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The Amazing Shrinking 114

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 114 Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention began its life in 1969 as solely a theft protection standard in response to a wave of amateur car thieves and the attendant mayhem on the road. By the late 1980s, that rule began to tackle the problem of rollaways caused by the […]

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BMW Liable in 2018 Fatal Rollaway Incident

A state court jury has awarded $9.7 million in damages to the family of Jose Chicas, a New Mexico man who died under the wheels of a rollaway 2015 BMW X5 nearly five years ago. The December 14 verdict came after an 11-day trial, in which the jury recognized that BMW was aware of the […]

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Hyundai-Kia and NHTSA Announce Software Fix for Deadly Theft Epidemic, but No Recall

Fourteen crashes, eight deaths, uninsurable vehicles and auto theft numbers through the roof – that’s the mayhem trailing traditionally keyed, unprotected Hyundai-Kias that appear to violate Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114 Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention. But press releases from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the automaker describe the rollout of a […]

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NHTSA Releases New Rollaway Stats

It’s been four years since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published an analysis of Non-Traffic Surveillance Data, which includes an estimate of the annual toll of rollaway injury and deaths. But the newest numbers are out, and despite some wonky data – blamed on the pandemic – rollaway is pretty much the same threat […]

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Congress Forces NHTSA to Address Keyless Safety Hazards. One Automaker’s Approach Shows Why Regulations Matter

It took an act of Congress, but within the next 18 months, NHTSA is supposed to promulgate a new law compelling manufacturers to implement an automatic engine idle shutdown for keyless ignition vehicles. In two months, NHTSA is supposed to submit a report on anti-rollaway technology to Congress. In the meantime, some manufacturers have already […]

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Technology Has Made Rollaways Easier; Technology Can Prevent Them

Neil Black, Tom Mueller On February 25, Ken Rothfield was backing down his driveway at about 7:30 a.m., and noticed that there was barely enough room to ease his vehicle between the brick wall jutting out to his left, and his wife’s Toyota on the right. He pulled a bit forward of the wall, with […]

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Grill Brush Ingestion Case Results in Jury Verdict — And Safer Practices by Restaurant Chain

Sharon Beaty’s lawsuit resulted in a jury verdict that not only awarded her damages, but caused one of the U.S.’s most well-known restaurant corporations to opt for safer cooking practices. On March 26, 2018, Sharon Beaty of Florence, South Carolina pulled the leftovers from her Outback Steakhouse dinner out of the fridge for lunch. She […]

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Amazon Delivery Drivers Sprint After Rolling Delivery Vans

Editor’s Note: This blog has been updated to reflect the software update recall initiated by Mercedes-Benz and posted by NHTSA on Jan. 10, 2022. In August, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened a rollaway investigation into the Mercedes Sprinter vans with e-shifters that automatically move the transmission into Park when the driver leaves […]

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CPSC Rulemaking on Off-Road Vehicles Heats Up

Two and a half years ago, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission staff approached the triad of off-road vehicle trade groups – the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA), the Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle Association (ROHVA), and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) – with some data and an offer: Write a voluntary standard to address fire […]

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Hyundai-Kia’s Billion Dollar Engine Problem that Broke the NHTSA Civil Penalty Barrier

A federal judge in California has put one class-action lawsuit in peril and approved a settlement in another alleging defects in Hyundai and Kia engines. The Korean automaker’s billion-dollar-plus legal liability is on top of the largest civil penalty the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ever levied against an automaker. The language of the […]

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