Will @SenJohnThune Hold Auto Safety Hearing on Tesla Fatal Crash Before the Nov. Elections?

Safety Advocacy, , , , ,

Will Senator John Thune (or anyone else for that matter) hold an automotive safety hearing on the Tesla fatal crash before the November elections? That is the question raised by Lou Lombardo in his latest thought-provoking missive:

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

NHTSA has failed to protect us again by policies promoting use of motorists as guinea pigs for profits.

Now Senator John Thune (R) of SD, up for re-election this year, has written to Tesla’s Elon Musk:

“To address the foregoing issues, I request that you direct company representatives to brief Committee staff on the details of this incident, including the technology that was in use at the time, Tesla’s actions in response, and the company’s cooperation with NHTSA, by no later than July 29, 2016.”  See
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/7/thune-seeks-answers-from-elon-musk-on-autopilot-technology

But there are 34 Senate seats up for election in 2016 and Senator Thune is expected to easily win re-election.  See
https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_elections,_2016?gclid=CLnT6c7I-s0CFcQkhgodhFINYw

Do the people of South Dakota know that every year more than 100 people die of crash injuries in SD?  See
https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=e21e612d64654d75943f85a1a6035472

Do the people of South Dakota know what their chances of surviving crash injuries are without health care?

 According to the NY Times editorial today SD does not yet have Medicaid expansion.  See http://kff.org/health-reform/slide/current-status-of-the-medicaid-expansion-decision/  and

 
Do the American people know how their State ranks in vehicle fatalities?  See
http://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/2011-CrashFatalitiesByStateRank.pdf  and
http://www.fairwarning.org/2012/11/traffic-deaths-a-surprising-dimension-of-the-red-state-blue-state-divide/Political policies and elections matter.  Matter to people in the most important dimensions of life or death.  See
http://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReport-January2013-Vol1.pdf  and
http://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/Oct2013-Monthly%20Report-HealthInsurance.pdfSo will Senator Thune hold an auto safety hearing on the Tesla fatal crash before the Nov. elections?

Will the media ask questions and demand answers of government and auto company officials that advance safety?

Will the Senate invite both Mr. Musk and Marianne Karth who, having lost two daughters in a truck underride crash , knows first hand the importance of safety policies?  See http://www.fairwarning.org/2016/06/underride-crashes/

 Lou Lombardo
17hou517hxhy

UMTRI Reviews Opposition to Proposed & Proven Truck Underride Prevention Measures

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, ,

Back in 1989, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute examined features proposed for improving truck safety. In other words, they reviewed NHTSA underride rulemaking from years past.

What they discovered was that a proposed underride rule in 1977 was opposed by practically “the entire trucking industry – both manufacturers and haulers.” The authors of this study noted “that failure to implement a rule on underride guards took place despite extensive research indicating their expected effectiveness.”

Like they still do today, the industry tried to turn “the discussion around by stating that underride avoidance should be looking at other measures”–ones that they would not be required to implement. “In particular it called for improving and modifying auto front ends to increase their energy absorbing capacity ‘. . . and protect them when they strike bridges, trees, other cars, and other objects, as well as trucks.'”

Today they are still raising the same sort of objections to improving underride protection:

“The trucking industry and manufacturers are not sure stricter federal regulations are needed – especially since many are voluntarily using tougher underride guards.

‘Underride guards are helpful in reducing the impact of cars crashing into trucks. We would however much prefer to see NHTSA focus on providing automobiles with the capability of preventing cars crashing into trucks,’ said Ted Scott, director of engineering for the American Trucking Associations, Inc. ‘Crash or collision avoidance technology can go a long [ways] in helping to eliminate rear end crashes. Educating automobile drivers on how to share the road with a truck is also very helpful in reducing rear end collisions.’ 

Today, I was discussing that article with my husband. Jerry commented that the Tesla underride crash clearly causes that argument to go out the window. A car with the most advanced collision avoidance technology still could not avoid a deadly side underride.

Note: I appreciate the progress made in underride prevention by at least 4 major trailer manufacturers. And I appreciate the involvement in our Underride Roundtable by many members of the trucking industry. Ted Scott was the first one to say that he would participate in one when it was still just an idea in my head and is also participating in the follow-up efforts to reach a unified consensus recommendation to NHTSA.

But that does not mean that I will stop seeking further action (even when it requires standing firm against controversy) when so much more can be done to save lives.

17hxmi

17hxhyTruck Underride Kills

SIGN  & SHARE the TRAFFIC SAFETY OMBUDSMAN Petition:  End Preventable Crash Fatalities: Appoint a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman

Univ. of Mich. Law set to be repository for legal & regulatory info. involving autonomous vehicles.

