October, 2014
Prefaced by the best cartoon on auto “safety” that I have seen in nearly 50 years, is a timely Op-Ed titled “Weak Oversight, Deadly Cars”.
Don’t miss it and please do comment! See it at
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/opinion/weak-oversight-deadly-cars.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
Lou
October, 2014
Mr. Joe Nocera asks important questions in the NY Times:“So the question worth asking, as Holder plans to step down, is not what his department did but why it did so little. Why was it so reluctant to pursue the financial crimes connected to the 2008 crisis?…. “Adam Levitin, a professor at Georgetown Law School, had his own list of reasons, which he emailed me. They included fear that the Obama administration would be accused of an anti-business witch hunt if it went after Wall Street; “deep personal, cultural, financial and political ties” between the administration and Wall Street; and a lack of understanding of the products and markets involved. “What it all boils down to,” Levitin concluded, “is that we didn’t have prosecutions because no one ever really wanted to prosecute.” Seearticle and comments at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/30/opinion/joe-nocera-the-hole-in-holders-legacy.html?mabReward=RI%3A5&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion®ion=Footer&module=Recommendation&src=recg&pgtype=article
If past is prologue, this history is not good news for those who want an end to crash deaths and serious injuries and justice for crash victims. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-holderresign.php
Lou
October, 2014
Safety leadership the American people need and deserve is expressed in the Press Release below:
For Immediate Release:
October 23, 2014
Contact: Josh Zembik (Blumenthal) – 202-224-6452Josh_Zembik@blumenthal.senate.gov Eben Burnham-Snyder (Markey) – 202-224-2742
BLUMENTHAL, MARKEY CALL ON NHTSA TO ISSUE NATIONWIDE SAFETY RECALL FOR ALL CARS WITH POTENTIALLY-DEFECTIVE TAKATA AIRBAGS
Senators Also Question NHTSA Guidance For Drivers To Disable Passenger-Side Airbags
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx urging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to provide clearer guidance to drivers with potentially-defective Takata airbags, and to urge NHTSA to issue immediately a nationwide recall on all affected cars, regardless of where the vehicle is registered. Blumenthal and Markey also called on manufacturers to provide rental cars at no cost to consumers if vehicles cannot be fixed immediately due to lack of replacement parts.
The senators wrote:
“We are alarmed and astonished that NHTSA has endorsed a policy recently announced by Toyota and GM that dealers should disable passenger-side airbags and instruct against permitting passengers in the front seat if replacement parts for these airbags are unavailable. As a matter of policy, this step is extraordinarily troubling and potentially dangerous. As a matter of law, as you are aware, §30122(b) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (49 U.S.C.) prohibits a manufacturer from knowingly making a safety device inoperative unless the Secretary issues a specific exemption. We are unaware of an exemption from your office in the case of Takata airbags. We are also unaware of any risk assessment or other analysis conducted by NHTSA or automobile manufacturers showing that more lives would be saved than lost by disabling these air bags. Lastly, we are unaware of any information distinguishing the safety threats posed by the passenger-side airbags from the driver-side airbags. If the airbag is too dangerous for passengers, how can the very same airbag installed on the driver-side be sufficiently safe for drivers?”
Full text of the letter is below, and a pdf copy is at this link.
October 23, 2014
The Honorable Anthony Foxx
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Dear Secretary Foxx:
We write to urge you to provide clear guidance regarding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) October 21stConsumer Advisory about potentially defective Takata airbags. Almost eight million vehicles across ten different manufacturers have been subjected to recalls or service campaigns due to airbag explosions during deployment that have caused metal shrapnel to harm or kill drivers or passengers.
We believe that NHTSA should immediately issue a nation-wide safety recall on all the affected cars, regardless of where the car is registered. In addition, your office should strongly encourage manufacturers to provide rental cars at no cost to consumers if their cars cannot be fixed immediately because of insufficient replacement parts.
We are sure you agree that the first priority for both NHTSA and the manufacturers of cars with defective Takata airbags must be to protect the safety of all drivers and their families. We have become increasingly troubled and alarmed by the confusing and conflicting advice being issued by NHTSA, and the glacial pace of the agency’s response to this public safety threat. Whether a vehicle model qualifies for a recall or is simply part of a service campaign has differed inconsistently across manufacturers, geographic regions and the type of airbag in question. We have detailed these concerns in an October 15th letter to Acting Administrator Friedman, and we look forward to his response.
