Jury To Decide Toyota Responsibility for Fatal Crash
January, 2015
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Good article and documents athttp://www.twincities.com/crime/ci_27409517/closing-arguments-set-toyota-fatal-st-paul-crash
Lou
Category: Blog
Congressional Blog on Recalls, Deaths, and Blame
Congressional Blog on Recalls, Deaths, and Blame
December, 2014
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Michael R. Lemov, an attorney with a long history of safety work has written a blog for the Hill. His article “50 million cars recalled, hundreds dead, who is to blame” notes the role of Congress.
“Yet there is another co-conspirator that also has “shared culpability” for the General Motors, Toyota, Honda and other botched recalls, such as Chrysler Jeep’s potentially flammable gas tanks.
That party is the finger- wagging Congress itself, specifically, the House and Senate Appropriations committees. They have starved the federal safety agency for staff and funding for decades. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigations (ODI), the office responsible for policing and correcting safety defects, is funded at about $10 million a year to oversee the 265 million cars now on the roads in America. It has about 60 professionals, including engineers and investigators, assigned to the job. Its staff and expertise are simply no match for the skills and size of the car companies and particularly the complex, computerized cars with new technologies now coming off the assembly lines. And NHTSA’s $10 million congressionally-authored budget for the defects office has remained virtually the same for a decade.
The underfunding by Congress insures that the safety agency will be slow, incompetent and subject to halfway deals with the car companies in order to attempt to comply with its huge responsibilities.““Lemov is the author of the forthcoming book, “Car Safety Wars: 100 Years of Technology, Politics and Sudden Death” (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press/Rowman& Littlefield) He was formerly chief counsel of the House Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Investigations subcommittee.”
Disclosure: I have done fact checking for Mr. Lemov’s book and in the process I learned a lot about safety I did not previously know.
Lou
Correction and Addition: Safety Inequality in America
Correction and Addition: Safety Inequality in America
December, 2014
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Correction: Thanks to one of our members, a typo of mine was caught – so second ad at Super Bowl costs $4.5 million – not billion.
Addition: And this member added some valuable information.“Roughly every 15 minutes someone dies in a motor vehicle crash.
Roughly every 15 minutes 4 people are seriously injured in an automobile crash.
That means that during a roughly 4-hour Superbowl presentation, 16 people will die and 64 people will be seriously injured. I read somewhere that each American has roughly 5 close family contacts. If one were to consider those, nearly 500 Americans will be impacted by death or serious injury during the Superbowl (which focuses its advertising on automobiles and beer drinking).”
That’s from a member who has been to more crash scenes than I have. In a way, I am glad I made that typo. Back to the original article.
An excellent article in Automotive News points out the plight of crash victims who own older vehicles — another example of Safety Inequality in America.
““It’s a difficult problem,” said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington. “If you look at the older vehicles, the recall rate can drop to less than 50 percent.”
More than 17 million U.S. vehicles have been recalled for potentially defective Takata inflators, according to Reuters. According to a government analysis of recalls from 2000 through 2008, about 65 percent of recalled cars each year get fixed within 18 months of the recall.
So if just 65 percent of the Takata-related vehicles are fixed, that would leave some 6 million or more vehicles on the road with potentially explosive inflators that could send deadly shrapnel at drivers and passengers.
For years, Ditlow said, he has suggested a law requiring dealers to complete all recalls before selling a used car. In private transactions, the buyer would have to complete the recall before registering the vehicle.”
See http://www.autonews.com/article/20141222/OEM11/141219835/older-vehicles-can-escape-recalls-nets
This year, as in many of the past 40 years, the citizen auto safety group that has done the most to protect all Americans from crash injuries is the Center for Auto Safety. See http://www.autosafety.org/
Inequality of Financial ResourcesYear after year, a small group has struggled on behalf of crash victims (all of us) against irresponsible actions by NHTSA and the auto industry. It has been, and continues to be, a struggle of very limited citizen financial resources vs. nearly a Billion dollar “safety” agency + a Trillion dollar industry. See http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws+&+Regulations/NHTSA+Budget+Information andhttp://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2014/12/u-s-auto-industry-generates-record-1-1-trillion-in-2014-sales/
The inequality of financial resources can be recognized by the fact that the Center for Auto Safety annual budget is a small fraction of the cost of just one 30 second Super Bowl ad of $4.5 million this year. See http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2014/12/automakers-spending-big-money-to-maximize-exposure-with-super-bowl-ads/
Note that in the corporate world, the auto industry funds spent on Super Bowl ads support a violent and injurious sport to Americans.
