Category: Blog

Senators Urge Action To Protect Motorists


Senators Urge Action To Protect Motorists

September, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Hope

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Contact: Giselle Barry (Markey) 202-224-2742

Sarah Zukowski (Blumenthal) 202-224-0335

Josh Zembik (Blumenthal) 202-224-6452

 

Markey, Blumenthal Continue Investigation of Automotive Cybersecurity and Privacy Practices

 

Lawmakers have introduced legislation to establish federal standards to secure cars from cyberattack and protect drivers’ privacy

 

Washington (September 16, 2015) – Continuing the investigation begun by Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) in 2013, Senator Markey and Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) today sent new, expanded queries to 18 automakers asking for an update to the information on each company’s protections against the threat of cyberattacks or unwarranted invasions of privacy related to the integration of electronic systems into and within automobiles. Additionally, the Senators ask the companies for a description of any changes to their vehicle fleet or characteristics, policies, practices and experiences that may have occurred since the company first responded to Senator Markey’s original letter.

 

Last year, Senator Markey released the report “Tracking & Hacking: Security & Privacy Gaps Put American Drivers at Risk,” which detailed major gaps in how auto companies are securing connected features in cars against hackers. Most recently, researchers Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller wirelessly hacked a Jeep Cherokee from miles away while the vehicle was on a highway, showing how hackers could control the air conditioning, windshield wipers and fluid, radio, transmission, the brakes and steering. As a result of the demonstration, Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.4 million vehicles to fix this vulnerability. In July, the Senators wrote to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) urging it to take immediate action and investigate potential widespread risk for consumers because of vulnerabilities in auto information and entertainment systems.

 

“As vehicles become increasingly connected to the Internet and to one another through advanced features and services, we continue to see how these technologies present vulnerabilities that can compromise the safety and privacy of drivers and passengers,” write Senators Markey and Blumenthal, members of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. “We have specifically learned how third parties can access the electronic controls and data of vehicles from many different entry points, including wireless connections, and we appreciate that many automotive companies have begun to take concrete steps to close these security gaps.”   

 

A sample copy of the Senators’ letter to automakers can be found HERE.

 

Senators Markey and Blumenthal sent letters to Aston Martin, BMW North America, Fiat Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, American Honda Motor Co., Hyundai Motors North America, Jaguar Land Rover North America, Lamborghini, Mazda North America, Mercedes Benz USA, Mitsubishi, Nissan North America, Porsche, Subaru Motors America, Tesla, Toyota North America, Volkswagen Group of America (with Audi), and Volvo.

 

In July, Senators Markey and Blumenthal introduced the Security and Privacy in Your Car (SPY Car) Act, legislation that would direct NHTSA and the Federal Trade Commission to establish federal standards to secure our cars and protect drivers’ privacy. The SPY Car Act also establishes a rating system — or “cyber dashboard”— that informs consumers about how well the vehicle protects drivers’ security and privacy beyond those minimum standards.

Current Reality

“General Motors drivers looking for cheap places to eat, sleep and shop might be in luck with a new update to OnStar’s mobile app.

The AtYourService platform, which provides subscribers access to various shopping, dining and hotel deals, will soon be available through the service’s RemoteLink application, OnStar said today. AtYourService, currently available in-vehicle with the help of OnStar advisers, provides subscribers with information on nearby businesses, including savings at some restaurants, retailers, fuel and hotels.

The app’s new AtYourService tab will update offers from companies, including Dunkin’ Donuts and RetailMeNot, based on the user’s location and the time of day.”  See

Lou

 

Victims of GM Ignition Switch Crash Create A Vehicle Safety Watch List


Victims of GM Ignition Switch Crash Create A Vehicle Safety Watch List

September, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

An important announcement by The Safety Institute:“Today, The Safety Institute (TSI) announces that the Melton family will sponsor the Vehicle Safety Watch List in memory of their daughter Brooke, who died in a 2010 crash caused by a well-known ignition switch defect in her 2005 Chevy Cobalt.

“Brooke would still be alive if GM had acknowledged the ignition defect and fixed it. Brooke would be alive if the regulators had followed up on their own investigations which revealed the problem,” Ken Melton said.

“It’s clear to us that the accountability systems we have in place don’t work as well as they should. The Watch List provides another tool, another way to look at defect trends. So, we are investing in a process that can help uncover emerging problems before they take more lives and turn into a full-blown crisis and cover-up.”

Brooke Melton, 29, died when she skidded into another vehicle after the ignition module of her 2005 Cobalt slipped into the accessory position. Evidence produced in the Melton case showed that GM knew about that the ignition switch problem as early as 2001.

