Category: Blog

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.”

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

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.

 

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

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members: