Category: Blog

DOT Secretary Foxx Uses Revolving Door To Reward Former Federal “Safety” Officials


DOT Secretary Foxx Uses Revolving Door To Reward Former Federal “Safety” Officials

April, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The Washington Post reports:The three new federal board members, who will take office June 1, are Carol Carmody, former vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board; David Strickland, former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; and Robert Lauby, chief safety officer of the Federal Railroad Administration.

They will replace Mortimer Downey, who recently completed a term as board chairman; Harriet Tregoning, a senior official at the Department of Housing and Urban Development: and Anthony R. Giancola, former executive director of the National Association of County Engineers.

Foxx praised the outgoing directors for their “excellent service,” but there was no mistaking his desire to force change on the board so Metro would deal more aggressively with safety.

Despite decades of warnings from the federal government and others, Metro has failed to instill a safety-first mind-set in its workforce and allowed its equipment to deteriorate so much that it sometimes endangers riders.

“Building a safety culture is not easy and requires relentless focus at every level,” Foxx wrote. “These three new Federal members will build on our promise to bring a laser-like focus on making the transit system of our nation’s capital as safe as possible.”

 

See https://www.wmata.com/about/board/biographies.cfm#main-content See https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/foxx-saying-no-more-excuses-for-metro-on-safety-replaces-3-board-members/2016/04/28/0089c108-0d53-11e6-bfa1-4efa856caf2a_story.html

 

Breaking Through Power by Empowering Citizens


Breaking Through Power by Empowering Citizens

April, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Empowering Citizen Leaders

Nader believes “I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”

In that belief Nader has organized a national Conference on Breaking Through Power to empower citizens to lead in efforts to build a Safer America.  He describes the Conference athttps://blog.nader.org/2016/04/22/breaking-through-power-historic-civil-mobilization-now/

The program overview is at https://www.breakingthroughpower.org/

This comes at a time when America is suffering from nearly 4 million deaths from vehicle violence historically.  Currently America is suffering vehicle violence of about 100 deaths + 400 serious injuries + losses valued at nearly $2 billion – every average day.  And last year vehicle violence increased by about 10% in the U.S.A.   

All this suffering and losses with consequences that will go on forever!   And all this suffering when never before has humankind had more scientific and technological ability to end vehicle violence in a decade.

Citizen’s Vision
Marianne and Jerry Karth, parents who lost two daughters to vehicle violence, have become leaders in the U.S.A. to gain support for Vision Zero for crash deaths and serious injuries.  They have gathered more than 20,000 signatures on a petition to end vehicle violence.  They have delivered the petition to the Obama Administration.  Note the insightful comments by Jerry Karth in the petition.  See Vision Zero Petition Book 3rd Edition
The status of Vision Zero crash violence around the world is athttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_Zero
Hopefully, this Nader Conference will empower citizens to advance the day when we achieve Vision Zero crash violence in the U.S.A.
Lou Lombardo

 

For More Safety: Vision For The Common Good In Our Time


For More Safety: Vision For The Common Good In Our Time

April, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Citizens Call for More Safety

Latin NCAP, the South American equivalent of EuroNCAP and IIHS, has held a meeting in Washington with other members of road safety agencies. Among the guests and speakers stood American safe-car advocate Ralph Nader, author of the famous “Unsafe at any speed.”  Mr. Nader criticized General Motors’ quest for profit in South America, where it sells cars that have been deliberately stripped of safety features developed for them.  The assessment comes from knowing that GM manufactures the same models for other markets with airbags, ESP, and other driver aids as standard, but these do not receive the same amenities for the Mexican market, for example. Ralph Nader even said that General Motors commits “willful manslaughter” by manufacturing cars without modern safety gear beside vehicles that feature these systems, all in the name of more profit on the South American market.

Vision For The Common Good In Our Time 

“As Pope Francis made powerfully clear last year in Laudato Si’, we have the technology and know-how to solve our problems – from poverty to climate change to health care to protection of biodiversity. We also have the vast wealth to do so, especially if the rich pay their way in fair taxes rather than hiding their funds in the world’s tax and secrecy havens- as the Panama Papers have shown.

The challenges facing our planet are not mainly technological or even financial, because as a world we are rich enough to increase our investments in skills, infrastructure, and technological know-how to meet our needs and to protect the planet. Our challenge is mostly a moral one, to redirect our efforts and vision to the common good. Centesimus Annus, which we celebrate and reflect on today, and Laudato Si’, are powerful, eloquent and hopeful messages of this possibility. It is up to us to learn from them, and to move boldly toward the common good in our time.”

 

What Did Honda and Takata Know and When?


What Did Honda and Takata Know and When?

April, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Deeper and deeper in death, injury, and deception!

Automotive News and Reuters report:

“DETROIT (Reuters) — In August of 2009, after ruptured airbag inflators in Honda vehicles were linked to least four injuries and a death, the automaker quietly requested a design change and did not notify U.S. regulators, Honda confirmed in response to inquiries from Reuters.

Honda Motor Co. asked supplier Takata Corp. to produce a “fail-safe” airbag inflator, according to Takata presentations and internal memos reviewed by Reuters.”

Lou