Category: Blog

Treasury’s Halloween Trick on GM Crash Victims


Treasury’s Halloween Trick on GM Crash Victims

November, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

How high up does the corporate captivity of the Federal Government go?

“The U.S. Treasury says confidential information it got in the bailout of General Motors Co. (GM)should stay secret, otherwise at-risk companies needing government help in the future might not be willing to share data.

The Center for Auto Safety, now researching GM’s ignition-switch defects, sued in 2011 for information the government obtained before investing $49.5 billion in the automaker. It got more than 50,000 documents and wants additional records on the U.S. role in a judge’s ban on lawsuits over older GM cars. The Treasury asked a judge to throw out the lawsuit…. 

Still, highlighting the risks, the Treasury’s bailout fund lost $11.2 billion on its investment by December when it sold its remaining shares in the new GM, according to a May government report.

Clarence Ditlow, president of the Washington-based auto safety center, said GM came to the U.S. “hat in hand” and was forced as a condition of getting money to produce the information that he is now seeking. Others will do the same, he said yesterday in an e-mail.

“Disclosure of information will not deter corporations begging for billions in taxpayer dollars from seeking bailout funds in the future,” he said.”

Seehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-30/treasury-seeks-gm-suit-dismissal-as-danger-to-future.html#disqus_thread

Treasury to America:  No you cannot see what the Federal government knew and when it knew it when we gave billions of your dollars to GM.  

The bailout was necessary, but making the details public is also necessary.

Lou

 

GM Crash Victims Payout Plan as of Halloween 2014


GM Crash Victims Payout Plan as of Halloween 2014

November, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Only 2 months left for GM crash victims to make claims to GM Ignition Compensation Program.   Their “deadline” (their word, not mine) is December 31, 2014.  See http://www.gmignitioncompensation.com/index

As of Halloween, GM Administrator Feinberg’s website shows Latest Overall Program Statistics as of October 24, 2014 to be at http://www.gmignitioncompensation.com/docs/program_Statistics.pdf

Claims received “to date” *  192 for deaths, but so far only 30 “determined eligible”

*  102 for “Category One” injuries such as Quadriplegia, but so far only 4 “determined eligible” 
*  1286 for “Category Two” injuries, but so far only 27 “determined eligible”
Note:  “Remaining claims are either under review, deficient awaiting further documentation or deemed ineligible.”  No statistical breakout of these categories is  currently publicly available.  See http://www.gmignitioncompensation.com/docs/program_Statistics.pdf

 

DOT Secretary “Heck of a job” Anthony Foxx – “Incredible Track Record”


DOT Secretary “Heck of a job” Anthony Foxx – “Incredible Track Record”

November, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The Detroit News reports: 

“Last week, a senior administration official told reporters NHTSA’s handling of the recall was “suboptimal.”

Foxx told The Detroit News on Friday that NHTSA’s handling of the recall “wasn’t flawless in the sense” that there were mistakes in press releases — some wrong cars and the wrong number of vehicles were listed in releases on successive days last week. And the website at which car owners could check to see if the vehicles were recalled wasn’t working for much of the week.

“That’s what was suboptimal,” Foxx said. He praised NHTSA’s “incredible track record” over the last decade.”  See 

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/foreign/2014/10/31/nissan-air-bag-recall/18234493/

So what was this praiseworthy “incredible track record” of NHTSA over the past decade of Bush/Obama?

Way back in August 2014, (about 9,000 crash deaths ago) NHTSA reported that over the past decade nearly 350,000 Americans died of crash injuries.  See attached NHTSA report also available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812055.pdf

In fairness to Secretary Foxx, he may not have added the annual figures, or added an estimate for 2014, or recognized the effects of the Great Recession 2006 – 2010 in the decline in crash deaths.  But then, he has little knowledge of auto safety.  Neither does the current deservedly much criticized NHTSA Deputy Administrator David Friedman know much about auto safety.   See Secretary Foxx’s bio at
Consider that the 350,000 crash deaths is just part of the tragic statistical picture.  One has to add about 1.4 million serious crash injuries.  And using the NHTSA figures on 2010 annual societal costs of $871 Billion, one can estimate this “incredible track record” at nearly $8 Trillion.  See NHTSA Report at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812013.pdf
The 350,000 crash deaths over the past decade amounts to more than 3 times the 101,442 deaths in the Korean, Viet Nam, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars combined.  
Incredible track record, indeed!  Just what Americans voted for, but corporations delivered.
The revolving door will turn again and these “public” officials will go for their rewards for this “incredible track record”.
Lou

