Category: Blog


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

 

Sen. Thune, Safety, Money, and Lives Lost


Sen. Thune, Safety, Money, and Lives Lost

July, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Google reports: that the Sioux Falls Argus Leader published an article critical of Sen. Thune’s Transportation bill as follows:

Critics chide John Thune’s transportation bill

Sioux Falls Argus Leader
WASHINGTON – Consumer, public health and auto safety groups are criticizing Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota for pushing a …

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Here is the story and link:

http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2015/07/22/critics-chide-john-thunes-transportation-bill/30540767/
Critics chide John Thune’s transportation bill

Emily Spartz / Argus Leader
File photo of I-29 near the Vermillion exit less

WASHINGTON – Consumer, public health and auto safety groups are criticizing Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota for pushing a transportation proposal they say lacks necessary safety reforms and would put motorists at greater risk of injury or death.

The legislation, part of a broader six-year highway bill the Senate is debating this week, was approved July 15 by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee without Democratic support. Thune chairs the powerful Senate committee.

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways and other critics say the proposal lacks key safety measures and would roll back numerous necessary laws.

They point to provisions that would remove from public scrutiny certain safety rating information about motor coach carriers, and would allow drivers as young as 18 to drive big rigs. They also say the proposal doesn’t do enough to hold vehicle makers accountable for defects and recalls.

“He’s making it unsafe for everybody in South Dakota and around the country,” Jim Abourezk, a former Democratic lawmaker who represented South Dakota in the U.S. House and Senate during the 1970s, said of Thune. “I don’t know if he realizes that people need the government to keep them safe, especially on highway safety. If we can get enough public pressure on Thune, of course it will change, and he’ll lay off (these issues).”

GOP leaders in the House have yet to decide if they will take up the Senate bill or craft their own, leaving Abourezk and others optimistic they can roll back some of the measures.

Senate photo

Sen. John Thune

Thune didn’t specifically address the individual proposals drawing criticism, but he has defended the overall legislation, saying it includes “critical regulatory reforms.” He said it would improve safety on roads by giving more money to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and imposing tougher penalties for auto safety violations.

“This legislation not only funds highway projects but also puts important safety enhancements and some common-sense regulatory changes in place,” said Thune. “Since we first introduced our bill, we’ve had a lot of input. We’ve explained why certain provisions are important, and have also made changes to increase support and address some concerns.”

Emily Wanless, a political science professor at Augustana College, said the complaints targeting Thune are probably “politics as usual.” She said under Thune’s watch, the Senate panel has been largely bipartisan and has avoided some of the gridlock facing other committees.

“The fact that they are getting stuff through gives people an opportunity to discuss these issues and criticize these issues,” she said.

—

Contact Christopher Doering atcdoering@gannett.com or reach him at Twitter: @cdoering

Lou

 

The letter should be placed in a sealed envelope marked “confidential.”


The letter should be placed in a sealed envelope marked “confidential.”

July, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The NY Times reports:

“The transportation funding bill is the last viable chance for the current Congress to pass auto safety reform, aides on both sides say. As a result, lawmakers vied during the meeting to attach auto safety provisions to it — a common tactic for passing legislation that had otherwise stalled.

But one after another, Democratic senators’ proposals were defeated. The exception was a measure to ban rental companies from renting cars with unrepaired safety recalls. Still, a similar proposal to prevent used-car dealers from doing the same failed on a party-line vote. (The committee’s chairman, John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said that banning used-car dealers from selling recalled cars “could have unintended consequences,” like complicating trade-ins.)

As for making it a specific crime to knowingly conceal information on safety defects, that, too, failed. Three Democrats — Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Gary Peters of Michigan and Joe Manchin of West Virginia — joined the Republican majority in blocking it.

The auto industry resisted what it said was “criminalizing the business of manufacturing” in a document that auto lobbyists circulated to lawmakers before Wednesday’s meeting. (The lack of criminal statutes has complicated efforts by federal prosecutors to bring charges against individual employees at General Motors over the cover-up of faulty ignition switches.)”  

Mr. Thune tried to highlight several auto provisions that made the cut, like the increase in the civil fine maximum to $70 million, an increase in certain funding and the rental car proposal.

But most Democrats, irritated by what they said was a lack of any real negotiating, were having none of it as the meeting concluded. Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrat of Washington, said the group was “breaking a long tradition” of committee bipartisanship on safety issues.”  See 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/20/business/senate-committees-no-vote-incenses-lawmakers-seeking-auto-safety-reforms.html?action=click&contentCollection=Business%20Day&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

For  crash fatality statistics for a decade by State and Congressional district see: https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/CrashDeathMappingTools.php