Blog Archives - Page 52 of 115 - Care For Crash Victims

Hope For and From Crash Victims For An End To Crash Violence Tragedies

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

In response to my recommendation to sign a petition to the President by crash victims, I received a Thank You video that is inspiring.

See “A Gift From Mary” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrOQzuaqFI4

Mary is one of Marianne Karth’s daughters that several years later died of crash injuries.

See the Karth family story and sign their petition at their web site http://annaleahmary.com/2016/02/soon-to-come-the-delivery-of-a-vision-zero-petition-to-washington-dc/

The Karth family is trying to change how society values lives so as to put an end to crash violence forevermore for all humanity – setting a Vision Zero goal for crash deaths and serious injuries.

The Federal government currently places a dollar value on a “statistical” life at $9.4 million. But a life is priceless.

Consider the “value” of the love, creativity, and work of a family to try to produce greater safety for all of us. An inspiring example is this petition and this “Thank You” video.

I think of it as work worth many trillions of dollars for helping us end deaths and serious injuries in a decade. Imagine this “Thank You” video going viral and becoming a “Thank You” for the safety of all humanity – forevermore.

Thank You to Ralph Nader!

We all owe a great “Thank You” to Ralph Nader whose work launched efforts that have saved an estimated 3.5 million lives so far – just in the U.S.A. Seehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/ralph-nader/your-safety-and-your-cong_b_8743044.html

Thanks to that work citizens can now continue the work for an end to the problems of crash deaths and serious injuries – and we still have a long way to go.

Here in America we are approaching 4 million deaths from crash injuries – currently with noOfficial end in sight. Why? See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforJanuary2016-Corrected.pdf

Law professors now and philosophers for centuries have addressed Why. See the lecture series on “Justice: What’s the right thing to do?”

An excellent lecture on the subject of “cost – benefit analyses” is available online. Seehttp://www.justiceharvard.org/2011/02/episode-two/#watch Professor Michael Sandel makes a timely case for a new politics of the common good.

That is what the Karth family is doing now – and doing so well.

Thank you to the Karth family!

Lou

Takata Defect Cover Up Litigation – Woman Paralyzed

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The NY Times reports:

“JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As the safety crisis surrounding Takata’s airbags that are prone to rupture has mushroomed, the Japanese auto supplier has insisted that the propellant in its airbags is safe.

But on Friday, testimony in a Florida court showed that Takata’s own engineers discarded evidence that may have shown otherwise as long as 16 years ago. As early as 2000, around the time the propellant, which includes a compound called ammonium nitrate, was introduced into Takata models, failures occurred during internal testing.

But Takata altered its test data to hide the failures from its biggest customer, Honda, and a senior Takata executive ordered some of the evidence be discarded, the testimony said….”

Judge James H. Daniel of Duval County Court agreed with Takata that there was not enough evidence linking Takata’s actions directly with Ms. Mincey’s accident and injuries. But he said he was open to considering more evidence, which Mr. Leopold said he would provide.

Still, safety advocates found it disturbing that Takata might have known about potential problems years ago, but not immediately reported them to customers, automakers and safety regulators.

“It’s very damning,” said Rosemary Shahan, founder of Consumers for Auto Reliability.

“It’s bad enough to have a faulty product, it’s even worse to cover it up.” See

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/13/business/takata-discarded-evidence-of-airbag-ruptures-as-early-as-2000.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Lou

50th Anniversary of DOT

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Congratulatory 50th Anniversary messages from former and the present Secretary of Transportation are at

https://www.transportation.gov/fastlane/history-comes-alive-dot-hosts-50th-anniversary-launch-ceremony

Listen to what they say about safety – their “number 1 priority,” their “North star”, etc.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaq6JKJ5m8g Contrast that with the reality that they devoted less than 2% of the DOT budgets to NHTSA safety – decade after decade.

Statistics on the 2 million Americans that lost their lives and the hundreds of millions of Americans injured due to motor vehicles over that period are at https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforJanuary2016-Corrected.pdf

Crash victims might judge their record differently in light of the enormous number of tragedies they presided over and did not prevent.

Lou

Latest NHTSA Facts on Deaths and Injuries

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

NHTSA has released its latest data in two publications.* NCSA’s Crash*Stat “Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Nine Months (Jan-Sep) of 2015” (DOT HS 812 240): A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for the first nine months of 2015 shows that an estimated 26,000 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents an increase of about 9.3 percent as compared to the 23,796 fatalities that were reported to have occurred in the first nine months of 2014. See http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812240.pdf

* Quick Facts 2014 (DOT HS 812 234): NCSA has released the 2014 Quick Facts publication as a quick reference to the most asked questions regarding motor vehicle traffic fatalities and crashes. This publication provides the most current data at your fingertips. See http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812234.pdf

Keep in mind NHTSA statistics tend to under count fatalities. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-officerdies.php

Lou

Crash Victim Petitioners Seek Well Deserved Support

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Please see and support this petition to advance safety for us all.

It already has nearly 16,000 signatures. It deserves several hundred million signatures. See and sign at

http://annaleahmary.com/2016/02/soon-to-come-the-delivery-of-a-vision-zero-petition-to-washington-dc/

Every signature will increase the possibility that President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama – parents of two young daughters – will recognize and finally act upon the pain and suffering of American parents who lose the lives of young daughters – and sons.

All Americans would benefit.

Lou

NY Times Question

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

I recently reported about a comment I made in the Comments section on the NY Times article “Pardon Snowden” See http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/opinion/pardon-edward-snowden.html?_r=0

My recent blog post describing my comments and what happened at the NY Times was as follows:

“Short History of Air Pollution

This is part of a 50 year war on automotive emissions that have harmed people’s health in the U.S., damaged people worldwide, and the planet. See

https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-50yearsofairpollutionbyvehicles53000earlydeathsperyearinusatoday/

1. As a whistle blower in 1971, I was fired from EPA trying to warn that emission testing by the Nixon EPA was being rigged to benefit auto companies under Administrator William Ruckelshaus.