Brooke Melton’s 2010 death was initially deemed the result of a loss-of-control crash on a rainy night. But the Meltons’ persistence revealed GM’s longstanding knowledge that its defective ignition module that could shift out of the run position while a vehicle is underway, turning off the airbags at the same time it is cutting off the engine power, anti-lock brakes and power steering. In February 2014, after GM reported the defect and launched a limited recall, the Meltons asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to open an investigation into GM’s actions.

That investigation eventually led to $35 million in civil fines levied against GM, and nearly 15 million vehicles recalled. Congress held hearings on GM’s deception and NHTSA’s failures to probe the defect when it first learned about airbag deployment failures in 2007. The ignition switch defect is also at the center of a multi-district litigation (MDL).

In light of the more detailed picture that emerged, Ken and Beth Melton returned their original settlement and pursued GM for fraud to hold the automaker accountable and improve safety for all consumers. This case was settled in April.”  See

http://www.thesafetyinstitute.org/parents-of-gm-ignition-switch-crash-victim-sponsor-quarterly-vehicle-safety-watch-list/

and watch http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/parents-gm-crash-victim-fund-vehicle-safety-watchlist-n421826

On January 26, 2014, an LA Times article addressed corporate and governmental failures to protect Americans and asked “what’s the ordinary person to do?”

“Only oversight by a Congress and president truly devoted to the public interest, not commercial interests, can keep regulatory agencies focused on the people’s business.

But when business gets its say on Capitol Hill and the White House too, what’s the ordinary person to do?” See

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/26/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20140126

As an ordinary person, I can say: Thank you to the Melton family and The Safety Institute.

Lou 

 


Nader on Trade And Our Safety

August, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Nader’s recent column tells us how our safety progress can be stymied by corporate trade lawyers: “Whole industries are taken from the U.S. and lost to dictatorial countries with poorly paid workers that daily violate human rights. Still, the “free-traders” don’t budge.

Of course the ultimate, latter stage dependency created by corporate globalization is when our own health, safety, labor and legal/democratic standards are pulled down by the combination of fleeing U.S. corporate giants in cahoots with fascist regimes overseas.

“To be first or best with labor rights, environmental or safety standards for our people is to be accused of imposing “non-tariff trade barriers” against imports from countries that treat badly their consumers, workers and environment. So, for example, our being first with an auto safety standard, a food labeling requirement or a ban on a toxic chemical here lets exporting countries sue the U.S. in secret tribunals in Geneva, Switzerland whose decisions by corporate lawyers (temporarily sitting as trade judges) are final.”

See https://nader.org/2015/08/21/globalization-formula-for-a-weakening-u-s-economy/

What we don’t know can kill us.

Lou

 

NHTSA Protects Takata Profits Over Safety


NHTSA Protects Takata Profits Over Safety

August, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members: Reuters reports:

“Takata Corp (7312.T), which is recalling 34 million defective air bag inflators, has proposed a plan to address concerns about the safety of the replacement parts it is providing to consumers – but the details are not available to the public.

A proposed Takata testing plan, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted to its website on Tuesday, totals 37 pages. But the auto safety watchdog agency agreed to make 35 pages blank, after the Japanese manufacturer requested confidentiality over contents that include proprietary information.

“It is not public information because it is confidential business information,” said NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge.

Takata’s testing plans attempt to deal with two central questions for regulators, lawmakers and safety advocates: whether the air bag inflators now being used to replace defective parts are safe — and for how long.

The recall, which U.S. officials have described as the largest in U.S. history, involves millions of vehicles made by 11 automakers and equipped with Takata air bag inflators that can explode with too much force, spraying shrapnel into passenger compartments. The devices have been linked to at least eight deaths and more than 100 injuries. See:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/11/us-autos-takata-airbags-idUSKCN0QG2C720150811

Hmnnn 35 out of 37 pages blanked out by NHTSA.  

Same old NHTSA policies of protecting profits rather than people.   How would publication of the information in those 35 pages not advance safety?  