We are alarmed and astonished that NHTSA has endorsed a policy recently announced by Toyota and GM that dealers should disable passenger-side airbags and instruct against permitting passengers in the front seat if replacement parts for these airbags are unavailable. As a matter of policy, this step is extraordinarily troubling and potentially dangerous. As a matter of law, as you are aware, §30122(b) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (49 U.S.C.) prohibits a manufacturer from knowingly making a safety device inoperative unless the Secretary issues a specific exemption. We are unaware of an exemption from your office in the case of Takata airbags. We are also unaware of any risk assessment or other analysis conducted by NHTSA or automobile manufacturers showing that more lives would be saved than lost by disabling these air bags. Lastly, we are unaware of any information distinguishing the safety threats posed by the passenger-side airbags from the driver-side airbags. If the airbag is too dangerous for passengers, how can the very same airbag installed on the driver-side be sufficiently safe for drivers? If analyses that support this policy have been conducted, or your office has issued an exemption or exemptions to Toyota or GM, please provide our offices with copies and any relevant additional materials.
We are also concerned by the absence of clear guidance from NHTSA on how and when to get vehicles fixed and what to do in the meantime. In its October 21st Consumer Advisory, NHTSA urges drivers of affected vehicles (most of which are limited to those that were purchased or registered in ‘humid’ States) to get their cars serviced immediately, but stopped short of issuing a nation-wide safety recall. The information available to us indicates no factual basis for distinguishing between states or regions of the country regarding the potential severe danger of this defect to motorists. All states experience seasons of heat and humidity. Many drivers from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and other northeastern states spend time in more humid southern states. Replacement parts are, “essential to personal safety,” for all drivers whether they live in New England or Florida, and NHTSA should immediately issue a nation-wide recall that protects all drivers. Equally important, all drivers deserve access to loaners or rental cars at no cost to them while they await repairs to their cars that make them safe enough to drive again.
Thank you for your prompt consideration of this important matter. We look forward to your responses and guidance to the issues raised above. If you have questions or concerns, please have your staff contact Joel Kelsey (Senator Blumenthal, 224-2823) or Michal Freedhoff (Senator Markey, 224-2742).
Sincerely,
___________________________ ___________________________
Richard Blumenthal Edward J. Markey
United States Senator United States Senator
October, 2014
NY Times reports:“Mary T. Barra, G.M.’s chief executive, touted the plan as a fresh start for the nation’s largest automaker, which has been struggling to stabilize operations in the wake of its recall this year of millions of defective small cars tied to at least 23 deaths.
The recall, which began in February, has already cost G.M. about $4 billion, and cast doubt on the quality and safety of its products.
The crisis has also spurred dozens of subsequent recalls of other models and forced Ms. Barra and her management team to confront deep, systemic problems within the company.”
An internal investigation revealed that some G.M. employees had known of problems for a decade with the ignition switches of compact cars that could cause the vehicles to lose power suddenly and deactivate air bags.
The revelations spurred congressional hearings and a $35 million fine by federal regulators for G.M.’s failure to report the safety defect in a timely manner. The company is still under investigation for possible criminal and civil charges by the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and 45 state attorneys general.
It also faces a rising tide of private litigation, even as it starts paying out compensation to victims of the faulty switch through a fund run by the lawyer Kenneth R. Feinberg.
Ms. Barra did not mention the recalls and the mounting death toll tied to the defect in her prepared remarks to investors and analysts.” See
October, 2014
A group of Auto Safety Advocates who have worked to successfully save lives of Americans for decades have written to President Obama.“In addition to deep-seated and systemic problems with this Agency’s oversight of the auto industry, there are numerous safety regulations that languish despite clear statutory deadlines. Public safety is delayed and denied when the Agency fails to issue safety standards for motor vehicle, motorcoach and truck safety that have been required by Congress. For these reasons, we urge you to select an individual who has extensive knowledge of the regulatory process, will not be timid in using NHTSA’s legal authority to enforce the law, understands the urgency of making improvements and will restore public confidence.”
For list of NHTSA Overdue & At-Risk Safety Regulations see attachment to recent Congressional testimony by Jacqueline Gillan.
Think of the enormity of the crash losses each day in the U.S.A.:
* Nearly 100 people dying of crash injuries
October, 2014
As readers know, I have been advocating faster and better rescue of crash victims since the early 1990s. See https://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReport-May2013-Web.pdf andhttps://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforJuly2015final.pdf
Now a study of military policies and practices ordered by DOD Secretary Gates in 2009 shows the importance of optimal care for the injured.
