Tag Archives: manufacturer liability

Underride Question: Litigation or Legislation?

Truck Safety, , , , ,

We would have liked to see the DOT and trucking industry solve the underride problem on their own because it is the right thing to do. Because they have not, we are now faced with the question: Litigation or Legislation?

Last week, a side underride case in Texas was settled as a wrongful death suit. The trailer manufacturer acknowledged their failure to act to install technology which could have prevented the death of Kathryn Dodgen:

http://www.houstonpress.com/news/family-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit-against-a-trailer-manufacturer-after-deadly-crash-7704640

Kathy’s family and their lawyers believe the accident was entirely preventable—and so this week, they filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the trailer’s manufacturer, PJ Trailers. In the lawsuit, they accuse the manufacturer of releasing a defectively designed product onto the market, violating Texas’s products liability laws. The trailer didn’t have any side guards that would have prevented Kathryn’s car from going underneath it.

What does this mean for the future? Likely, with the hundreds if not thousands of underride deaths (and debilitating injuries) which occur every year in this country, there will be many more such lawsuits filed because of the precedent that this case has set.

How do we want this to play out? Do we want the trucking industry to face massive loss due to this de facto standard which will hold them liable for these preventable underride tragedies? Or do we want to protect them from litigation through legislation which will provide them underride standards to follow?

May 12, 2018, mwk

Update: Other posts on Underride Litigation

What if Vehicle Manufacturers were required to do a Crash Reconstruction of crashes involving their vehicles?

Truck Safety, , ,

Facebook conversation on the topic of proposed UK Road Collision Investigation Branch:  https://www.facebook.com/AnnaLeahandMaryforTruckSafety/posts/1671163723186887

Me: Aaron Kiefer​, what do you think of this idea?
https://annaleahmary.com/2017/04/why-we-believe-the-creation-of-a-road-collision-investigation-branch-is-urgently-needed/

Aaron Kiefer : I like it, but it’s all a matter of resources and priorities. Volvo has a crash recon team that analyzes all accidents involving Volvos within a radius of Gothenburg…

AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety: So, what would be the most effective use of resources to reduce deadly crashes? So, Volvo has their own team? What would it look like if every Vehicle Manufacturer put some of their profit into safety in the form of a Crash Reconstruction Team of crashes involving their vehicles? That is the sort of thing which I called for in our Vision Zero Petition Book.

AnnaLeah & Mary for Truck Safety:  Here is a quote from that book: “The current means of regulating the manufacture of underride guards requires the trailer manufacturer to design its underride guards to meet certain specifications. Once the manufacturer has met those requirements, then, currently, it cannot normally be held liable for any failure of the guard to withstand a crash–along with any resultant property damages, injuries, or death.

We would like to propose a change in the approach to regulating truck underride guards. We are requesting/recommending that the manufacturer be required to design and crash test a guard which would withstand a crash at any speed up to 50 mph and at any point along the back of the trailer.

Furthermore, we are requesting that, when a real-life underride crash does occur with one of their trucks, the manufacturer be held financially responsible for the cost of a thorough crash reconstruction, which would identify—at minimum—the speed which was traveled and whether the guard gave way with the impact of the crash.

With this new approach to regulating underride guards, the manufacturer would thereby be accountable for any failure of the guard to withstand a crash and thus be held responsible for ensuring a very important public outcome: prevention of horrific injuries and deaths due to underride crashes.

This is in sharp contrast to the current situation where no penalty is normally paid for a failed underride guard–except by the victims and their loved ones.” Comment from Marianne Karth The is a Comment on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Proposed Rule: Rear Impact Guards, Rear Impact Protection,

 Truck Underride A Practical Application of a Vision Zero Goal Marianne Karth Public Comment

Taken from: Vision Zero Petition Book 3rd Edition

Equal Justice For All, Legal Reader, artist Neal Angeles

 

Imagine an Executive Order propelling us toward zero crash deaths. What are we waiting for?

