Update of the Auto Safety Bill

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Re: Update of the Auto Safety Bill

by MSI » Thu May 20, 2010 7:44 pm

May 20, 2010: Groups spar over car black boxes as Congress mulls auto safety bill
A proposal to equip all new cars with "black boxes" to record crash data has emerged as a key point of dispute between the industry and safety groups as Congress weighs an expansive auto safety bill. Automakers and safety advocates disagree over the extent of the data the devices should collect and over the extent they should be able to survive the worst of crashes. Rules that require them to withstand fiery high speed crashes could be unreasonably expensive. Gloria Bergquist, vice president of the Auto Alliance, an industry group, noted that black boxes for airplanes can cost between $5,000 and $25,000.
H. Clay Gabler, a professor at Virginia Tech who uses the black box data from cars to conduct crash research, said the devices used now can survive as much as 95 percent of all crashes. Adding to their survivability might be expensive, he said.

Re: Update of the Auto Safety Bill

by MSI » Thu May 13, 2010 10:23 am

May 13, 2010: Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Chapman finds the knee jerk reaction of Congress on the safety bill a bunch of political posturing. He states that "Profit-making corporations actually have a strong business interest in keeping their customers alive.They can also make money by offering products that reduce rather than maximize the buyer's chances of dying in a fiery crash. Just as there are markets for auto style, power, versatility, luxury and sportiness, there is a market for safety."
Dave McCurdy, president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, told Waxman's committee members that "automakers have developed many of today's significant safety innovations without a government mandate, including anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, adaptive headlights, side airbags and curtains, front passenger safety belt reminder systems and advanced collision avoidance features like lane departure warning, blind spot monitors and adaptive cruise control."
"Those improvements are among the reasons that last year, the number of traffic deaths was the lowest since 1954 — even though there are twice as many drivers, traveling four times as many miles, as there were back then."
See Congress accelerates out of control

Re: Update of the Auto Safety Bill

by brian » Mon May 10, 2010 10:19 am

May 7, 2010: New Safety Bill is being written without consulting NHTSA?? Sounds like the tail wagging the dog? Or is it special interest groups steering legislation!
Brilliant!
From the LA Times today "In surprisingly brief comments to a House panel, David Strickland said the proposed law would strengthen the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but its input on the measure wasn't sought."
See the article NHTSA official offers lukewarm endorsement of auto safety bill

Re: Update of the Auto Safety Bill

by brian » Mon May 10, 2010 9:56 am

May 7, 2010: In another related story the NY Times ran a front page article today In Washington, a Renewed Taste for Auto Safety

Re: Update of the Auto Safety Bill

by brian » Thu May 06, 2010 1:05 pm

May 6, 2010: In a related story in the LA Times, it was reported that "The federal government would get greater leverage over the U.S. auto industry under a proposed law that would significantly raise maximum possible fines on automakers for violations of federal safety rules".
See the LA Times story Legislation proposed to raise maximum fines on U.S. auto industry for violating safety rules

Update of the Auto Safety Bill

by brian » Thu May 06, 2010 12:55 pm

May 6, 2010: Auto Safety Bill in the works by Congress. In the House a subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce opened hearings on proposed legislation sponsored by the group’s chairman, Henry J. Waxman, a Democrat of California. In the senate John D. Rockefeller IV, a Democrat of West Virginia who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, introduced a similar measure earlier this week.
It's the first major review/rework in a decade since reforms were passed in response to the Firestone/Ford debacle.
The bills come in the wake of recalls of more than nine million Toyota vehicles worldwide since fall that were the subject of Congressional hearings earlier this year.
Brake override systems which shutdown the throttle and Event Data Recorders (EDRs) "black boxes" which would record information for the last 60 seconds before a crash and 15 seconds after would be required.
NHTSA would also be given broader powers like the right to order immediate recalls if it felt vehicles posed a threat to safety.
For additional information see the NY Times Story House Panel Begins Work on Auto Safety Bill

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