2. A recent MIT study found that all automotive emissions, not just diesel emissions, were estimated to be resulting in 53,000 early deaths each year in the U.S.A. today.

3. Last year, President Obama awarded the Medal of Freedom to William Ruckelshaus. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-medal/

Last week, on September 15, 2016, I commented on a NY Times article “Pardon Snowden” on whistle blowing. I received the NY Times link at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/opinion/pardon-edward-snowden.html?comments#permid=19799984:19805678

I had made the three points above about my experience as a whistle blower. Within a couple of hours my comments were recommended by more than 150 readers. One reader replied saying that my comments were “the scariest post” he had ever read.

Then the NY Times removed my comments and those of the people who had replied to my comments.”

I complained to the Public Editor of the NY Times. No response.

Trying to understand what happened, I looked up on Wikipedia the profile of NY Times Editor Dean Baquet. Here’s what I found to my surprise:“In 2006, ABC News reported that Baquet had killed a story about NSA wiretaps of Americans.[14] Commenting on Baquet’s role in suppressing the NSA story, constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald said of Baquet “…Dean Baquet does have a really disturbing history of practicing this form of journalism that is incredibly subservient to the American national security state, and if his past record and his past actions and statements are anything to go by, I think it signals that the New York Times is going to continue to descend downward into this sort of journalism that is very neutered and far too close to the very political factions that it’s supposed to exercise oversight over.”[15]“ See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Baquet

Lou Lombardo

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____________________Lou Lombardowww.CareForCrashVictims.com

Letter to NHTSA To Reopen Fiat Chrysler Jeep Investigation

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

ABC News reports:

“An auto safety advocate is calling on the government to reopen an investigation of rear-crash fires in older Jeep SUVs after finding at least 11 more deaths since the vehicles were recalled.

The deaths show that the recall repair — installing a trailer hitch to protect gas tanks in low-speed crashes — hasn’t been effective, said Clarence Ditlow, head of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety.

He is calling on the government to investigate, saying the Jeeps are unsafe and a remedy should be developed that saves lives.

“As far as Fiat Chrysler is concerned, Jeeps can continue to crash and burn until they are all off the road,” Ditlow wrote in a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx dated Thursday.

It’s been almost three years since Fiat Chrysler, which makes Jeeps, began recalling 1.56 million SUVs with plastic gas tanks that are mounted behind the rear axle and can rupture in a crash, spilling gasoline.

Ditlow said he found a total of 19 fire deaths in older Jeeps in a fatal accident database maintained by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Eleven were in Jeeps that had been recalled, with eight more in SUVs not included in the recall, he said.

The deaths since the June 2013 recall bring the number of people killed in fiery crashes involving the Jeeps to as many as 86. Before the recall, NHTSA counted 75 deaths. The recalled vehicles include 1993-1998 Grand Cherokees and 2002 to 2007 Libertys….

The article continues and contains the information that

“Fiat Chrysler has agreed to offer $1,000 above market value trade-in prices on a new vehicle to owners of 1993 to 1998 Grand Cherokees. Owners of both the recalled Liberty and Grand Cherokee SUVs would get $100 gift cards to have their vehicles repaired.”

See http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/safety-advocate-asks-govt-reopen-jeep-fire-investigation-37055293

The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) letter to current DOT Secretary Foxx and current NHTSA Administrator Rosekind along with photos, and data on the fatal crashes found are included in the following release.

February 19, 2016202-328-7700

CAS Asks DOT Secretary Foxx and NHTSA Administrator Rosekind to Reopen Jeep InvestigationJeep Fire Deaths Since NHTSA Jeep Recall Request in June 2013 Exceed All Takata Deaths

Based on examination of Jeep fire crashes in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2013 & 2014 FARS database and police/medical/court records that showed more fire deaths than Takata airbag inflator shrapnel deaths, the Center for Auto Safety today called on DOT Secretary Foxx and NHTSA Administrator Rosekind to reopen the defect investigation into the 1993-04 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1993-01 Cherokee and 2002-07 Liberty.

CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlow said:

“The most lethal vehicle safety defect in America today is not the Takata airbag inflator. It’s the fuel tank behind the rear axle in the 1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1993-01 Cherokee and 2002-07 Liberty. The Takata airbag inflator has claimed 9 lives in the US. Just since June 3, 2013 when NHTSA asked Chrysler to recall the 1993-98 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and 2002-07 Liberty, there have been 47 deaths in fatal fire crashes in the investigated Jeeps, at least 19 of which have been fire deaths according to NHTSA or medical records. The Grand Cherokee and Liberty accounted for 14 of the 19 fire deaths with 12 deaths occurring in direct rear impact crashes.

This is the recall that Chrysler never wanted to do and will never do right. As far as Fiat-Chrysler is concerned Jeeps can continue to crash and burn until they are all off the road. The Center for Auto Safety calls on you as the Secretary of Transportation and as the Administrator of NHTSA to reopen the Jeep fuel tank investigation and obtain a remedy that saves lives versus the fire deaths that will continue to occur if Fiat-Chrysler is left alone.”

# # #

CAS Letter to DOT Secretary Foxx and NHTSA Administrator Rosekind

Jeep Fire Fatalities and Injuries Since NHTSA Recall Request

Photos of Jeep Victims:

Skyler Anderson-Coughlin Chantae and Danny Reed

Kayla White

The letter and data must be read. The failures of DOT, NHTSA, and Fiat Chrysler are shocking in the amount of preventable tragedy they produced and will continue to produce if they again fail to protect.

Lou