Safety Advocacy, , ,

The refusal of the federal government (White House and legislators) to respond to my requests for Vision Zero Rulemaking is negligent and indicative of a less-than-wholehearted commitment to a Vision of Moving Toward Zero Crash Deaths and Serious Injuries.

It’s a simple conclusion to arrive at: the lack of Vision Zero Rulemaking is responsible for the blocking and delay of many safety measures. If those safety measures had been implemented in a timely and compassionate fashion, countless lives would have been saved.

Who should we hold responsible?

Some posts related to that life & death question:

  1. Who should bear the responsibility for deaths & injuries due to known safety defects?
  2. Does a vehicle manufacturer bear responsibility for death and injury caused by a safety defect in their product?
  3. Each time a layer of apparent deception is peeled away, I am incensed at what seems like betrayal.
  4. What IS the government’s Vision Zero policy? Zero Deaths or Zero Jail Time?
  5. When will we figure out that somebody’s getting away with murder?
  6. Will the Road to Zero (Crash Deaths) include significant criminal penalties for corporate negligence?
  7. “Anton Yelchin’s Death Highlights a Known Issue With Jeeps”. . . NY Times & Care for Crash Victims
  8. Actor’s Death is Latest Example of Need for a National Vision Zero Goal & Traffic Safety Ombudsman
  9. “Power of Presidents to Protect People” (Legal Reader)
  10. Political Record on Vehicle Violence; #RepublicanConvention Theme: Make America Safe Again. Really?
  11. As Ralph Nader is inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, are cars “still unsafe at any speed”?
  12. “Power of People to Protect People” Lou Lombardo, Legal Reader
  13. “Money At Root of Takata’s Tragic History”
  14. Draft Dem. Platform: “Ensure Health & Safety…Gun Violence Prevention” But NOT Vehicle Violence
  15. Party Platforms Strangely Silent: Gun violence gets attention, though toll lower than vehicle violence
  16. Careless Attitudes Can Contribute to Unnecessary Deaths
  17. Is Cost/Benefit Analysis Appropriate for Life & Death Matters? Were their lives worth saving?
  18. Somebody, please get me an audience with President Obama to respond to my Vision Zero Petition!
  19. Truck Trailer Manufacturers Ass’n “Reminds” NHTSA: Side Guards Are “Not Cost-Effective” Says Who?
  20. What if trucking industry campaign contributions went toward safety research & implementation instead?
  21. Side Underride Deaths Need To Be Addressed Now; To do otherwise would be negligent & unconscionable.
  22. Imagine an Executive Order propelling us toward zero crash deaths. What are we waiting for?

Imagine an Executive Order propelling us toward zero crash deaths. What are we waiting for?

Once Meek Agency Flexes its Muscles. . . Likely to Face Pushback Under Trump

Safety Advocacy, ,

Will we figure out how to do more than just slap the wrist of manufacturers that put consumers at risk? Including vulnerable victims of vehicle violence?

See what is happening with the Consumer Product Safety Commission:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is trying to change its image, one civil penalty at a time.

For decades, the federal agency largely was seen as a doormat with few resources and a toothless enforcement record. But over the past few years, under its chairman, Elliot Kaye, the CPSC has dramatically increased the penalties imposed on wayward companies, including multi-million dollar settlements with firms accused of failing to make timely disclosures of product hazards. . .

“He [Kaye] is trying to make sure that companies which previously had been including civil penalty potential as part of the cost of doing business now are at least more discouraged from doing that,” said Commissioner Robert Adler, an ally of Kaye on the commission.

But with the November 8 election of Donald Trump, who has vowed to cut business regulations, the amped up penalties could come under tough scrutiny. Kaye declined an interview request, apparently to avoid drawing the ire of Republican congressional critics with oversight of the CPSC budget, and of the incoming Trump administration. In a written statement, Kaye said the penalty policy was “intended to deter behavior that can put the safety of consumers at risk” and praised “the outstanding legal work and integrity displayed by our Office of the General Counsel.”