Safety Advocacy, ,

The University of Michigan is getting set to take on the challenge of becoming a central repository for legal and regulatory information relative to autonomous vehicles.

. . . while the focus has been on the gadgets and sleek designs, popular culture has taken little notice of a key component of a driverless future: the legal implications. Fair enough, since it would be difficult to create a compelling narrative about whether it is legal for the Minority Report cars to cross state lines, or the liability issues raised by a crash between KITT and a car driven by a person.

In the real world, though, those issues must be addressed before driverless cars can take the rapid leap forward that many are predicting. That’s why a group of Michigan Law faculty members and students are working on a grant-funded project to survey the legal and regulatory issues that arise from automated vehicle technologies. They are working with academic and industry leaders to survey issues such as liability, insurance, privacy, intellectual property rights, and antitrust implications. . .

“It’s hard to know how this is going to affect insurers and how the risk will be allocated. This is something very important to the industry. If we move in the direction of greater manufacturer responsibility for highway accidents, it will mean a shift of auto risks from auto insurers to product-liability insurers,” Logue says, and figuring it out could slow the speed at which autonomous vehicles hit the roadways. Automakers, meanwhile, are “nervous that it will inhibit innovation,” he says. . .

Some developers of driverless cars could take on the liability themselves — including Volvo, which has said it will do when cars are in fully autonomous mode. The carmaker also has promised death-proof cars by 2020. In the driver’s seat

The topic of liability was discussed. The article suggested that compensation to victims might come in this way:

One option would be the establishment of a fund, along the lines of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund—which requires compensation to be provided for any individual (or a personal representative of a deceased individual) who suffered physical harm or was killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of Sept. 11, 2001, or the debris removal that took place immediately after the crashes. With standardized technology and driverless cars, Crane suggests, manufacturers could pay into a fund that would compensate people who are injured in accidents. In return, they could be immune to tort liability.

So, if that is the way it went, what pressure would there be on any individual manufacturer to fix defects, etc.? Based on our experience and observations of the lack of accountability, in past decades, by trailer manufacturers to do anything substantial to prevent underride deaths, I am very skeptical about this.

Roundtable Display Table Underride Roundtable May 5, 2016 186

Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2015 Show a 7.7% Increase to 35,200 Deaths

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety,

Does a 7.7% hike in crash deaths indicate a problem–requiring a solution? Or is it just me?

A statistical projection of traffic fatalities for 2015 shows that an estimated 35,200 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents an increase of about 7.7 percent as compared to the 32,675 fatalities that were reported to have occurred in 2014, as shown in Table 1. From NHTSA: Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2015

This page shows the change in crashes by region of the country and crash/person type:  Crash Stats by REGION and CRASH TYPE_ Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities in 2015

Charts on that page show that truck crash fatalities have gone up by 4%, pedestrian fatalities by 10%, and fatal crashes involving young drivers by 10%.

What more will it take to convince us that traffic safety needs to be a priority and that potential crash victims (you and I) need a strong voice to advocate on their behalf?

17hou5

Why on earth am I asking for another government-funded worker — a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman? And whatever would that person do anyway? Read more here:

SIGN  & SHARE the TRAFFIC SAFETY OMBUDSMAN Petition:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/384/321/600/end-preventable-crash-fatalities-appoint-a-national-traffic-safety-ombudsman/

2,200 more people died from traffic crashes than in 2014? 2,200 more families struggling with unimaginable grief?

“CAS Analysis Shows Tesla (Joshua Brown) & Jeep Shifter (Anton Yelchin) Deaths Lie at NHTSA’s Feet”

Safety Advocacy, , ,

Tell-it-like-it-is email from Lou Lombardo (Care for Crash Victims):

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

Americans should be thankful for the work of Clarence Ditlow and the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) for identifying the failures of NHTSA and DOT that resulted in the preventable recent deaths of two Americans here in the U.S.A.

Please see the CAS Analysis and letter to NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind.

CASNewsImage

CAS Analysis Shows Tesla (Joshua Brown) & Jeep Shifter (Anton Yelchin) Deaths Lie at NHTSA’s Feet

July 15, 2016

The tragic deaths of Anton Yelchin and Joshua Brown due to faulty electronics must be placed squarely at NHTSA’s feet.  In its zeal to advance vehicle electronics, NHTSA has forgotten it is a regulatory agency to ensure vehicle safety, not a promotional agency to foster the development of vehicle technology.

