Category: Blog

Crash Deaths Now To Be Much Greater in Red States Than in Blue States


Crash Deaths Now To Be Much Greater in Red States Than in Blue States

January, 2015

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The Washington Post’s Reid Wilson reported and documented that the control of State Legislatures will be heavily Republican in 2015.   Seven State Legislatures will be controlled by Democrats: HI, CA, OR, VT, CT, RI, and DE.  All except VT and DE had crash fatality rates per 100,000 people that were lower (better) than the national average of 10.69 in 2012.  

Twenty-four State Legislatures in 2015 will be controlled by Republicans: All except UT, NV, MI, and OH had crash fatality rates higher (worse) than the national average of 10.69 crash deaths per 100,000 population.  The States with Republican controlled legislatures  that had worse than average crash fatality rates in 2012 are WI, NE, ID, IN, TX, GA, FL, NC, AZ, KS, SD, LA, TN, SC, OK, AL, AR, MS, ND, WY.   

It is clear that many more people are likely to die of crash injuries in Red States in the next two years than in Blue States.  See State crash fatalities and rates in 2012 (latest data available) attached.
Readers can see the number of Crash Deaths in each State and each Congressional District for the years 2002 – 2011 using Crash Death Mapping Tools at https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/CrashDeathMappingTools.php
And today we hear that the drop in gasoline prices may result in an increase in crash deaths – perhaps thousands more – as people drive more.  See  http://www.npr.org/2015/01/06/375308884/the-downside-of-cheaper-gas-more-accident-fatalities
Thus, elected officials have a more urgent bi-partisan need to act to prevent the next two years from resulting in more tragic crashes than the last two years.
Lou

 

Takata Hires DOT Officials


Takata Hires DOT Officials

December, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Help is on the way coming through the DOT Revolving Door!  American families of people killed, injured, and endangered by Takata defective airbags should know: “Takata said it was forming an independent quality panel headed by former White House Chief of Staff and U.S. Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner. It also appointed two other former U.S. transportation secretaries, Rodney Slater and Norman Mineta, as special counsel as it struggles to handle a series of recalls.”  Seehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/02/us-autos-takata-idUSKCN0JG1V520141202

As the NY Times reports, this announcement comes one day before Takata testifies before a House Committee scheduled for tomorrow.

“Facing a midnight deadline to expand a recall of defective airbags, Takata, the Japanese auto supplier, continued on Tuesday to resist the demand by United States regulators.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the company an ultimatum last week, to expand the recall beyond the small geographic region it currently covers or face further legal action and potential penalties. It gave Takata until midnight Tuesday to comply with the order. But in a statement released Tuesday morning, Takata’s chief executive, Shigehisa Takada, stopped short of making such a move.

“We recognize that N.H.T.S.A. has urged Takata and our customers to support expansions of the current regional campaigns in the United States,” Mr. Takada said, without saying the company would comply.

The company’s response is likely to set up a showdown at a hearing before a House panel on Wednesday when a Takata representative is scheduled to testify, along with some of the affected automakers.” Seehttp://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/03/business/takata-resists-midnight-deadline-to-expand-airbag-recall.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

So these former Secretaries of Transportation who often said “Safety” is their number 1 priority will now be paid how much, for what, and why?
America we have a safety problem in more ways than one!
Lou

 

Volvo On Track To Vision Zero Crash Deaths in 2020 – Where is the U.S. Vision?


Volvo On Track To Vision Zero Crash Deaths in 2020 – Where is the U.S. Vision?

December, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Safety progress from Volvo reportedly continues. “Such technology already builds on the active safety systems that debut in the new XC90, in particular the City Safety function that can detect, warn and auto-brake the car if sensors detect an oncoming collision with a cyclist. The Swedish firm also says it is on track with plans to have nobody killed or seriously injured in its cars by 2020.

Mayor De Blasio may achieve Vision Zero in NYC too.  Seehttp://www.nyc.gov/html/visionzero/pages/home/home.shtml
Imagine President Obama setting a Vision Zero Goal for the nation to achieve by 2024.  The new NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind could propose such a goal for the President to take as an Executive Action.
Now that would be a worthy subject for the President’s State of the Union Speech to Congress with crash victims in the gallery.   That would be better than the gallery visitor Mary Barra seated with Mrs. Obama last year as the last Administrator was going through the NHTSA Revolving Door.
Again we must President Obama to set a worthy national safety goal of Vision Zero on the grounds that “where there is no vision – the people perish”.
Lou

 

Will VP Biden, NHTSA Administrator Rosekind, and President Obama Set A Vision Zero Goal?