 Once Meek Agency Flexes its Muscles, But Likely to Face Pushback Under Trump, Fair Warning, By Brian Joseph on December 15, 2016

Life & Death

Will the Road to Zero (Crash Deaths) include significant criminal penalties for corporate negligence?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety,

Lou Lombardo talks about Center for Auto Safety Comments on VW Diesel Scandal Settlement:

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

“CAS Staff Attorney Michael Brooks:

“It is great news that VW diesel owners can now be reimbursed, and that Volkswagen must begin to repair the environmental damage their emissions deception caused.  However, automakers will not change their illegal behavior unless the government pursues significant criminal penalties against executives who take or condone such actions.  We look forward to news of federal criminal charges against the VW executives who participated in this fraud on the American public.”

Safe Climate Campaign Director Dan Becker:

“The government did a good job preventing further harm from VW’s diesel fraud. Most heavily polluting diesels will be removed from the road and cannot be resold unless fixed. Other automakers must learn from this scandal that they dare not disable pollution controls, lie to the government or fleece consumers. Those lessons will be reinforced when the government brings criminal charges against VW officals who perpetrated this fraud.””  See

http://www.autosafety.org/cas-statement-on-volkswagen-15-billion-emissions-settlement/

In fact, my Vision Zero Goals include holding manufacturers LIABLE for their actions, as spelled out in my drafted Presidential Memorandum for the Establishment of a White House Vision Zero Task Force:

Section 3. Action Plan.

(a) Within 90 days of the date of this memorandum, the Task Force shall develop and submit proposals and recommendations to the President for a National Vision Zero Goal. This will include specific strategies for moving toward the reduction of crash deaths and serious injuries. It will also outline specific strategies for establishing national traffic safety standards which are proven to reduce crash deaths and which could then be adopted, as is, by every state. These strategies will ensure that the following will occur:

(i) address the problem of traffic safety in a coordinated manner, including the following concerns: road design and conditions; all kinds of enforcement issues to be pro-active in preventing crashes; handling of traffic safety when crashes occur; driver fatigue— acknowledging the scope, extent, and gravity of Driving While Fatigued (DWF) as a reckless behavior both for truck drivers and drivers of light vehicles, and adjusting the legal system to reflect this reality; all kinds of distracted and impaired driving; automotive safety defect issues and their resolution as a high priority issue in a timely manner; and other problems as deemed appropriate, including the need for manufacturers to be held liable for deaths due to their criminal negligence and for DOT to act with the necessary authority to issue and enforce Vision Zero safety regulations which impact not only vehicle occupants but also Vulnerable Road Users.

1a85etNext 4 years

Ralph Nader Conference Highlights Tort Law Benefits & Tort Reform’s Assault on Right to Day In Court

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , , ,

I just got back from a Ralph Nader Conference (Breaking Through Power) in DC on Tort Law (September 29). I was privileged to participate as a “Tort Victim” on a panel moderated by Harvey Rosenfield (Consumer Watchdog). Other panel members were Susan Vento, Todd Anderson, and Laura Gipe-Christian.

dc-september-2016-004

Tort Law or Torts, I learned, is the law of compensation for wrongful inflicted injuries and was in existence long  before it was ever practiced here in our country. And tort law has three purposes:

  1. Compensation
  2. Disclosure
  3. Deterrence (therefore making us safer)

I also found out about the assault on tort law or “tort reform” which has convinced the American public that a system of law had somehow broken and needed to be fixed. This battle for the mind has fostered an attitude of cynicism and skepticism in jurors with the subtle messages about (fill in the blank, answers at the bottom of the post):

  1. Frivolous ________________
  2. Runaway ________________ and
  3. Greedy (or ambulance-chasing) __________________

But actually, the result has been that those who have been wrongfully injured find themselves less compensated and all of us are less safe because it diminishes accountability.

