Tag Archives: vehicle violence

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?

“Traffic deaths surged in first 9 months of 2016”

Safety Advocacy, , ,

Washington — Traffic deaths surged about 8 percent in the first nine months of last year, continuing an alarming upward spiral that began in late 2014, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates released Friday. . .

Read more here: Traffic deaths surged in first 9 months of 2016, Joan Lowy, Associated Press, Published 11:16 a.m. ET Jan. 13, 2017

The NHTSA Report with the statistics (but not the tears) is at https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812358

Thus the Obama Administration is on track to record more than 250,000 deaths due to vehicle violence during 8 years in office. Lou Lombardo, Care for Crash Victims

Vehicle violence

Do it, President Obama, for We the People of this United States of America! #VisionZero

“Power of Presidents to Protect People” (Legal Reader)

Safety Advocacy,

Louis Lombardo, respected auto safety researcher, advocate, and the publisher of Care For Crash Victims Reports, has written an insightful article for the Legal Reader:

Power of Presidents to Protect People, December 6, 2016

Lombardo notes that, “The history of Presidents using powers to protect people has resulted in millions of lives saved.”

He also provides insight into presidential, “Milestones in the history of protecting people – and in failing to protect people.” For example, “By 2008, 3.4 million Americans had lost their lives to vehicle violence. President Obama will be sadly remembered for weak oversight of the auto industry resulting in many needless deaths and injuries.”

What will the next four years look like, I wonder?

Next 4 years

USA Crash Death Clock

One way that our president could use his power to protect people would be by taking the initiative to move our country toward zero crash deaths & serious injuries through these actions:

  1. Set a National Vision Zero Goal.
  2. Establish a White House Vision Zero/Traffic Safety Task Force.
  3. Sign an Executive Order authorizing Vision Zero Rulemaking.
  4. Establish an independent Office of National Traffic Safety Ombudsman/Advocate.

Crash Deaths: The “Song” That Never Ends; Can we change that?

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety, , ,

Did you ever sing “The Song That Never Ends”, or some variation thereof? That’s what the unending report of crash deaths on our roads seems like.

Work Zone crashes often involve multiple factors, including the actions of the drivers on the road. Hear this heartfelt plea from the widow of a highway construction worker that we all be a part of the solution:

Amy Fletcher, 7 hrs
Another Horrible crash on the Ohio Turnpike today. Something we’re all getting way to used to hearing about and, for some of us, re-living the terrifyingly devastating day of our loved one’s death. Fatal crash in construction zone on the Ohio Turnpike.

WHY should YOU care?…. “accidents” happen all the time, right? . . .

READ MORE HERE:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/494507530713925/permalink/685054441659232/

Do we have to just accept this situation as inevitable? I happen to think that we could make a big dent in it if we would set a national goal of Vision Zero Preventable Crash Deaths & Serious Injuries. I have lots of ideas on how we could work toward that — together — all of us. And I think that we need to appoint a National Traffic Safety Ombudsman to help us accomplish it.

Unfortunately, the political climate does not favor that solution. President Obama doesn’t even seem to think that our 35,200 vehicle violence deaths in 2015 (compared to 32,514 deaths from gun violence in 2015) warrant any special attention.

And, also unfortunately, I’m thinking that some people think that we are already addressing the problem through the work of DOT. Yet their hands are too-often tied politically. Working collaboratively with them is a bit of a challenge when they can’t usually have open discussions because they can’t show even a hint of favoritism. And cost/benefit analysis restrictions have a stranglehold on any attempts to do something as radical as save lives.

It is insane that four decades have gone by without a comprehensive solution being implemented to protect us against Death by Underride. We who have gone to the moon and can have face time with someone on the other side of the globe. And that deadly problem is one example among thousands of safety issues that still need to be tackled.

Sign our Petition calling for a Traffic Safety Ombudsman (an advocate for past & future crash victims): http://www.thepetitionsite.com/384/321/600/end-preventable-crash-fatalities-appoint-a-national-traffic-safety-ombudsman/

Violence

Casualties of the car safety wars

Safety Advocacy, Truck Safety,

My grandson just turned 10 years-old. Lately I’ve been noticing little things that show me how much he is maturing and taking responsibility. And I keep thinking how proud AnnaLeah and Mary would be of him. They both spent so much time with him from the time he was born.

gertie 264Minolta DSC

One thing Marcus asked me about the other day was when he saw my copy of the book Car Safety Wars by Michael Lemov. Car safety wars, he asked?  So I had to try and explain it. I asked him what a war is and what happens in a war. And we talked about how it’s a war because while we’re “fighting for” some things to make cars and roads safer, other people are fighting against them.

