Category: Automotive

States Rights Advocates Attack NHTSA Roof Crush Preemption Proposal

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A provision in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s proposed roof crush standard that would preempt state tort law would transfer the societal costs of caring for rollover crash victims to the states, discourage manufacturers from improving vehicles’ crashworthiness and usurp Congressional authority, a diverse group of influential commenters has argued.

For the first time in 32 years, the NHTSA is proposing to strengthen vehicle roofs and extend the standard to cover vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 10,000 pounds, as part of an alleged “comprehensive plan for reducing the risk of death and serious injury from rollover crashes.” The proposed regulation would increase the force that vehicles are required to withstand from 1.5 to 2.5 times their unloaded vehicle weight and replace the 22,240 Newton maximum force limit for passenger cars. It would also change the certifying test from the current plate movement limit of 5 inches with a new direct limit on headroom reduction. (See The Safety Record, V2, I4). Continue reading →

The Number of Tire Age Recommendations Grows: Bridgestone-Firestone is the Latest Entry

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Tire age degradation hit the radar of safety advocates, regulators and members of Congress following the Firestone ATX / Wilderness recalls in 2000 and 2001 when experts concluded that age degradation played a role in the catastrophic failure of these tires. Since the recalls Safety Research & Strategies (SRS) began examining what was known about the issue worldwide and found startling evidence that both tire and vehicle manufacturers have known tires, whether or not they are actually used, can experience tread separations due to internal oxidative aging, a process that is largely invisible. Following SRS’ docket submissions to NHTSA about their findings and an active campaign to alert the public of the danger through the media, some manufacturers have quietly started to address the issue. Continue reading →

NHTSA Launches Quiet Campaign to Protect Industry

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – If you didn’t already know it was there, you might have missed it entirely in the 45-page proposal to upgrade the roof crush resistance standard: a one-sentence clause tucked in Part 13 amid federal boilerplate, indemnifying manufacturers who met the proposed standard from lawsuits alleging a defect.

Known as a preemption clause, NHTSA’s August 19 proposal was the second time in as many months the federal agency has wrapped civil justice reform and auto safety standards into one package that is rousing the ire of consumer advocates, plaintiffs’ attorneys, and those concerned about Federalism and cost of care transfer from the industry to the public sector. Continue reading →

Ford Continues Fight to Seal Volvo Roof Strength Documents

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Since Ford Motor Company purchased Volvo in 1999 and made the company a division of its Premier Auto Group, Ford has reaped significant profits from the Swedish automaker whose hallmark is safety. But, Ford is also inheriting a headache as Volvo’s position on important safety issues conflicts with those of it corporate parent-and these conflicts keep surfacing in the public despite Ford’s efforts to keep them secret. This conflict is playing out in litigation and in has seeped into the public in one of the most controversial areas of motor vehicle safety-occupant protection in rollover crashes. Continue reading →

European Pedestrian Crash Standards Will Make Global Changes in Car Design Inevitable

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Imagine a Jag without the company’s signature image leaping off the front hood or an SUV outfitted with exterior airbags. In Europe, that metal cat is already extinct and those airbags are on their way in, under new European Union pedestrian impact regulations that will take effect in October. Although American automakers are not embracing these changes, manufacturers and suppliers say that the global drive to increase pedestrian safety coupled with the global nature of the auto industry will eventually affect cars sold in the U.S., possibly forcing changes to auto design, price, styles and fuel efficiency. Continue reading →

“Aged” Tire Case Numbers Grow: Spares and Used tires Top the List

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Following Firestone, SRS began tracking cases involving “aged” tires-tires older than 6-years-that have failed catastrophically causing crashes. With more than 65 documented cases, several patterns are emerging. Nearly one-third of these cases involved spare tires, approximately one-third were tires purchased used. The remaining cases involve tires that were mounted on little-used sports cars, old stock sold as new, or their histories are unknown. What links all of these cases together is the fact that the tires have ample tread and appear safe when they are put into service. Continue reading →

Inspector General Finds NHTSA Over Budget and Under Performing in Early Warning System

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The Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a second audit report related to NHTSA performance and cited the agency’s poor implementation and cost overruns associated with the Advanced Retrieval Tire, Equipment, Motor Vehicle Information System (ARTEMIS). ARTEMIS is the NHTSA system developed to analyze and identify trends in the early warning reporting data required from manufacturers (following the TREAD Act) that includes reports on deaths and injuries, property damage and warranty data. Continue reading →

District Court Rules “Regional Recalls” are Legal

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In response to a lawsuit filed by Center for Auto Safety and Public Citizen alleging NHTSA was illegally allowing regional recalls, U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, published an opinion finding that controversial practice is not in violation of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act or the Administrative Procedure Act (http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/04-392a.pdf). The opinion also affirmed that the agency had the ability to exercise its discretion to determine whether regional recalls are appropriate. Regional recalls may include an entire state, counties within a state, or a cluster of states within a geographical region. The plaintiffs were seeking a declaration that the government’s role in regional recalls is unlawful. They were also seeking an order prohibiting the NHTSA from allowing automakers to conduct these types of recalls in the future. [Center for Auto Safety, Public Citizen v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 04-392 (ESH)]. Continue reading →