

My grandson just turned 10 years-old. Lately I’ve been noticing little things that show me how much he is maturing and taking responsibility. And I keep thinking how proud AnnaLeah and Mary would be of him. They both spent so much time with him from the time he was born.

gertie 264Minolta DSC

One thing Marcus asked me about the other day was when he saw my copy of the book Car Safety Wars by Michael Lemov. Car safety wars, he asked?  So I had to try and explain it. I asked him what a war is and what happens in a war. And we talked about how it’s a war because while we’re “fighting for” some things to make cars and roads safer, other people are fighting against them.

Imagine.

See http://annaleahmary.com/2016/07/casualties-of-the-car-safety-wars/

And Marianne Karth asks:“So why is protection from vehicle violence not listed on the Democratic Party Platform?

The 2016 Democratic Party Platform is quite lengthy and I am sure contains many things of interest to many Americans. But the federal government has one role that is unquestionable: to protect its citizens.

. . . the right to protection was not merely a matter of constitutional theory, but a doctrine with concrete legal meaning. In the common law tradition, the protection of the law implied both the recognition of fundamental rights by law, and the enforcement of such rights by government. The paradigmatic instance was the government’s duty to protect individuals against violence. By the middle of the nineteenth century, this duty was understood to include not only the enforcement of civil and criminal law with respect to injuries already committed, but also the responsibility to prevent violence before it occurred. THE FIRST DUTY OF GOVERNMENT: PROTECTION, LIBERTY AND THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT

So why is the protection of American citizens from vehicle violence not listed on the Democratic Party Platform? 2016 Democratic Party Platform July 21, 2016″

Violence

See  http://annaleahmary.com/2016/07/so-why-is-protection-from-vehicle-violence-not-listed-on-the-democratic-party-platform/

Marianne’s questions are aimed at making us all safer.  She knows the tragedy of vehicle violence first hand.
I trace the preventability of her tragedy to the first days of the Reagan Administration when NHTSA work on truck underride guards was demoted in the name of “deregulation”.  Reagan appointed Raymond Peck, a former coal industry lobbyist.  NHTSA staff were demoted and reduced by 33% or about 300 people out the door (Now an industry Revolving Door).  And the airbag rule was rescinded.  It took a better Supreme Court than we have today to overturn the Reagan rescission with the words “For nearly a decade, the automobile industry has waged the regulatory equivalent of war against the air bag and lost — the inflatable restraint was proved sufficiently  effective.”  Story at Car Safety Wars, p. 163. Seehttps://www.amazon.com/Car-Safety-Wars-Technology-Politics/dp/1611477476/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469371675&sr=1-1&keywords=car+safety+wars
Disclosure:  I had the honor, working under Joan Claybrook, to have a role in writing and editing the 1980 NHTSA Report “Automobile Occupant Crash Protection, Progress Report No. 3” that the Supreme Court cited.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/1980fullreport.pdf
Hopefully Marianne’s  writings will help our future be safer.
Lou Lombardo

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____________________Lou Lombardowww.CareForCrashVictims.com

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____________________Lou Lombardowww.CareForCrashVictims.com

White House Petition To End Preventable Crash Fatalities

Dear Care For Crash Victims Community Members:

Marianne Karth has started a petition we all can sign.

In his final months as President, there is a chance we can get President Obama to act on the people’s behalf.

Please see, sign, and share the Karth family petition at:http://annaleahmary.com/2016/07/whitehouse-gov-petition-end-preventable-crash-fatalitiesappoint-natl-traffic-safety-ombudsman/

“Every average day in the U.S., 100 of our loved ones die in crashes and 400 more suffer serious crash injuries–along with $2 Billion in crash losses.

We propose that the President establish an independent Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman to be an advocate to eliminate preventable crash deaths and serious injuries.

We need someone who has a mandate to advocate on behalf of the victims, someone who is not compromised by competing interests. We call on the President to take this action to protect our families and loved ones from one of the leading causes of preventable death.

Traffic Safety has not been a national priority. Without this Presidential action, too many lives will continue to be lost to vehicle violence.”

The Karth family has already been successful in obtaining 20,000 signatures on a previous safety petition.  Let’s help with this too.