Will VP Biden, NHTSA Administrator Rosekind, and President Obama Set A Vision Zero Goal?

December, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

VP Biden will probably be at the State of the Union Address.  Will this article on crash deaths in Delaware be cited by President Obama announcing a Vision Zero goal for crash deaths in the U.S. by 2024?“With two weeks to go in the year, traffic deaths on Delaware roads are up 23 percent over the same period in 2013, according to state data.” See  http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/delaware/2014/12/19/delaware-traffic-deaths/20635885/

Two years ago I co-authored an article with Ben Kelley published by Fair Warning and other publications noting a “Strange Indifference to Highway Carnage.”  We called attention to the family tragedies suffered by VP Biden, President Obama, President Clinton, President George W. Bush, and presidential candidate Mitt Romney.  All of whom suffered family tragedies of fatal car crashes.  See http://www.fairwarning.org/2012/09/a-strange-indifference-to-highway-carnage/
Today we have a new NHTSA Administrator Mark R. Rosekind who also suffered a family car crash tragedy – losing his father to crash injuries in a fatal crash.    Since the publication of “A Strange Indifference” another 60,000 Americans have died of crash injuries in the U.S.A.  Another nearly 250,000 Americans suffered serious crash injuries.  And the crash losses, since publication in September 2012, are now valued at nearly $2 trillion in the U.S.A.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  See Proverbs 29:18
Lou

 

Crash Victims Lose in America’s Legal System


Crash Victims Lose in America’s Legal System

December, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members: 

America’s broken legal system denies crash victims justice and denies all Americans safety.  Money is at the root.

The NY Times published an insightful report on the plight of crash victims.  As you read the NY Times article keep in mind the DOT Policy Guidance valuing a statistical life at $9.1 million (copy attached).   See NY Times article at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/business/victims-of-gm-deadly-defect-fall-through-legal-cracks.html?ribbon-ad-idx=5&rref=business&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Business%20Day&pgtype=Blogs

The NY Times Editorial Board addressed the need for reform as one of its top 15 issues of 2014. 

“Vehicles of Mass Destruction

Deadly safety problems in cars made by General Motors, Honda and others exposed a deeply flawed auto safety system that Congressneeds to reform. Lawmakers have expressed outrage about failures by the car companies and safety regulators but so far have passed no laws to make prevent more such negligence or worse.”

See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/opinion/torture-race-marijuana-and-12-other-big-issues-of-2014.html?ref=opinion

We really can and must do better.
Lou

 

Chrysler To America: Drop Dead


Chrysler To America: Drop Dead

December, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Another example of corporate irresponsibility brought about by government failure to protect Americans for a decade.

NY Times reports:

“Chrysler has told federal safety regulators that it would not help thousands of consumers whose recalled Jeeps were too rusty to be fixed for a fire hazard, even though regulators have said that the failure to do so would be a “great concern.”

Chrysler informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this month that it would repair only structurally sound vehicles and that it would not pay for repairs to vehicles that were too rusty or had collision damage in the rear, a Chrysler spokesman, Eric Mayne, wrote in an email on Sunday.

The refusal sets up another confrontation between the automaker and federal regulators in what has already been a contentious issue.

The government contends that those vehicles, which have gas tanks mounted behind the rear axle, are prone to deadly fires in rear-impact collisions. The controversial repair suggested by Chrysler and approved by the safety agency involves putting a trailer hitch on the back of the vehicle. Trailer hitches are typically used for towing, and have never been seen as safety devices.

Chrysler has told N.H.T.S.A. it may not be possible to repair 3 percent to 6 percent of the 1.6 million Jeeps. That would be 48,000 to 96,000 vehicles, although historically it would be extremely unusual for every owner to respond to a recall notice….”  

“Under federal safety regulations, the safety agency has the authority to require an automaker to buy back recalled vehicles if it cannot fix the safety problem, said Allan J. Kam, a safety consultant from Bethesda, Md., who was a senior enforcement lawyer for the agency before retiring in 2000.

But automakers are not required to fix recalled vehicles free — or replace them — if they are older than 10 years, he said.”  See

This one year after former NHTSA Administrator David Strickland made the deal with Chrysler and then left through the Revolving Door to join Venable a lobbying company.  See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-unfixedjeeps.php
America:  We have a safety inequality problem right here in the U.S.A.  Safety for the money and power of corporations is more important than the safety for people’s lives. Lou

 

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.”

See http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/225611-fifty-million-cars-recalled-hundreds-dead-who-is-to-blame

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