Who will watch NHTSA?
Lou

 

Before Deadly Labor Day, The National Safety Council Warns on Rising Crash Deaths


Before Deadly Labor Day, The National Safety Council Warns on Rising Crash Deaths

August, 2015

U.S. on pace for deadliest driving year since 2007, says National Safety Council

Traffic deaths and serious injuries substantially higher in first six months of 2015

​Itasca, IL – The National Safety Council estimates traffic deaths are 14 percent higher through the first six months of 2015 than they were during the same period in 2014, and serious injuries are 30 percent higher[i]. From January to June, nearly 19,000 people died in traffic crashes across the U.S., and more than 2.2 million were seriously injured[ii], putting the country on pace for its deadliest driving year since 2007.  See

http://www.nsc.org/NSCNewsReleases/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=64

 

Predictable Deaths, Injuries, Lo$$es, Moral Bankruptcy and Election Consequences


Predictable Deaths, Injuries, Lo$$es, Moral Bankruptcy and Election Consequences

August, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Joan Claybrook wrote a letter to the Editor of the Washington Post that was published on August 7, 2015.  In it she wrote pointing to a failure of a Washington Post Editorial. “The July 25 editorial “A bill that ignores the obvious,” about the Senate’s proposed six-year highway funding bill, failed to mention that the bill would roll back numerous truck safety rules and programs, which could result in more deaths and injuries on highways.”

Already, 4,000 people die and 100,000 are injured each year in truck crashes. Such a toll would never be tolerated for airline travel, yet Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) gave the trucking industry what the Transportation Department has rejected: the ability to keep secret the DOT safety ratings of truck companies and removal from the DOT database of crashes that a trucking company claims were not its fault. The bill would permit five-year exemptions from hours-of-service rules, allow drivers ages 18 to 20 to operate in interstate commerce even though the rate of crashes is higher than for older driversand halt the freeze on dangerous double- and triple-trailer vehicles that the public rightfully hates. It also fails to enhance safety measures that senators requested after discovering safety defect cover-ups.

This bill must be rewritten to enhance safety, not degrade it.”  See

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-dangerous-highway-bill/2015/08/07/45159930-37a4-11e5-ab7b-6416d97c73c2_story.html

Why did Senator John Thune (R-SD) Ignore Safety?
Every year the number of people who die of crash injuries in South Dakota amounts to more than 2 people in every average week – year after year.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/CrashDeathMappingTools.php
Senator Thune is currently Chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.  As such he currently holds great power to shape safety legislation.  Along with such power comes great responsibility to all Americans.
Senator Thune is up for re-election in 2016 in the Red State of SD.
SD had a worse fatality rate than 41 other States in the U.S.A. in 2013. See attached Excel Spreadsheet “2013NT Crash Fatalities By State Rank” 
Note: the 2013 Crash Fatalities by State show the vast majority of worst States are Red States and the vast majority of safest States were Blue States.  In 2013, the number who died in Red States amounted to 14,013 Americans.   Red State lives matter. The Great Republican Democrat Divide has a long and deadly history in auto safety.
The Moral Bankruptcy of Political Policies of Un-Safety
 
Perhaps the most egregious episode occurred when Ronald Reagan took office as President in 1981.  He replaced Joan Claybrook as Administrator of NHTSA with a coal industry lobbyist named Raymond A. Peck, Jr.  Under Reagan, the safety standard requiring automatic crash protection (airbags) was rescinded.  And NHTSA personnel were reduced by 33% — 300 safety workers gone by the end of 1982.  To this day, NHTSA is still at the reduced staffing level of 1982.
Since President Reagan took office in 1981, the number of Americans who died of crash injuries (on public roads and within 30 days of the crash) now amounts to more than 1,142,500 people.  About 4 million additional Americans have suffered serious crash injuries such as brain, spinal cord, burns, and amputations.  
Think of the effects on families such as bankruptcy, and children orphaned.  Imagine how many lives would have been saved if Reagan had not become President in 1981. Clearly elections have consequences.
Crash death data by State and Congressional District over the past decade are available to the public at https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/CrashDeathMappingTools.php
If only people knew how much of their safety and happiness was dependent upon their actions or in-actions….
For a Safer America,
Lou

 

“Batman” Killed in Crash – An Example of Societal Loss


“Batman” Killed in Crash – An Example of Societal Loss

August, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

When people die of crash injuries it results in losses to families and society – forevermore.   Tragically, in many more ways than we know, most stories of crash victims that die or are seriously injured are given brief passing notice by media and society.  Insights into the societal losses are too often missing in the media.

All are important stories.  But some stories illustrate the impact on society more than others.  This is one such story.

“Leonard Robinson, 51, of Owings Mills, retired after selling a commercial cleaning company he founded. He then spent his time dressing as Batman, visiting and lifting the spirits of sick children in hospitals for more than a decade

Robinson was hit by a car Sunday night in western Maryland after his custom vehicle—a Batmobile replica—had engine trouble and stopped partly in the fast lane on Interstate 70, Maryland State Police reported.”