Experts, police perform underride crash tests
3/27/15
ABC
[…] Crash experts and police from around the state gathered Friday to perform side underride crash tests […] NHTSA spokesperson Jose Ucles said they have not yet started evaluating the possibility of requiring side impact guards, but they could in the future. […]
Stronger Truck Underride Guards Proposed to Cut Rear-Impact Deaths
Claims Journal
December 9, 2015
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing that trucking companies be required to install stronger guards on their trailers to reduce deaths caused when cars rear-end tractor trailers. […] The stronger guards will prevent between one and three serious injuries and one fatality a year, NHTSA said. […]
U.S. Proposes Overhaul of Car-Safety Ratings
WSJ
12/8/15
[…] The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Tuesday proposed adding assessments of the features in the hopes the safety breakthroughs will eventually become mainstays on cars and trucks the way air bags and electronic stability control have over the years. Autonomous driving technologies such as lane-departure and blind-spot warnings increasingly allow vehicles to avoid crashes as opposed to simply helping drivers survive collisions. More than 32,000 people die each year on U.S. roads. [….]
This is needed and will save lives –
[…] “Robust trailer rear impact guards can significantly reduce the risk of death or injury to vehicle occupants in the event of a crash into the rear of a trailer or semitrailer,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. “We’re always looking at ways to safeguard the motoring public, and today’s announcement moves us forward in our mission.”
Rear underride crashes are those in which the front end of a vehicle impacts the rear of a generally larger vehicle, and slides under the rear-impacted vehicle. For example, underride may occur in collisions in which a small passenger vehicle crashes into the rear end of a large trailer and the bed and chassis of the impacted vehicle is higher than the hood of the impacting passenger vehicle.
In excessive underride crashes, there is passenger compartment intrusion (PCI) as the passenger vehicle underrides so far that the rear end of the struck vehicle enters the passenger compartment of the striking passenger vehicle. PCI can result in severe injuries and fatalities to occupants contacting the rear end of the struck vehicle. A rear impact guard prevents PCI when it engages the smaller striking vehicle and stops the vehicle from sliding too far under the struck vehicle’s bed and chassis.
The occupant crash protection features built into today’s passenger vehicles are able to provide high levels of occupant protection in 35 mph frontal crashes. This NPRM would require trailer and semitrailer guards to remain in place and prevent PCI in crashes of severities of up to 35 mph versus the current requirement of up to 30 mph. […]
Ralph Nader’s Tort Law Museum Seeks to Keep His Crusade Evergreen
NY Times
9/25/15
[…] During a tour of the museum before its opening on Sunday, he said he hoped the museum would teach a new generation about the vital benefits of personal injury lawsuits and even, dare it be said, plaintiff lawyers. […] Sales of the book were significantly bolstered, along with Mr. Nader’s public stature, when General Motors admitted it had hired private detectives to follow him and search for apparently nonexistent personal dirt. […]
Hyundai recalls 470,000 Sonatas to fix engine problem
LA Times
9/25/15
[…] That can restrict oil flow to the connecting rod bearings, and since they are cooled by oil, they could fail. If that happens, the engines could stall and cause a crash. […]
Consumer Reports Gives New Tesla Its Highest Score Ever
NY Times
8/27/15
Consumer Reports gave the Tesla Model S P85D sedan its highest score ever for a car, breaking the magazine’s scoring system by initially giving it 103 out of 100. Editors were forced to adjust the scoring system, leaving the electric car with a mere 100 out of 100. […]
Activists sue Los Angeles over Hyperion Bridge design’s single sidewalk
LA Times
7/10/15
[…] The decision pitted residents and businesses loath to lose a car lane against bicyclists, pedestrian activists and neighborhood groups who said the design would discriminate against the disabled and discourage walking.
The writ of mandate, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, says officials should have prepared a full environmental impact report before approving the project. […]
Hackers Remotely Kill a Jeep on the Highway—With Me in It
WIRED
7/21/15
[…] Miller and Valasek’s full arsenal includes functions that at lower speeds fully kill the engine, abruptly engage the brakes, or disable them altogether. The most disturbing maneuver came when they cut the Jeep’s brakes, leaving me frantically pumping the pedal as the 2-ton SUV slid uncontrollably into a ditch. […]
Cyclists Can Ignore Some Traffic Lights, Paris Announces
KPBS
July 9, 2015
[…] The new policy follows several years of an experiment in which Paris allowed cyclists to pass through intersections more fluidly. The city says the test demonstrated that “the passage of cyclists through red lights isn’t accident-prone and avoids certain conflicts between cyclists and vehicles that are stopped at lights” – notably those cases in which a bike is in a car’s blind spot. […]