Moral Resources
In the human world, the small amount of citizen funds donated to the Center for Auto Safety support life saving work of enormous moral value. In the world of “right makes might” the Center for Auto Safety has often carried the day on safety issues. It has done so with hard work and expertise: day after day, week after week, and year after year. It has won battles in the courts of public opinion, courts of law, and the legislative and executive branches of government.
Unfortunately, in the world of might makes right, too often moral force is not enough.
Help Balance the Safety Inequality
In the USA, more than 3.6 million Americans have lost their lives to crash injuries. Imagine if just one family member of each of those people killed donated $1 to the Center for Auto Safety. It would be less than the price of just one Super Bowl ad. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/clock.php In the USA, more than 688 million Americans have suffered crash injuries. Imagine if just one family member of each of those people injured donated $1 to the Center for Auto Safety. It would be less than the price of just 150 Super Bowl ads. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/clock.php In the USA today, nearly 100 Americans lose their lives to crash injuries, another 400 suffer serious crash injuries, and these losses are valued by DOT at $1 Billion each day. Imagine if just one family member of each of those people killed or seriously injured donated $1 to the Center for Auto Safety. Over one year It would amount to $182,500. It would be about the price of 1 second of just 1 Super Bowl 30 second ad. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/clock.php
We members of the Care for Crash Victims Community can do our part at this time of moral and financial giving and donate to the Center for Auto Safety at http://www.autosafety.org/
Lou
Crash Deaths and Disabilities for Dollar$
Crash Deaths and Disabilities for Dollar$
December, 2014
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:“12/8/2014
WASHINGTON — Four years ago during the Christmas season, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released its first draft of the new Hours of Service rule with a vastly different 34-hour restart provision, prompting American Trucking Associations President and CEO Bill Graves to remark that the FMCSA had just dropped three chunks of coal in trucking Christmas stocking.
Now the tables have turned, says one well-known safety advocate.
“Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is playing Santa Claus for the trucking industry this Christmas, but the American driving public will be paying the bill with lives forever lost and horrific injuries,” Joan Claybrook, chair, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (CRASH), said Monday at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol not far from where lawmakers were debating an omnibus appropriations bill that some said would include language to suspend the current restart provision.
“Sen. Collins wants to roll back current work protections and instead allow trucking industry executives to force truck drivers to work more than 80 hours a week. This is inhumane and a formula for tired truckers wiping out innocent families in preventable truck crashes. This means big bucks to the trucking companies who are exempt from federal requirements to pay overtime to their drivers.”
The facts are that in Maine, on average, a person is dies of crash injuries every other day. So you might think that the Senior Senator from Maine would not be doing what she is doing.
Imagine if every Senator had to spend a week riding in an 18 Wheeler before voting on this legislation.
Data on fatality rates by State are available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812032.pdf
Lou
Today’s House Hearing on Takata Airbag Recall Mess
Today’s House Hearing on Takata Airbag Recall Mess
December, 2014
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Today the House of Representatives will hold a Hearing. The Notice, Schedule, and Testimony and Document Resources are available at:http://energycommerce.house.gov/hearing/takata-airbag-ruptures-and-recalls
The hearing will be webcast at 10:00 am. See http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF17/20141203/102776/HHRG-113-IF17-20141203-SD001.pdf
Unfortunately, the witnesses are all not top level folk. No CEOs – only VPs and a Deputy NHTSA Administrator.
Sadly the problem is tragically not yet receiving the attention needed. Millions of American motorists continue driving in danger for years. A captive government agency driving under the influence of corporate power for more than a decade, is still incapable of protecting the American people.
More tragedies are ahead.