Imagine.

AnnaLeah would have been 21 now and Mary would be turning 17 in a few weeks. But they’re not. And at least part of the blame for their deaths by preventable vehicle violence can be attributed to “car safety wars”. They, and countless others, paid the price. Casualties of the traffic safety war.

Car Safety Wars

“Our grandma wants to make the roads safer.” Remembering 2 girls in the aftermath of a truck crash

So why is protection from vehicle violence not listed on the Democratic Party Platform?

Safety Advocacy,

The 2016 Democratic Party Platform is quite lengthy and I am sure contains many things of interest to many Americans. But the federal government has one role that is unquestionable: to protect its citizens.

. . . the right to protection was not merely a matter of constitutional theory, but a doctrine with concrete legal meaning. In the common law tradition, the protection of the law implied both the recognition of fundamental rights by law, and the enforcement of such rights by government. The paradigmatic instance was the government’s duty to protect individuals against violence. By the middle of the nineteenth century, this duty was understood to include not only the enforcement of civil and criminal law with respect to injuries already committed, but also the responsibility to prevent violence before it occurred. THE FIRST DUTY OF GOVERNMENT: PROTECTION, LIBERTY AND THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT

So why is the protection of American citizens from vehicle violence not listed on the Democratic Party Platform? 2016 Democratic Party Platform July 21, 2016

Violence

DOT: Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes as a Leading Cause of Death in the United States, 2012–2014

Safety Advocacy, , ,

News from NHTSA

The following NCSA Research Note was recently published:

Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes as a Leading Cause of Death in the United States, 2012–2014, (DOT HS 812 297):

“In 2014, for the sixth consecutive year, motor vehicle traffic crashes were not among the top 10 causes of death in the United States. Motor vehicle crashes were the 13th leading cause of death from 2012 to 2014.   When ranked by age, motor vehicle traffic crashes were the number one cause of death among people 16 to 24 years old for each year 2012 to 2014. Motor vehicle crashes were also the number one leading cause of death for 11-year-old children in 2014, as well as for 4-year-old children in 2013.”

Violence

Political Record on Vehicle Violence; #RepublicanConvention Theme: Make America Safe Again. Really?

Safety Advocacy, , ,

Lou Lombardo can hardly believe the theme of the Republican Convention, Make America Safe Again, when he looks at the nation’s political record on Vehicle Violence. See his thoughts on this travesty:

Dear Care for Crash Victims Community Members:

2016 Republican Convention
 
Today’s theme at the Republican Convention is “Make America Safe Again”.   Really?

Political Record on Vehicle Violence
 
Republican policies on vehicle safety have been tragic on a massive scale for nearly a century.  Hoover, Coolidge, Nixon, Reagan, Bush 1, and Bush 2 carried out corporate policies.  See  http://www.careforcrashvictims.com/assets/MonthlyReportforJanuary2016-Corrected.pdf

Democrats LBJ and Carter made the major historical positive contributions to reduce vehicle violence. 

However, President Obama has been a major vehicle safety disappointment.  See http://www.careforcrashvictims.com/blog-NHTSAsResponsibilitiesForDeaths.php

The Need For a Safe America Is Real and Urgent

Today our clear and present danger of vehicle violence amounts to:

4 Million vehicle deaths in America – nearly 100 per day in the U.S.A. today

1 Billion vehicle injuries in America – nearly 400 serious injuries on an average day

$X Trillions Losses – about $2 billion per day

 

As we in the U.S. approach our 4 millionth death from vehicle violence, we must remember that we still have no goal to end vehicle violence.

There is a Vision Zero Goal that America still does not have – but others do.  See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_Zero

As my 7 year old grandson taught me “With great power comes great responsibility.”  (He learned it from Spiderman.)

Today we have an America where “With great power comes great immunity.”  Immunity is enjoyed by both government and industry executives regardless of how many people die, are disabled, and bankrupted by vehicle violence.
 

So why does the President of the U.S.A. not adopt a Vision Zero Goal? 

President Obama:  Meet Marianne Karth.  She has gathered 20,000 signatures on a petition to you to adopt a national Vision Zero Goal.  “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  Proverbs.  See https://annaleahmary.com/ 

Lou

Violence

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.

 

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