“WASHINGTON — As the Pentagon prepared to send tens of thousands of additional American forces to Afghanistan in 2009, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates became concerned that the rugged terrain and vast distances of the war zone were keeping wounded troops from reaching hospital care within 60 minutes. This is the so-called golden hour, which combat medical experts deem vital to survival.
Despite protests from the military, Mr. Gates ordered more helicopters to Afghanistan to evacuate troops wounded by gunfire, grenades and roadside bombs. He directed that helicopters previously set aside for rescuing downed pilots be reassigned to medical evacuation, because not a single fighter jet or bomber had been shot down in the war. Mr. Gates also increased the number of field hospitals.
The initiatives appear to have succeeded. A peer-reviewed medical study published online on Wednesday reports that the secretary’s orders saved an estimated 359 lives from June 2009 to March 2014, with important lessons today for the military and the Pentagon bureaucracy.”
Please see NY Times article at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/us/politics/study-says-faster-medical-evacuation-was-lifesaver-for-us-troops.html
If only President Obama and NHTSA Administrators had acted with similar focus on saving lives of crash victims here in America, many more tragedies could have been prevented. Lou
October, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Eben Burnham-Snyder (Markey) 202-224-2742
Senators quiz NHTSA on Takata’s deadly exploding airbags, wrongheaded regional recalls, public reporting system non-compliance
WASHINGTON (October 15, 2014) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today expressed strong concern to America’s auto safety regulators that a regional vehicle recall system that sometimes only applies to certain parts of the country is risking the safety of drivers everywhere. The Senators use the example of the exploding airbags made by Takata and installed in many manufacturers’ vehicles that have been injuring and killing drivers and passengers since 2004 as an example of this patchwork recall system that risks the lives of American families.
Senators Markey and Blumenthal also said that the Early Warning Reporting (EWR) system employed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) may not be fully complied with by auto manufacturers. The Senators revealed that Honda had apparently failed to comply with the EWR system by not submitting complete quarterly reports about accidents that may be due to a safety defect, with one example of a publically-known 2009 death of an Oklahoma teenager where an airbag exploded having gone unreported in the EWR system, according to an analysis done by the Center for Auto Safety and shared with Senator Markey’s staff.
The two Senators today wrote David Friedman, the Acting Administrator for NHTSA, to ask him about the efficacy of the regional recall regime and compliance with the EWR system. That letter can be found HERE.
“Regional recalls that treat cars and trucks like they never leave their home makes no sense as a policy to protect American families,” writes Senators Markey and Blumenthal. “We believe that this practice risks the safety of those whose cars may not be registered in the states in which the recalls occur. This is because even if the vehicles are not actually registered in the particular states subject to the regional recall, they may nevertheless be driven there.”
About the potential noncompliance with the EWR system and Honda’s failure to report incidents, they write, “We are concerned that NHTSA has not made real efforts to determine whether automakers have complied with this requirement to alert the public to potentially deadly defects.”
The Takata airbags that have exploded in Honda vehicles have been the subject of various recalls and service campaigns, but the application of those recalls has been haphazard because of the largely regional nature of the recalls and voluntary nature of the service campaigns.
For example, on June 11, 2014, Takata told NHTSA that it would conduct a service campaign to repair airbags in “Puerto Rico, Florida, Hawaii, and the Virgin Islands, based on the high levels of absolute humidity in those areas.” As the two Senators note in their letter, there is no indication how levels of humidity are documented, and why other areas of the country that also have high humidity were not included as part of the service campaign. The Senators cite several other examples of these geographic recalls that could leave consumers exposed to danger.
In July, Senators Markey and Blumenthal wrote to NHTSA [LINK] expressing their concerns that NHTSA was not enforcing compliance with the EWR system. In a previously-unreleased responsefrom, the agency says that “it is not possible to verify the accuracy of each piece of information submitted in early warning reporting” and that NHTSA enforces compliance “as appropriate”. In their response, NHTSA noted only two examples of such enforcement efforts – one in 2007, against motorcycle manufacturer Piaggio Group Americas, Inc., and a request for information sent to Ferrari that followed a letter sent by the two Senators pointing out that Ferrari had never submitted a single EWR report.
In March, following the recall of more than a million GM vehicles after dozens of deaths and injuries, Senators Markey and Blumenthal introduced legislation to ensure auto manufacturers provide more information about incidents involving fatalities to NHTSA. The legislation, the Early Warning Reporting System Improvement Act, would require NHTSA make the information it receives from auto manufacturers publicly available in a searchable, user-friendly format so that consumers and independent safety experts can evaluate potential safety defects themselves.