Lou

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____________________Lou Lombardowww.CareForCrashVictims.com

Will Hillary Help Turn Crash Victim Grief Into Good

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members: 

Will Hillary Clinton help Marianne Karth turn crash victim grief into good – safety for all of us, forevermore?

Hillary is a Mom and Grandma. Marianne Karth is a Mom and Grandma who tragically lost two young daughters in a crash.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-fwdagrandmatobeheardandheeded/

Marianne Karth has been working diligently to end vehicle violence for us all ever since.  She has obtained more than 20,000 signatures on a petition for a Vision Zero Goal for the nation.  See http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/News/2016/03/08/Family-continues-fight-for-trucking-safety.htmlHillary should meet Marianne for the sake of all of us.  Marianne lives in Rocky Mount, NC – a swing State that the Hillary campaign bus may visit – hopefully safely.

I hope that Hillary does this soon, before Donald Trump alone sends out a tweet to fix vehicle violence.

Lou Lombardo
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____________________Lou Lombardowww.CareForCrashVictims.com

Make America Safe Again

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
2016 Republican Convention
Today’s theme at the Republican Convention is “Make America Safe Again”.   Really?
Political Record on Vehicle Violence
Republican policies on vehicle safety have been tragic on a massive scale for nearly a century.  Hoover, Coolidge, Nixon, Reagan, Bush 1, and Bush 2 carried out corporate policies.  See  https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforJanuary2016-Corrected.pdfDemocrats LBJ and Carter made the major historical positive contributions to reduce vehicle violence.  However, President Obama has been a major vehicle safety disappointment.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-nhtsasresponsibilitiesfordeaths/
The Need For a Safe America Is Real and UrgentToday our clear and present danger of vehicle violence amounts to:

4 Million vehicle deaths in America – nearly 100 per day in the U.S.A. today
1 Billion vehicle injuries in America – nearly 400 serious injuries on an average day

$X Trillions Losses – about $2 billion per day

As we in the U.S. approach our 4 millionth death from vehicle violence, we must remember that we still have no goal to end vehicle violence.  There is a Vision Zero Goal that America still does not have – but others do.  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_Zero

As my 7 year old grandson taught me “With great power comes great responsibility.”  (He learned it from Spiderman.)

Today we have an America where “With great power comes great immunity.”  Immunity is enjoyed by both government and industry executives regardless of how many people die, are disabled, and bankrupted by vehicle violence.

So why does the President of the U.S.A. not adopt a Vision Zero Goal?  President Obama:  Meet Marianne Karth.  She has gathered 20,000 signatures on a petition to you to adopt a national Vision Zero Goal.  “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  Proverbs.  See http://annaleahmary.com/

Lou
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____________________Lou Lombardowww.CareForCrashVictims.com

Will Hillary Provide Kennedy like Leadership

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

In January of 2013, after 132,250 Americans had lost their lives to vehicle violence in his first term in office, President Obama had an opportunity.

As I wrote in January 2013, President Obama could have set a Kennedy-like goal to put Americans on the roads in safer new vehicles and bring them back alive in a decade.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReport-January2013-Vol1.pdf

President Obama did not do so and now we, and he, face his leaving office with an estimated additional 135,569 American lives lost in his second term.

Will Hillary Clinton provide Kennedy-like leadership and set a Vision Zero Goal to put Americans on the roads in safer new vehicles and bring them back alive in a decade?
We have the 21st Century technology.
We need 21st Century leadership that tackles our clear and present dangers here in the U.S.A. today – every day.
Lou
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____________________Lou Lombardowww.CareForCrashVictims.com

Marianne Karth s Noble Citizen Efforts to End Vehicle Violence

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Let’s help the Karth family.  Only when enough of us do our part will we be able to end vehicle violence.

Where are the reporters, editors, producers that will help spread her story – one that will help us all?
Imagine if NPR carried her story of life or death importance.  Remember NPR is supported by “we the people” as taxpayers taxpayers and donors.

Write about her story of struggle.  See and encourage others to sign her petition to do simple doable actions by the President at: http://annaleahmary.com/2016/07/victims-of-underride-collision-demand-vision-zero-and-an-independent-traffic-safety-ombudsman/

Let us emulate her citizenship and support her efforts.

Lou

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____________________Lou Lombardowww.CareForCrashVictims.com