Category: Blog

Center for Auto Safety Uncovers 3 More Deaths in Jeep Rear Impact Fatal Fire Crashes Bringing Burn Death Toll to 21 In Investigated Jeeps Since NHTSA’s June 3, 2013 Recall Request


Center for Auto Safety Uncovers 3 More Deaths in Jeep Rear Impact Fatal Fire Crashes Bringing Burn Death Toll to 21 In Investigated Jeeps Since NHTSA’s June 3, 2013 Recall Request

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Please see the attached letter to Secretary Foxx and Administrator Rosekind.

Why does it take a small but dedicated consumer protection group with a small budget to do that which the DOT and NHTSA should be doing?

We need President Obama and his administration to pay as much attention to all crash deaths as to other less clear and present dangers than the 100 crash deaths per day, 400 serious crash injuries per day, and the losses valued by DOT at $2 Billion per day.

Lou

 

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


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

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Thanks to Nader

February 27th is Ralph Nader’s birthday.  Seehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader

50 years ago, Unsafe at Any Speed, written by Nader was published.  Since then an estimated 3.5 million American lives have been saved.  Seehttps://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-unsafe/

Is there a stadium anywhere big enough to hold that many people?

Where are those 3.5 million people and their families?  Many people may not even know enough to be grateful.  If they have a close call they may just think “Thank God”.

Invisibility of Lives Saved and Lives Lost
Although many are saved, many continue to be lost, needlessly.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog/blog-thanksgiving/
Both the lives saved and the lives lost are not yet sufficiently visible to the world to create the needed political and market demand to stop the tragedies.
Thanks to Crash Victims’ Work 
Marianne Karth’s work to prevent future tragedies by making visible the loss of her two daughters has begun to inform work worldwide.  See attached presentation on saving children using German medical data on vehicular injuries to children.  Note:  Prof. Lob was very helpful in creating the ADAMS database for the U.S.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/monthly-reports/blog-25reduction/ andhttp://www.adamsairmed.org/public_site.html

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

The work of these crash victims are making tragedies more visible and more preventable.  
All humanity must be grateful to them and to many others who do difficult work to prevent tragedies.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/Trial_2015_09Sept_AmmonsreviewofLemov.pdf
Lou

 

Center for Auto Safety on Takata Airbags


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

Government and industry can, and must, do better than this for people rather than for profit.
Lou

 

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


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

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:“Itasca, IL – Preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council indicate motor vehicle deaths were 8% higher in 2015 than they were in 2014 – the largest year-over-year percent increase in 50 years. The Council estimates 38,300 people were killed on U.S. roads, and 4.4 million were seriously injured[i], meaning 2015 likely was the deadliest driving year since 2008.”  Seehttp://www.nsc.org/Connect/NSCNewsReleases/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=103

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

Lou

 

Center for Auto Safety Sues DOT Secretary Foxx


Center for Auto Safety Sues DOT Secretary Foxx

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Please see release and documents below:

http://www.autosafety.org/sites/default/files/imce_staff_uploads/CASNewsImage.jpg 

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.” 

#     #     #

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


NHTSA Fails Audit – Again

February, 2016

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

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

Anyone who has been reading  Care For Crash Victims reports will not be surprised, but will continue to be tragically disappointed in this record.  Seehttps://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/CFCV-MonthlyReport-March2014.pdfhttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/opinion/weak-oversight-deadly-cars.html
NHTSA is still a captive agency.
NHTSA is infected with the deadly PITCH virus – Political Indifference To Crash Harm.  Manifestations of the PITCH disease are: * Former GM officials in high level NHTSA positions,  * Revolving Door,  * Deadly cars unfixed as far into the future as far as the eye can see,  * No vision zero goal to end crash deaths in new vehicles in the next decade,  * Rigged Justice, etc., etc.
The history of continuing and growing toll of vehicular deaths are at https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforJanuary2016-Corrected.pdf