In fact, once a person becomes a victim, tort reform makes them a victim all over again–this time of a system that was meant to help the victim but has been sabotaged to leave them even more vulnerable. And I can give you two examples of this:

  1. During the lunch break, I had the opportunity to speak with a member of the audience who was there because, as a nurse midwife, she was interested in what would be said about medical malpractice. She said that what was being presented made a lot of sense. But she then told me about what she sees as victims of the focus on medical malpractice: pregnant women who are too often forced into C-sections (or other medical procedures not of their choosing) due to fear on the part of doctors of being sued. Yet, this is a case, perhaps, of the kind of PR which was mentioned; we have been led to believe that frivolous lawsuits in this area have skyrocketed and resulted in things getting out of control. Is this so?
  2. The second example is out of my own experience. One of the presenters mentioned that too often victims cannot find trial lawyers who are willing to take their case — on a contingency basis — due to the risk of not being able to recover their costs and the concern about whether the case will be successful or be limited by caps on compensation. We have tried multiple times to get someone to take our case without success. By this time, statutes of limitations pose an additional barrier. The end result is just like I was told this week: compensation to victims is barred; disclosure is prevented; and deterrence of future actions is limited. In our case, tort reform, thereby, could have contributed to a situation which allows ongoing opposition and resistance by the industry and regulators to doing whatever it would take to end Preventable Death by Truck Underride. On May 4, 2013, I hit Double Jeopardy! A victim twice over. What will it take to break through this travesty?

Folks, this is a problem. Could it be that tort reform is just one more of the culprits that bear the responsibility for the circumstances that led to my daughters’ deaths in a truck underride crash? If the many layers of leadership in the trucking industry, government regulation, and law enforcement had been held more accountable and liable in the past, might there have been a greater likelihood that AnnaLeah and Mary would still be alive today?

I’ll probably never know for sure. But I can venture a calculated guess. And I can do whatever is within my power to make sure that things get better for someone else.

Here’s to the realization of my dream of a nationwide network of mobilized traffic safety community advocacy groups to educate and empower citizens to take back their right to a day in court as one more strategy to help us realize the vision of moving toward zero preventable deaths and serious injuries from vehicle violence.

 

(And just in case you need the answers to the quiz: lawsuits, verdicts, and lawyers.)

 

 

CBA Victim Cost Benefit Analysis Victim

2 crash deathsCar Safety Wars

If only

Instead of like this:

IMG_4465Underride Roundtable May 5, 2016 033 Underride Roundtable May 5, 2016 032

Truck Underride Timeline by IIHS at the Underride Roundtable, May 5, 2016

As always, I am after the truth of the matter and I hope that you are, as well.

marys-vbs-photo-craft

VBS craft by Mary in Michigan, Summer of 2007

As Ralph Nader is inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, are cars “still unsafe at any speed”?

Safety Advocacy, ,
Lou Lombardo reports on Ralph Nader’s upcoming induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit. He raises important questions about whether more needs to be done to reduce the ongoing traffic safety problems. . .

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

 

Achievements

Last year, Clarence Ditlow reported the achievements since publication of Unsafe at Any Speed to include the saving of an estimated 3.5 million lives (many millions more Americans were saved from suffering serious injuries).  See
http://www.thenation.com/article/on-50th-anniversary-of-ralph-naders-unsafe-at-any-speed-safety-group-reports-auto-safety-regulation-has-saved-3-5-million-lives/

Honor


Today according to Corporate Crime Reporter:

“Auto safety advocate Ralph Nader will be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame next month at the Cobo Center in Detroit Michigan.”

More Needed

Currently every average day nearly 100 people in America die from vehicle violence.

Every average day nearly 400 people in America suffer serious injuries from vehicle violence.

Every average day nearly $2 Billion in losses result from vehicle violence in America.