Yelchin’s death is due to NHTSA creating a huge loophole in 1999 in FMVSS 102 governing transmission shift mechanisms.  Brown’s death is due to NHTSA’s failure to issue a FMVSS for self-driving controls and allowing Tesla to beta test an autopilot system using consumer as test drivers on public roads, something that has never before been done in NHTSA’s history.

Congress intended that compliance with the federal rules would both regulate and stimulate new technologies.  Today’s NHTSA has abandoned the regulatory side for the stimulation side at the expense of safety.  By issuing interpretative rules as it did on electronic shifters for BMW and not issuing Safety Standards as it did on self-driving vehicles, NHTSA created safety loopholes that inevitably led to the deaths of Joshua Brown and Anton Yelchin.

#     #     #

Click here to view the CAS Letter to NHTSA Administrator Rosekind

America needs people in government, in industry, and the media to do their jobs protecting the American people.

In this election year, we are on the road to 4 million vehicle deaths in the U.S.A. in the next decade.  How many more deaths will it take to get the President to set a Vision Zero goal?  See http://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforJanuary2016-Corrected.pdf

Citizen Marianne Karth and her family have gathered 20,000 signatures for President Obama to issue an executive order to set a Vision Zero goal.  See

https://annaleahmary.com/tag/vision-zero/

What hidden strings are holding him back?

Put safety first, please.

Lou

Mad Mary

Party Platforms Strangely Silent: Gun violence gets attention, though toll lower than vehicle violence

Safety Advocacy,

Party platforms ignore highway deaths Gun violence gets a lot of attention, though its toll is lower than vehicle violence

By James R. Hood, July 13, 2016, ConsumerAffairs

[ConsumerAffairs’ founder and former editor, Jim Hood formerly headed Associated Press Broadcast News, directing coverage of major news events worldwide. He also served as Senior Vice President of United Press International and was the founder and editor of Zapnews, a newswire service for radio and television.]

There are quite a few things that can kill you. Take guns, for example. They kill 33,000 people in the United States each year. Traffic accidents can kill you too. They kill 35,000 people each year and permanently disable many more.

About 200 people survive gunshot wounds each day while twice that many survive car crashes, often with serious and life-changing injuries. 

Politicians and their handlers talk endlessly about guns. Some are for them, some against. They don’t have much to say about traffic deaths though, and highway safety advocates think that’s — as the FBI recently said about one Presidential candidate — careless though not quite criminal.

“Like all dads, I worry about my girls’ safety all the time,” President Obama said at in his weekly radio address on Father’s Day. “Especially when we see preventable violence in places our sons and daughters go every day – their schools and houses of worship, movie theaters, nightclubs, as they get older.”

This puzzles safety advocates like Louis V. Lombardo, an auto safety researcher and retired government scientist.

“So why does the President, that I voted for twice, continue to miss talking about vehicle violence after nearly 250,000 vehicle deaths and 1 million serious vehicle injuries under his administration?” Lombardo asked recently in his Care for Crash Victims blog. “We need an end to this strange indifference to vehicle violence.” . . 
Violent Deaths

Thanks for drawing attention to this frustrating blockade to progress in highway safety.

Here’s what President Obama said about crash fatalities: Obama (6/1/16): “We used to have really bad auto fatality rates. . .” And we don’t NOW?!

SIGN  & SHARE the TRAFFIC SAFETY OMBUDSMAN Petition:  https://wh.gov/i6kUj

PLEASE NOTE: If you sign the petition, be sure to go to your email. We the People will send you an email which will say this in the subject line:  “Almost done! Verify your Petitions.WhiteHouse.gov account.” Follow the instructions to verify your signature.

 

Auto Safety Advocates Tell Obama To Stop Rush To Get Self-Driving Cars On Road

Safety Advocacy, ,

So, here’s a real-life scenario. What might a Traffic Safety Ombudsman do in this situation?

Auto Safety Advocates Tell Obama To Stop Rush To  Get Self-Driving Cars On Road; Pull Back Autonomous Vehicle Technology ‘Guidance’ Expected Next Week http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/newsrelease/auto-safety-advocates-tell-obama-stop-rush-get-self-driving-cars-road-pull-back-autonomo

A coalition of auto safety advocates today called on President Obama to stop his “administration’s undue haste to get autonomous vehicle technology to the road” until enforceable safety standards are in place.  They said the administration’s autonomous vehicle “guidance” expected next week should not be issued. . .

“If the manufacturers, including the high-tech companies, lack the confidence in their products to stand behind them and assume responsibility and liability when the systems they design are in control, and innocent people are injured or killed as a result, those vehicles do not belong on the road,” the letter said.

“The administration should not succumb to Silicon Valley hype about the miracles of autonomous vehicle technology. Autonomous vehicle technologies hold the promise of improving safety. But that promise can only be realized after thorough testing and a public rulemaking process that results in enforceable standards” the letter concluded. 

