Category: Blog

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.” 

Source: http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2014/12/8/CollinsgivingtruckingearlyChristmaspresentClaybrooksays.aspx

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&region=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

 

Senators Speak up For Truck Safety


Senators Speak up For Truck Safety

December, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

For Immediate Release:

December 8, 2014

Contact: Josh Zembik (Blumenthal) – 202-224-6452Josh_Zembik@blumenthal.senate.gov Monique Waters (Booker) – 202-224-8150Monique_Waters@booker.senate.gov

 

BLUMENTHAL, BOOKER URGE MAJORITY LEADER REID TO REMOVE FROM OMNIBUS PROVISIONS THAT ROLL BACK REGULATIONS GOVERNING TRUCK SAFETY

 

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) today sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, urging the Senate Majority Leader to ensure that critical  regulations governing truck safety remain in full effect and are not rolled back in the 2015 government spending bill, which will likely be on the Senate floor later this week. The letter comes in support of Administration efforts to ensure that truck drivers receive adequate rest and are not driving fatigued on the nation’s roads and highways.

 

“We are extremely disappointed that despite our grave concerns, this matter is moving forward through the appropriations process, rather than with extensive study and debate,” the senators wrote. “This issue is far too important to have been altered outside of the committee of jurisdiction and without debate by the Senate.

 

“The current hours of service rules governing rest requirements for truck drivers are based on years of study and sound scientific research in addition to a review of public comments. They should remain firmly in place.  In 2012 large trucks were involved in 3,700 accidents with close to 4,000 fatalities and 104,000 injuries. With so many crashes, we should be examining further limitations on hours of service, not suspending the rules currently in place. At the very least, hours of service requirements should not be suspended during further study, but rather maintained until evidence illustrates a change would not pose a threat to public safety.”

 

The full text of the letter is below, and as a PDF here:

 

The Honorable Harry Reid                        

Majority Leader                                                                              

United States Senate

221 U.S. Capitol                                         

Washington, D.C. 20510                                       

                                                                                

                                                                                

Dear Majority Leader Reid:

 

We have serious concerns with the suspension of hours of service rules designed to prevent truck driver fatigue in the Fiscal Year 2015 omnibus appropriations bill. The suspension of the rules could force tired truckers to stay on the road for longer periods of time, impairing the safety and wellbeing of the public. This provision should not move forward without further study and debate. We urge you not to include it in the omnibus legislation. 

 

In August, we wrote to Senator Mikulski outlining serious safety concerns and highlighted important testimony from a recent hearing held in the committee of jurisdiction that underscored the dangerous implications of rolling back these critical, life-saving rules. We are extremely disappointed that despite our grave concerns, this matter is moving forward through the appropriations process, rather than with extensive study and debate.  This issue is far too important to have been altered outside of the committee of jurisdiction and without debate by the Senate.

 

The current hours of service rules governing rest requirements for truck drivers are based on years of study and sound scientific research in addition to a review of public comments.  They should remain firmly in place.  In 2012 large trucks were involved in 3,700 accidents with close to 4,000 fatalities and 104,000 injuries. With so many crashes, we should be examining further limitations on hours of service, not suspending the rules currently in place.  At the very least, hours of service requirements should not be suspended during further study, but rather maintained until evidence illustrates a change would not pose a threat to public safety.

 

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and former Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Administrator Anne Ferro, have both stated the current rules enhance safety and there is no data or evidence to support suspending the rules. It is estimated that the current hours of service rules can prevent 1,400 crashes, 19 fatalities and 500 injuries each year. 

 

Some in the industry, however, seem more interested in the profits that come with drivers working longer hours than with the safety benefits that come from ensuring truck drivers receive adequate rest.

 

America’s truck drivers work long grueling hours to deliver goods across the nation.  They are a vital part of our economy, and we owe it to these workers and the people driving on our roads to ensure that fact-based science-driven policies are in place, rather than throwing out the rules to put profits over safety.  

 

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. If there is any further compromise that can be reached to protect individuals from needless accidents, injuries and fatalities, we urge you to give it due consideration. 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                          

Richard Blumenthal                                                               Cory A. Booker

United States Senator                                                             United States Senator

 

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

 

Senate Hearing on NHTSA: Does Money & Power Corrupt & Endanger Us All?


Senate Hearing on NHTSA: Does Money & Power Corrupt & Endanger Us All?

November, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Who is responsible?

Takata, GM, Jeep, Toyota and other vehicle defects (including defective Trinity guardrails under DOT FHWA responsibility) occurred since the year 2000.  
So since 2000, who have been in positions of power to influence DOT NHTSA auto safety policies and practices?  Seehttps://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-lastdecade.php
If the DOT NHTSA has been driving under the influence of powerful interests since 2000, is it any wonder that deadly defects occurred and persist to this day?  Millions of defective vehicles are still on U.S. roads endangering us all.
Tests of NHTSA’s Corporate Captivity
*  Why won’t NHTSA simply publish crash fatalities and fatality rates by auto manufacturer each year?  GM alone is involved in about 10,000 crash fatalities each year in the U.S.A.
*  Why won’t NHTSA simply set a national goal to rescue crash victims and get them to definitive emergency medical care within the Golden Hour by 2020?  Within a decade? *  Why won’t NHTSA simply count unborn babies that die with their mothers in crashes?
Money and Secrecy Corrupt Safety & Justice

DETROIT (Bloomberg) — Confidential settlements over defective Takata Corp. airbags are sealing off relevant information that other victims could use to pursue injury claims.