See http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/812013.pdf


One need addressed by Law Professor Rena Steinzor is in an article last year in the Harvard Law & Policy Review titled

(Still) “Unsafe at Any Speed”:
Why Not Jail for Auto Executives?
Lou
National Vision Zero Goal
Crash Deaths

“Safety Advocates Say Fatal Car Seat Failures Are ‘Public Health Crisis’” #VisionZero

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , , ,

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Safety advocates say automakers and regulators have acted with “criminal” negligence in failing to remedy a long-acknowledged auto safety flaw that watchdogs say has played a role in hundreds of deaths, creating a “public health crisis.”

At issue are car seats that malfunction and collapse backward when a car is rear-ended. The impact of the crash and collapsing seat can cripple or kill drivers, as well as passengers in the back seat, in many cases, children. . .

See the entire article and newscast here: Safety Advocates Say Fatal Car Seat Failures Are ‘Public Health Crisis’

In my opinion, a Vision Zero Executive Order, if signed by President Obama, could end the kind of Cost/Benefit Analysis which allows for the excuse that “not enough people die,” from an automotive defect, to justify taking action on deadly automotive defects. See why here:

Sign our Vision Zero Petition here: Save Lives Not Dollars: Urge DOT to Adopt a Vision Zero Policy

 

Each time a layer of apparent deception is peeled away, I am incensed at what seems like betrayal.

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

Our particular crash was, of course, due to the failure (for whatever reason) of a truck driver to maintain lane and hitting our car so that we went backwards under another truck. I, and my son in the front seat with me, survived that crash. But, because the underride guard failed to do its intended job, Mary and AnnaLeah (in the backseat) experienced an untimely and unnatural end to their lives.

My question is: Should someone be held accountable for the failure of that federally-required piece of equipment which resulted in two deaths? Is the manufacturer liable to prevent someone from being killed when they collide with a truck? And, mind you, expecting them to do so would not be some pie-in-the-sky kind of expectation. It has been proven that protection is possible from much worse circumstances than are currently required.

Every time another layer of apparent deception is peeled away, I am incensed anew at what seems like betrayal.  How many times have decisions been made over a span of decades that have deliberately blocked a strengthening of protection against truck underride? How many people have looked the other way? Surely this is not just a case of ignorance on the part of all persons involved.

The Judicial third branch of the government has provided little hope for ensuring that the truck/trailer manufacturer will be held responsible for the failure of their product, upon collision with it, to prevent horrible, unnecessary death. I was reminded of that unfortunate reality again, when we were in Washington to deliver the Vision Zero Petition, as the topic came up again related to our crash.

In fact, upon a simple search of the internet, I found this example of the difficulty of pinning liability upon the manufacturer:

Defendant . . . avers that despite the truth of these facts, it owed no duty to persons such as plaintiff’s decedent who crash into the rear of its trailers. . . . maintains that there is no duty to design, manufacture and sell a trailer which is “accident-proof” that is, able to protect “invaders” or “trespassers” who run into the trailer and later seek legal redress  U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama – 816 F. Supp. 1525 (M.D. Ala. 1993) March 26, 1993.

What?! So there you have it. At least some manufacturers are willing to fight for their right to avoid ethical responsibility for designing their product to be safe to travel around.

Few have been able to bring about a successful judgment against manufacturers, although some have tried: See Beattie v. Lindelof, 633 N.E.2d 1227 (Ill. App. Ct. 1994); Mieher v. Brown, 301 N.E.2d 307 (Ill. 1973), but cf. Harris v. Great Dane Trailers, Inc., 234 F.3d 398 (8th Cir. 2000) (Arkansas law); Buzzard v. Roadrunner Trucking, Inc., 966 F.2d 777 (3d Cir. 1992) (Pennsylvania law); Rivers v. Great Dane Trailers, Inc., 816 F. Supp. 1525 (M.D. Ala. 1993);Worldwide Equipment, Inc., v. Mullins, 11 S.W.3d 50 (Ky. Ct. App. 1999); Detillier v. Sullivan, 714 So.2d 244 (La. Ct. App. 1998); Quay v. Crawford, 788 So.2d 76 (Miss. Ct. App. 2001);Garcia v. Rivera, 553 N.Y.S.2d 378 (N.Y. App. Div. 1990); Hagan v. Gemstate Mfg., Inc., 982 P.2d 1108 (Or. 1999); Great Dane Trailers, Inc. v. Wells, 52 S.W.3d 77 (Tex. 2001).

