March, 2015
Wall St. Journal reports:“Chrysler conducted a “thorough review” of older Jeeps and the design of their fuel tanks is “not a safety defect,” the chief executive of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV testified in a wrongful-death lawsuit over a 4-year-old boy killed in a fiery rear-end Jeep crash in 2012.” See
If the jurors swallow this…what can ordinary citizens do?
Lou
March, 2015
Bloomberg reports on past and present trial of Fiat Chrysler tragedies and the role of NHTSA’s Revolving Door.“Jurors are poised to view grisly evidence of the June 2012 death of 4-year-old Remington Walden in the back seat of a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The SUV erupted in flames after being rear-ended at an intersection as his aunt drove him to a tennis lesson.
The family’s lawyers say the boy died screaming in a fire so intense his chest fused to the Jeep’s door. They said a medical examiner determined the child, strapped to a booster seat, was probably alive for as long as a minute, with the position of his body showing he died struggling to get out….
“The limited recall also raised concerns about the closeness of the regulating agency to the carmaker, said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Washington-based advocacy group Center for Auto Safety. The lead negotiator for NHTSA in the deal went to work for one of Fiat Chrysler’s law firms after the accord was reached.
Ditlow said he would use any verdict against the company in court to try to force NHTSA to reopen the investigation or expand the recall….”
“The big question now is what evidence will be presented at the trial,” “The executive’s testimony will figure prominently in the case, one of the first trials since the accord, Ditlow said. Claims of collusion between the government and the carmaker will be a focal point of the trial, including details of the meeting that led to the limited recall, he said.” See
And as I wrote nearly a year ago Americans are still in danger of unfixed Jeep vehicles. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-unfixedjeeps.php
And Americans are still in danger of the “unfixed” NHTSA officials still in positions of power in and out of the agency. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/CFCV-MonthlyReport-March2014.pdf
Auto makers and NHTSA can, and must, do better.
Lou
March, 2015
Lou
March, 2015
Please see excellent article (that I had missed) at:http://www.safetyresearch.net/blog/articles/improving-recall-system-21st-century
Lou
February, 2015
NHTSA Revolving Door Spin
* WSJ reports on former NHTSA Administrator David Kelly as frontrunner to head auto industry investigation of Takata airbag defect.
* Safety Advocate Rosemary Shahan reports that former NHTSA Deputy Administrator Ron Medford is pushing for using the public essentially as safety guinea pigs.“The auto manufacturers and Google are working in tandem to seek weak regulation of autonomous vehicles, which are already being operated on the highways in some states, including CA. They’re basically using our highways as their test track. They’re pushing the CA DMV very aggressively to allow them to “self-certify” that their cars meet federal motor vehicle safety standards, without any further standards or any third-party verification. They also claim that the US safety recall system is “robust” and adequate to handle any safety problems that arise. Ron Medford, who used to be the Deputy Director of NHTSA, and Chan Lieu, who served as Director of Government Affairs, Policy and Strategic Planning at NHTSA are both now speaking on behalf of Google and the manufacturers, before the DMV.”Here’s video of the most recent hearing:https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/vr/autonomous/auto Earlier hearings — with notations for when Ron Medford from Google is speaking about the safety recall system: Part 2A3:00 – 5:00https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2WWRzbLsw8&feature=youtu.be Part 2B6:35 – 7:08https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTzPYlueGg8&feature=youtu.be
February, 2015
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Last year, in the foreword to the 2014 Car Book, Clarence Ditlow, the Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety wrote:
“The media recently focused on the fatal crashes involving Jacqueline Mars, the Mars candy heiress, whose 2004 Porsche Cayenne crossed the centerline and hit another vehicle; and Paul Walker, star of Fast and Furious, who was killed in a 2005 Porsche Carrera that veered off the road in a high speed crash. Yet the media did not ask why Mars and Walker who could have afforded any vehicle did not pick a newer Porsche or another performance sports car with electronic stability control or lane departure control that might have prevented their tragic, fatal crashes.
Most celebrities in America have agents to help them negotiate their contracts, run their finances and advance their careers. Yet how many have an agent to select a safe car which will insure their career or life will not be cut short by a tragic car crash such as were Grace Kelley, Steve Allen, and James Dean.”
Ditlow notes that to prevent future tragedies companies should consider the following advice:
“CBS fits in the category of entities that should use the safest possible vehicles for employees and guests for whom it provides transportation. The Lincoln Town Car was phased out in 2011. Neither the 2011 or 2010 in which Bob Simon was riding had side curtain airbags, collision avoidance braking, or lane departure control. The Town Car had side torso airbags only for the front seat and not for the rear seat where Bob Simon was riding. There are any number of 2015 large sedans that have these features. Side curtain airbags are now standard in 2015 cars which shows how out-of-date the Town Car is in safety. The Town Car is the livery vehicle of choice due to its size, reliability and relatively low cost; not safety. If status is a factor for companies like CBS, use Mercedes S-Class limos with all the above safety features. No guarantee one will avoid all crashes but they will be less severe and injury will be mitigated.“
Lou
February, 2015
One of my most enduring early lessons learned when I first came to Washington in the late 1960s was that too often it takes a tragedy to make progress.
Today an excellent article by John Cichowski quotes safety advocates Clarence Ditlow and Jacki Gillan opening the question of how such tragedies can be prevented in the future. That question is perhaps the best tribute to Bob Simon’s life. See http://www.northjersey.com/news/new-york-tri-state-area/could-rear-air-bags-have-saved-bob-simon-1.1271812?page=all
USA Today’s Larry Copeland also wrote an excellent article that explored the injury problems of unbuckled people in taxis and the lack of laws requiring people in backseats to be buckled up. See http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/02/13/no-seat-belt-violation-in-simon-crash/23354289/ Bob Simon’s life and tragic death can continue to do good for humankind forever.
Let us help make it so.
Lou