Consumer Watchdog Letter to Obama:  http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/resources/ltrobamaav071316.pdf

Indeed. Make SAFETY a priority. Once someone dies in a crash, they never come back.

2 crash deaths

SIGN  & SHARE the TRAFFIC SAFETY OMBUDSMAN Petition:  https://wh.gov/i6kUj

PLEASE NOTE: If you sign the petition, be sure to go to your email. We the People will send you an email which will say this in the subject line:  “Almost done! Verify your Petitions.WhiteHouse.gov account.” Follow the instructions to verify your signature.

 

America, do we want a powerful voice to protect us from Death by Motor Vehicle, or not?

Safety Advocacy, ,

The federal government was established to protect its citizens. So why are we so reluctant to appoint a Traffic Safety Ombudsman to advocate for the safety of travelers on the roads of this country?

Needed: 6 people to catch the vision of a Traffic Safety Ombudsman and sign the petition to get us to 150. Only 144 (thank you to those people) have signed it thus far. Does everybody else not get it?

Endless traffic safety problems could be addressed by this person. Here are two more which I saw today:

SIGN & SHARE the TRAFFIC SAFETY OMBUDSMAN Petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/384/321/600/end-preventable-crash-fatalities-appoint-a-national-traffic-safety-ombudsman/

Mad Mary

FedEx denies request for underride safety research donation of decommissioned 53′ trailer

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

The trucking industry needs to answer the same question which Senator Robert Kennedy posed to GM in 1965: “What was your profit in 2015? And how much money did you spend on safety research in 2015?”

GM’s answer was a safety expenditure figure that was below 1% of their total profit. Which, in my book, makes “safety” a meaningless word.

Yesterday, I received a reply from FedEx, after following their procedure for requesting a donation. Our non-profit, AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety, completed a FedEx charitable assistance application in which we asked them to donate a used, decommissioned 53′ trailer to be used for underride research.

Like in the research undertaken this spring by Aaron Kiefer to crash test his innovative side/rear underride guard protection system. Like the kind of safety measure which could have prevented Joshua Brown from being killed when his Tesla underrode the side of a trailer.

They denied our request. What was FedEx’s reason for denying our request? FedEx email denying safety research trailer donation request

Good day Marianne,

Thank you again for contacting FedEx Freight for charitable assistance. We applaud the work AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety is doing.

After careful review, unfortunately, we must decline your request for the donation of a 53′ trailer.

FedEx Freight works directly with manufacturers and national organizations to support road safety for both our team members and the motoring public.

We wish you success with future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Iris

Iris Coetzee, Senior Communications Specialist

Bah humbug! I would like to know exactly how they work directly with manufacturers and national organizations to support road safety. Spell it out for me. Tell me exactly:

  • How much money they spend on safety.
  • and what percentage that amount is of their total profit.
  • and exactly what that money actually goes for.

I would like to know that information about the whole trucking industry which has opposed and resisted improved underride protection for decades resulting in countless dead people who didn’t have to die if only the trucking industry had acted in a timely and responsible way. And not just for 2015, but for every year since the underride problem was discovered.

I put together a chart for recording that kind of information juxtapositioned against some of the major life events which occurred for me during all of the years when — for the most part as far as I can see the trucking industry did practically nothing “to support road safety for both our team members and the motoring public” — at least in the area of underride prevention. And when they did, it was because we put pressure on their pocketbook.

I’d like to see some investigative reporter dig up this kind of information because I doubt that the industry would give it to me.

11wjd2

 

 

Corrected 2015 stats: 32,514 gun deaths & 35,514 crash deaths; Can we do something about this?

Safety Advocacy, , , ,

Earlier today, I posted that there were 12,942 gun-related deaths in 2015 in the U.S. Someone brought another website to my attention, and I am posting the figure indicated there: 32,514 gun deaths.

Whatever the exact, accurate estimated amount, both these deaths and the 35,214 reported crash deaths in 2015 deserve our attention and unified action to work to reduce preventable violent deaths.

So why does the drafted Democratic Platform Draft Dem. Platform: “Ensure Health & Safety…Gun Violence Prevention” But NOT Vehicle Violence?

Let’s end preventable violent deaths! Appoint a Traffic Safety Ombudsman to help us do that!

SIGN  & SHARE the TRAFFIC SAFETY OMBUDSMAN Petition:  http://www.thepetitionsite.com/384/321/600/end-preventable-crash-fatalities-appoint-a-national-traffic-safety-ombudsman/
Share this:

Violent Deaths