 

U.S. DOT Continues To Fail in Protecting Motorists – Guardrails That Kill & Maim


U.S. DOT Continues To Fail in Protecting Motorists – Guardrails That Kill & Maim

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

The NY Times has excellently highlighted another failure of federal officials to protect Americans. “By last month, state transportation officials in Missouri said they had seen enough.

Federal highway officials had long insisted that guardrails throughout the state were safe. But some guardrail heads had apparently malfunctioned, in essence turning the rails into spears when cars hit them and injuring people instead of cushioning the blow, Missouri officials said.”

Especially Note:  

  • Video Report by ABC “20/20” and
  • Readers’ Picks in NY Times Comments
Hopefully Congressional committees will continue to investigate and publish documents and transcripts to better educate the public as to Federal failures to protect Americans.
Lou

 

Crash Rescue Delayed 19 Hours – OnStar Mistakes, Police Use Apple iPhone To Find Woman


Crash Rescue Delayed 19 Hours – OnStar Mistakes, Police Use Apple iPhone To Find Woman

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Here’s a disturbing, intriguing, and inspiring story of a rescue that involved a Coast guard helicopter rescue of a woman involved in a rollover crash into a ravine.  Watch videos of the story at

I retired from NHTSA in 2007 to advance such Automatic Crash Notification (ACN) technologies because the agency was not doing its job advancing the technology.  I did not know at the time that GM was controlling NHTSA to prevent government involvement in this life saving technology.  It still is.
And the life saving potential is still great.  Government can work to save lives when it is freed from corporate captivity.
Lou

 

U.S. DOT Continues To Fail in Protecting Motorists – Guardrails That Kill and Maim – Part 2


U.S. DOT Continues To Fail in Protecting Motorists – Guardrails That Kill and Maim – Part 2

October, 2014

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Here is an Update on this important NY Times article.  See http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/13/business/highway-guardrail-may-be-deadly-states-say.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSumSmallMediaHigh&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news NY Times has added a document – a coverup memo from the U.S. DOT FHWA Associate Administrator for Safety, Tony Furst, sent on Oct. 10, 2014 to Division Administrators and Director of Field Services.  In essence: 1. we did our part, 2. the rest is a local decision, 3. send information.  See Copy attached along with other documents.

If Mr. Furst really cared, he could ask for analyses by NHTSA of the Guardrail problem and lots more.  See NHTSA data brochure attached.
In addition, he could invite researchers from The Safety Institute to meet with FHWA in the presence of the media.  Sean Kane is a respected safety advocate that has pioneered investigation of the guardrail (and many other safety problems).  
Mr. Kane kindly wrote me of his recent work on guardrails as follows:“You may be aware of the work we did at The Safety Institute (the non-profit I founded) – our study (co-funded by the state of Missouri) became the impetus for Massachusetts to pull the ET-Plus from the Qualified Products List.   

http://www.thesafetyinstitute.org/the-safety-institute-releases-study-questioning-safety-of-guardrail-end-terminals/

Also, several of the documents cited by the NYT are documents that we obtained through vigorous FOIAs.  In fact, we’re currently litigating a FOIA lawsuit against FHWA related to materials associated with the ET-Plus

(See http://www.safetyresearch.net/blog/articles/safety-research-strategies-sues-fhwa-guardrail-documents) and just settled an open records case with the state of FL (seehttp://www.safetyresearch.net/blog/articles/safety-research-strategies-wins-foia-case-against-florida-dot)

Best Regards,

Sean

Safety Research & Strategies, Inc.

340 Anawan St.

Rehoboth, MA 02769

508-252-2333

www.safetyresearch.net”

That is the kind of advocacy the American people need when the Federal Agencies are captured by corporate interests.

Lou