In one case, a court reasoned that:

the manufacturer is obliged to secure the occupants of only its vehicle from that foreseeable harm: the manufacturer does not owe a duty to protect those who collide with its vehicle. See Mieher, 301 N.E.2d at 308-10; but see id. at 310-11 (Goldenhersh, J. dissenting) (arguing that the duty of care should extend to prevent unreasonable risk to occupants, other drivers, and pedestrians).

In my mind, the question remains: Does the manufacturer owe travelers on the road the duty to exercise reasonable care in designing its motor vehicle?

One author takes a look at this question:

Does a vehicle manufacturer owe a duty to design a vehicle with which it is safe to collide? The Illinois Supreme Court said no in the case of an underride accident, where one vehicle rear-ended a truck and proceeded unimpeded under its bed. The decision unleashed an ongoing debate over the concept of “enhanced injury,” where a manufacturer can be liable for defects in its vehicle that cause injuries over and above those that would have occurred from the accident but for a defective design. Illinois vehicle manufacturers have no duty to protect non-occupants who collide with their vehicles

As it stands, it appears to me that, in general, the manufacturing community is prone to protect themselves from legal impunity rather than protect travelers on the road. I would welcome the opportunity to hear differently.

So, how then do we bring about a more responsible solution to this solvable underride problem? In addition to considering how we might impact each of the three branches of our government, we have also sought for, and encouraged, voluntary action on the part of truck/trailer manufacturers–which has met with some limited success. For the most part, the manufacturers tend to take a wait-and-see attitude–particularly when NHTSA is in the midst of rulemaking–rather than take the initiative to simply go ahead and design a guard which is capable of preventing deadly underride in real life crashes.

I am thankful for the upcoming Underride Roundtable because these questions need to be addressed, once and for all. And I, for one, am unwilling to sit by and watch another underride rule be compromised so that travelers on the road continue to unwittingly play a game wherein too many people will inevitably be dealt a card with a Death by Underride sentence written all over it.

I hope that, this time around, the truth of the matter will be fully revealed and all will agree upon a comprehensive solution which offers the best possible protection. I don’t want any more people to needlessly lose their lives or suffer the unrelenting grief (complicated by anger and helpless frustration) which families like mine undergo.

31 Picture 54647 Mary's braids 006

We need the “Leverage” team to fight corporate & governmental injustices of preventable crash deaths.

AnnaLeah and Mary, Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , , ,

My kids introduced me to Leverage a few weeks ago. So, lately, my husband and I have been watching episodes of the program nightly with them.

This is a description of the television series: Leverage is an American television drama series, which aired on TNT from December 7, 2008, to December 25, 2012.[2] The series was produced by Electric Entertainment, a production company of executive producer and director Dean Devlin. Leverage follows a five-person team: a thief, a grifter, a hacker, and a retrieval specialist, led by former insurance investigator Nathan Ford, who uses their skills to fight corporate and governmental injustices inflicted on ordinary citizens.

Last night, after watching a couple of episodes, I was thinking about our nation’s careless negligence of, and seeming indifference to, the senseless, preventable crash deaths which occur every day. It made me wish that the Leverage team could join us in taking on the hard-to-pin-down conglomeration of traffic safety factors*–many of which could be overcome or prevented and which result in the devastation of individual and family lives. Changed forever. No coming back.

*Underride crashes are a prime example of a problem which can be solved, but for which no one has truly been held responsible/liable/accountable for decades.