The accords make financial sense for the settling parties, but Takata and other defendants, including Honda Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, get an extra advantage in keeping damaging information out the hands of outsiders interested in suing them.

The quick, secret deals — a cornerstone of product liability litigation across industries — help explain why, years after the first recalls, so much remains unknown about defects linked to four deaths in the U.S. The few cases filed have generally been resolved before victims’ lawyers acquired evidence.  Source:

http://www.autonews.com/article/20141117/OEM11/141119863/airbag-settlements-keep-details-from-other-victims-of-accidents

GM Victim’s “Compensation” Program – Keeping It $hort
GM Feinberg program extended for countless victims by just 1 month.  Automotive News finds victim that GM knew about but the victim did not know about the program.

“”I believe that the many efforts to reach all possible GM automobile owners, former owners and others who might have been adversely impacted by a defective ignition switch have been both comprehensive and effective,” Feinberg’s statement said.

“There will always be some individuals who do not receive formal notice and are generally unaware of available compensation.  But such individuals appear to be very few in number.”

In its statement, GM said: “We agreed with Ken Feinberg’s recommendation to extend the compensation program deadline. Our goal with the program has been to reach every eligible person impacted.”

One of them was Jamie Frei — a 20-year-old Marine when his Chevrolet Cobalt hit a tree north of Philadelphia in December 2006. The airbag failed, and he spent 29 days in a coma before waking up and learning how to walk again.

Page 130

Frei’s name appeared on pages 130 and 131 of the lengthy report detailing GM’s internal investigation into faulty ignition switches on his and 2.6 million other cars, though it was blacked out in the publicly released version of the report. His accident was denoted by a small diamond on a graph prepared for the GM executives who approved a recall in January.

On another page, his injuries were classified as “moderate.”

But Frei says he didn’t know GM had established a compensation fund for people injured or killed in crashes linked to the ignition switches until he was contacted last week by an Automotive News reporter.

“I had no idea,” said Frei, who eventually recovered enough that the military deployed him to Afghanistan. “I haven’t heard from [GM] since 2008.”

That’s when Frei agreed to a settlement with the automaker, court records show. Under the compensation program being administered by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, Frei could be eligible for a much larger amount: $385,000, based on the length of his hospital stay.

Hints last week

Sunday night’s announcement came after Feinberg hinted last week that he is considering extending that deadline and doing more to contact potential victims who haven’t filed a claim, in response to requests last week from lawyer Bob Hilliard and safety advocate Clarence Ditlow. 

Hilliard has submitted numerous claims to Feinberg, whom he described as being fair in decisions returned so far. On Wednesday, Hilliard was hired by the family of Jean Averill, a Connecticut woman whose 2003 death was among the first 13 fatalities that GM linked to the defect. Averill’s family didn’t know of the connection until informed this month by The New York Times, which Hilliard called “stunning,” given that the family has lived on the same fruit farm for 10 generations.

GM said on Friday that it has since contacted Averill’s family, attributing the delay to the fact that the 2004 claim related to her crash had come from an insurance company. Spokesman Jim Cain said GM has worked aggressively to notify owners of the affected cars about the recall and the compensation fund, with the latest round of 5.3 million letters from CEO Mary Barra set to go out this week.

“Extensive effort” 

“It’s been a really extensive effort,” Cain said. “Our goal here is to reach everyone who has a potential claim to invite them to participate.”

Feinberg had received 1,851 claims, including for 202 deaths, and approved 67 of them as of Nov. 7.

GM also turned over its claim files to Feinberg, who has mailed forms as well, but Hilliard said Dec. 31 is too soon to shut people out.

“There’s absolutely no reason not to keep the fund open for another year. It’s just an arbitrary date,” Hilliard said.

“When I see a Cobalt at the gas station, I go up and say ‘Do you know your car’s been recalled?’ and nobody does.”  Source:

Elections have consequences for people, parties, and our future safety.
In this past week’s elections, money (highest ever) and message (or lack thereof) contributed to a shift in control of the Senate from Blue States to Red States.  The people who will die or suffer serious crash injuries are more likely to die in Red States.  (Fatality rates are generally higher in Red States than Blue States based on 2012 data).  See attached State rankings.
So if money can be outweighed by public safety interest and message, then the public interest may be advanced in safety with bipartisan support.  Based on Nader’s thoughts in his new book Unstoppable, neither Republicans, Democrats, nor Independents want to die of crash injuries at the higher rates found in Red States.
Lou