For background information seehttps://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-takatahiresdot.phphttps://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/CFCV-MonthlyReport-March2014.pdf
“‘Regulatory capture’; It’s killing us, , , literally.” & Rosekind is New NHTSA Administrator
“‘Regulatory capture’; It’s killing us, , , literally.” & Rosekind is New NHTSA Administrator
December, 2014
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
Today the NY Times noted Dr. Mark R. Rosekind was confirmed to be the next NHTSA Administrator. Seehttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/business/senate-confirms-nominee-to-head-auto-safety-agency.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C{%221%22%3A%22RI%3A7%22} And today, the NY Times also published an excellent investigative report on NHTSA’s years of failing to recall vehicles in the U.S. that were recalled in other countries. A NY Times reader commented on the article, and the comment garnered 50 recommendations at this writing, that: “‘Regulatory capture’; It’s killing us, , , literally.”
The evidence of NHTSA’s regulatory captivity by the auto industry continues to grow. See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/business/auto-recalls-abroad-may-not-prompt-us-recalls.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
Dr. Rosekind is a psychologist. Perhaps he can succeed in freeing NHTSA from its addiction to corporate servitude. Many American lives depend on it.
Lou
Safety Inequality in America
Safety Inequality in America
December, 2014
Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:
An excellent article in Automotive News points out the plight of crash victims who own older vehicles — another example of Safety Inequality in America.
““It’s a difficult problem,” said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington. “If you look at the older vehicles, the recall rate can drop to less than 50 percent.”
More than 17 million U.S. vehicles have been recalled for potentially defective Takata inflators, according to Reuters. According to a government analysis of recalls from 2000 through 2008, about 65 percent of recalled cars each year get fixed within 18 months of the recall.
So if just 65 percent of the Takata-related vehicles are fixed, that would leave some 6 million or more vehicles on the road with potentially explosive inflators that could send deadly shrapnel at drivers and passengers.
For years, Ditlow said, he has suggested a law requiring dealers to complete all recalls before selling a used car. In private transactions, the buyer would have to complete the recall before registering the vehicle.”
See http://www.autonews.com/article/20141222/OEM11/141219835/older-vehicles-can-escape-recalls-nets
This year, as in many of the past 40 years, the citizen auto safety group that has done the most to protect all Americans from crash injuries is the Center for Auto Safety. See http://www.autosafety.org/
Inequality of Financial ResourcesYear after year, a small group has struggled on behalf of crash victims (all of us) against irresponsible actions by NHTSA and the auto industry. It has been, and continues to be, a struggle of very limited citizen financial resources vs. nearly a Billion dollar “safety” agency + a Trillion dollar industry. See http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws+&+Regulations/NHTSA+Budget+Information andhttp://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2014/12/u-s-auto-industry-generates-record-1-1-trillion-in-2014-sales/
The inequality of financial resources can be recognized by the fact that the Center for Auto Safety annual budget is a small fraction of the cost of just one 30 second Super Bowl ad of $4.5 Billion this year. See http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2014/12/automakers-spending-big-money-to-maximize-exposure-with-super-bowl-ads/
Note that in the corporate world, the auto industry funds spent on Super Bowl ads support a violent and injurious sport to Americans.
Moral Resources
In the human world, the small amount of citizen funds donated to the Center for Auto Safety support life saving work of enormous moral value. In the world of “right makes might” the Center for Auto Safety has often carried the day on safety issues. It has done so with hard work and expertise: day after day, week after week, and year after year. It has won battles in the courts of public opinion, courts of law, and the legislative and executive branches of government.
Unfortunately, in the world of might makes right, too often moral force is not enough.
Help Balance the Safety Inequality
In the USA, more than 3.6 million Americans have lost their lives to crash injuries. Imagine if just one family member of each of those people killed donated $1 to the Center for Auto Safety. It would be less than the price of just one Super Bowl ad. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/clock.php In the USA, more than 688 million Americans have suffered crash injuries. Imagine if just one family member of each of those people injured donated $1 to the Center for Auto Safety. It would be less than the price of just 150 Super Bowl ads. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/clock.php In the USA today, nearly 100 Americans lose their lives to crash injuries, another 400 suffer serious crash injuries, and these losses are valued by DOT at $1 Billion each day. Imagine if just one family member of each of those people killed or seriously injured donated $1 to the Center for Auto Safety. Over one year It would amount to $182,500. It would be about the price of 1 second of just 1 Super Bowl 30 second ad. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/clock.php
We members of the Care for Crash Victims Community can do our part at this time of moral and financial giving and donate to the Center for Auto Safety at http://www.autosafety.org/
Lou