Mary (13) wrote a letter to herself a few weeks before the crash that took her life. She intended to read her letter 10 years later in 2023. One of the things she wrote was that she hoped to be famous someday; she didn’t know how, she just did.
 
A Leverage movie drawing attention to the widespread problem of traffic safety deaths (especially due to manufacturing defects) could highlight Mary’s and her sister AnnaLeah’s untimely end to their lives. And she would get her wish.

@DeanDevlin

Timothy Hutton, Gina Bellman, Christian Kane, Beth Riesgraf, and Aldis Hodge

Dear Leverage team,

I am asking you to champion a National Vision Zero Goal and Strategy to reduce crash deaths and serious injuries. Traffic safety is of great interest to me following the deaths of my two youngest daughters, AnnaLeah (17) and Mary (13), due to a truck underride crash on May 4, 2013.

My kids introduced me to Leverage a few weeks ago. So my husband and I have been watching it nightly with them. Last night, when I was getting ready for bed, I was thinking as usual about the frustrations of corporate negligence and indifference to the senseless, preventable crash deaths which occur every day. It made me wish that your Leverage team could join us in taking on the Goliath which ignores the problem and perpetuates the devastating impact on individual and family lives.

Since our horrific crash, my family and I have become vocal advocates for highway safety improvement, including a petition signed by 11,000+ people which we took to DC on May 5, 2014. Following that meeting with NHTSA and FMCSA, a rulemaking was initiated in July 2014 to study the need to improve rear underride protection on tractor-trailers, as well as additional proposed rulemaking in July 2015 for underride protection on Single Unit Trucks.

We are not stopping at that but are collaborating with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Truck Safety Coalition to plan an Underride Roundtable to be held at the IIHS’s crash testing facility in Ruckersville, Virginia, on May 5, 2016. We hope that by bringing together the trucking industry, regulatory officials, law enforcement, attorneys, truckers, engineers, and safety advocates, we can bring about more effective underride protection. https://annaleahmary.com/2015/10/underride-roundtable-save-the-date-may-5-2016/

In addition, we believe that it is not enough to seek improvement through rulemaking but that there needs to be an overhaul of how rulemaking is handled. In light of that, we have launched a Vision Zero Petition online to request that DOT/OIRA approach highway safety rulemaking with a Vision Zero policy. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/417/742/234/save-lives-not-dollars-urge-dot-to-adopt-vision-zero-policy/

Furthermore, we think that the regulatory approach to highway safety rules should not be strangled by cost/benefit restraints that hold up human life and health dollar for dollar against corporate profit and economic stability. That is why we are asking you to back our petition to President Obama for a Vision Zero Executive Order which would modify President Clinton’s Executive Order 12866 and pave the way for stronger safety measures to be established in a more timely manner.

Please let me know at your earliest convenience if this is a cause which you can champion.

In memory of AnnaLeah & Mary–who occupy our thoughts daily,

Marianne Karth

https://annaleahmary.com/

Rebekah photo of crash

Contact me at: marianne@annaleahmary.com

Safety is not a priority 002Who are no more with photo

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not looking for vengeance or ruin. I’m looking for justice  — for accountability in matters of personal and corporate actions which can make the difference between life and death for someone and can ravage someone else’s life. . . forever.

Nothing will ever, ever bring AnnaLeah and Mary back in this life. No way, can’t happen. Not in this life, but only in the life to come. (Hang in there.) And that hurts so freakin’ bad. Every single day.

But I know that more, much more, can be done to ensure that other people don’t go through the same (and thankfully they will never really realize it). And there are forces that are working against our attempts to  truly make saving lives matter more than saving money. Hard to believe, right?

Whereas I feel powerless right now to bring about lasting, far-reaching change, I know that it does not depend on me. And so I am hoping that all the right pieces will fall in place at the right time to open eyes to the truth and a better way to protect ourselves and our families.