Category: Blog

Thanks for Ralph Nader’s Work & for Crash Victims’ Work

February, 2016

Cally Houck’s decade of work to prevent future tragedies by making visible the loss of her two daughters has changed the law of the land in the U.S. so that rental companies must not rent out cars with unfixed defects,  See http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-cally-houck-rental-car-law-20151221-story.html  and http://www.amazon.com/Death-Rental-Car-Houck-Changed/dp/0692559132/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455883020&sr=1-1&keywords=Cally+Houck

Center for Auto Safety on Takata Airbags

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members: Delay and Confusion:http://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/Latest-Airbag-Advice-Confuses-Drivers-369043331.html

NSC Estimates 2015 Had Largest Percent Increase in Vehicle Fatalities in 50 Years

February, 2016

Important additional NSC Data by States and methodology are at http://www.nsc.org/NewsDocuments/2016/mv-fatality-report-1215.pdf

Center for Auto Safety Sues DOT Secretary Foxx

February, 2016

Please see release and documents below:

February 5, 2016202-328-7700 

CAS Sues Transportation Secretary Foxx For Violating Safety Act Mandate to Post Dealer Technical Service Bulletins & Index on DOT Website 

 For over three years DOT has violated the Congressional mandate in the “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” (MAP-21) enacted on July 6, 2012 that “the Secretary shall make available on a publicly accessible Internet website, a true or representative copy of each communication to the manufacturer’s dealers or to owners or purchasers of a motor vehicle or replacement equipment produced by the manufacturer about a defect or noncompliance with a motor vehicle safety standard prescribed under this chapter in a vehicle or equipment that is sold or serviced.”  

         To make the Bulletins findable by consumers, MAP-21 required “an index to each communication, which–

(A) identifies the make, model, and model year of the affected vehicles;

(B) includes a concise summary of the subject matter of the communication; and

(C) shall be made available by the Secretary to the public on the Internet in a searchable format.”

         DOT has failed to do either legal mandate – publish the actual bulletins or an index to them.

According CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlow:  “DOT failure to implement the law costs consumers money for repairs that covered by Service Bulletins and endangers their lives by witholding Service Bulletins that disclosures defects that can cause crashes, deaths and injuries.  Today the Center for Auto Safety filed suit against DOT Secretary Foxx to force the Secretary to do what the law so clearly requires.  This is yet another example of where voluntary and cooperative action by the auto industry so praised by Secretary Foxx fails.” 

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The Center is represented by Adina Rosenbaum of the Public Citizen Litigation Group in Washington DC.

Related Documents

CAS v. Foxx Complaint – 2/4/16

Examples of Technical Service Bulletins – Ford  Toyota  General Motors

No wonder most Americans think that government policies are on the wrong track.

NHTSA Fails Audit – Again

February, 2016

The NY Times reports: “Five years after an internal audit revealed serious shortcomings at the nation’s top auto safety regulator, the agency has failed to follow through on some overhauls, according to a new audit by the Transportation Department’s inspector general.”  See

Jail Time for Corporate Crime

February, 2016

When executives are not jailed for crimes year after year it becomes clear that our system is rigged against us all.

NHTSA & Google & Auto Companies Working On Rules For Driverless Cars

February, 2016

Reuters reports:”Exclusive: In boost to self-driving cars, U.S. tells Google computers can qualify as drivers

“U.S. vehicle safety regulators have said the artificial intelligence system piloting a self-driving Google car could be considered the driver under federal law, a major step toward ultimately winning approval for autonomous vehicles on the roads.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), of its decision in a previously unreported Feb. 4 letter to the company posted on the agency’s website this week.

Google’s self-driving car unit on Nov. 12 submitted a proposed design for a self-driving car that has “no need for a human driver,” the letter to Google from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Chief Counsel Paul Hemmersbaugh said.

“NHTSA will interpret ‘driver’ in the context of Google’s described motor vehicle design as referring to the (self-driving system), and not to any of the vehicle occupants,” NHTSA’s letter said.

“We agree with Google its (self-driving car) will not have a ‘driver’ in the traditional sense that vehicles have had drivers during the last more than one hundred years.”

Major automakers and technology companies such as Google are racing to develop and sell vehicles that can drive themselves at least part of the time.

All participants in the autonomous driving race complain that state and federal safety rules are impeding testing and eventual deployment of such vehicles. California has proposed draft rules requiring steering wheels and a licensed driver in all self-driving cars.”

See http://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-autos-selfdriving-exclusive-idUSKCN0VJ00H

Vehicle drivers are still needed to keep the eyes of the vehicle open.  See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDpdorEOeUc&feature=em-subs_digest

Citizens are needed to keep their eyes on these private government/industry policy makers.  Watch the DOT Revolving Door.  

See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-nhtsacorpservants.php

Lou