NHTSA

“Chances of being killed in a motor vehicle accident at 25mph, 1 in 1,000. Chances of being killed in a motor vehicle accident at 75mph, 1 in 2.”

That is just one of the interesting bits of information in the video series below.

While this educational video may be 55 years old, many of the safety tips still apply today. Many of the tips are your standard vehicle safety lessons; don’t tailgate, don’t drink and drive, etc. But there are a few odd ones scattered throughout the video as well.

For example, in one scene the narrator explains how to properly straddle a set of streetcar tracks in a vehicle. I don’t know about you, but driving over streetcar tracks wasn’t a part of my Driver’s Ed curriculum. He goes even further and explains how to counter-steer should your car “go into a skid” from “hitting slick streetcar tracks.”

I’m sure you’ll find humor in the narration and nostalgia in the video, but make no [Read more...]

Sep

NHTSA looks to VIN for safety recalls

By Juan Barnett | Industry, The Hill

Yesterday the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published a proposed rule titled Early Warning Reporting, Foreign Defect Reporting, and Motor Vehicle and Equipment Recall Regulations. The rule is actually a combination of regulatory changes. For the purpose of this post we will focus on the “Recall Regulations” portion of the proposed rule, specifically the new VIN requirements regarding safety recalls.

The very brief summary of the proposed rules reads as follows:

As to safety recalls, we propose, among other things, to require certain manufacturers to submit vehicle identification numbers (VIN) for recalled vehicles and to daily report changes in recall remedy status for those vehicles; require online submission of recalls reports and information; and require adjustments to the required content of the owner notification letters and envelopes required to be issued to owners and purchasers of recalled vehicles and equipment.

Currently when a recall is announced the consumer is notified that their vehicle falls within a specific model year range and could require repair. The new proposal would require automakers to submit a full list of VINs for each vehicle covered by a specific recall. NHTSA says [Read more...]

Jun

Distracted Driving: Why It’s Not an Epidemic

By Juan Barnett | Industry, The Hill

Last week Department of Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood announced a blueprint that would lay out a plan to once and for all end America’s deadly epidemic, distracted driving.

Journalists and bloggers everywhere assembled stories highlighting bits and pieces from DOT’s press release. Tanya Mohn of the New York Times highlighted the number of distraction-affected deaths, “In 2010 at least 3,092 people were killed in distraction-affected crashes, accounting for roughly one in every 10 traffic deaths.”

This is a good news story. The government is going to make driving more safe. Right? Why then am I shaking my head in frustration. [Read more...]

May

The Role of Retail in Recalls

An open letter and call to action to the automotive retail industry:

******************
Dear Automotive Retailers,

I’m writing this with the hope that you do your part to improve the speed and accuracy with which vehicle owners will receive safety recall notifications. Protecting people is my only motivation behind this effort.

Recently Carfax stated that 2.7 million used cars had open safety recalls. This week Senator Barbara Boxer wrote in a letter to four vehicle rental companies asking them to make the following pledge, “Effective immediately, our company is making a permanent commitment to not rent out or sell any vehicles under safety recall until the defect has been remedied.”

Vehicle recalls are a serious matter. If one notification fails to reach its intended recipient it puts lives at risk. Many buyers are unaware that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) operates a website (www.safercar.gov) that allows owners to signup via email to receive model-specific vehicle safety recalls. This modern delivery system ensures that safety notifications are delivered the moment a safety recall is announced.

To improve the overall recall process I ask that your retail outlets implement a new practice of offering buyers an opportunity to sign up for safety recalls via the safercar.gov website during the buying process. Point of sale is the picture-perfect place to connect new and used vehicle owners to the electronic delivery of recall notifications provided by NHTSA.

Retails stores and their corporate management have a social and human responsibility to make this happen. The process is easy, requires no additional funding and is paramount to customer safety.

Will you act?

Happy Motoring,

Juan Barnett

********************

Below is a screenshot of the vehicle recall subscription page: [Read more...]

Apr

Avoid Getting Dead Due to a Runaway Vehicle

Yesterday I provided a brief history of NHTSA’s work on Brake-Throttle Override (BTO) systems, specifically how they abandoned the effort in 2002. In researching BTO I found very little evidence of user education on the subject. While today’s debate will continue to exam how to prevent future models from accelerating on their own, who is educating users NOW?

Most discussions concerning vehicle safety instantly look for a technical solution, overlooking (discrediting?) the human solution – education. Most states [Read more...]

Apr

Brake-Throttle Override – Part II?

In 2002 the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) propsed a rule that would have created mandatory Brake-Throttle Override (BTO) system for vehicles. NHTSA concluded, “…further development was needed on some of the proposed test procedures.” Ten years and one unintended acceleration pandemonium later, they’re at it again. But why exactly did they withdrawal their effort ten years ago? [Read more...]

Mar

Whistleblowers in the Auto Industry

By Juan Barnett | Featured

Last week I highlighted a provision in the Senate highway bill that would allow vehicle safety recalls to be delivered electronically (email) as opposed to standard mail.

Below are two provisions from that same piece of legislation that also address vehicle recalls. These provisions are aimed at encouraging automotive industry personnel to report vehicle safety concerns to NHTSA. The bills would protect whistleblowers against reprisal and establish a dedicated reporting hotline for auto industry personnel.

[Read more...]

Feb

Vehicle Recalls – Via Email

Scenario: The car you are driving is being recalled for unintended incineration. A notification will be sent to you via first class mail informing you of this potential life-ending situation.

Wait. What happens if the address on file is wrong or your partner throws away the notification? Is snail mail really the only way to notify you that your commute has turned into a game of automotive Russian roulette? Afraid so. But this could all change very soon.

While efforts between the Senate and the House to agree on a highway authorization bill have stalled, many less-political provisions will remain in a final package.

One particular effort seems aimed at improving the timeliness of recall notifications from automakers to vehicle owners.

Section 31311, titled Update Means of Providing Notification; Improving Efficacy of Recalls, was a part of a recent substitute amendment offered by Senator Reid on Senate Bill 1813 (Surface Transportation Act).

The provision provides the Secretary of Transportation added flexibility when determining the process for which automakers notify vehicle owners of safety recalls. Currently the law requires [Read more...]

Dec

Mazda – Saving Mustangs Since 1997

Today, a quick lesson on what automakers are required to do to keep your ride from ending up in a chop shop. Under the Code of Federal Regulation, Title 49, Part 541— “Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard” (49 CFR Part 541) the National Highway Transportation (NTHSA) mandates all of the parts listed below have a VIN permanently attached or inscribed to them:

Engine, transmission, R & L front fender, hood, [Read more...]

Sep

A CAFE Flashback

In recognition of today’s proposal of new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, I thought a dive into CAFE history was appropriate. On October 17, 1973 the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised the price of oil 70% and began to cut production. As a result of this sudden WTF were-addicted-to-foreign-oil moment, CAFE was born. The goal of CAFE? Double the fuel economy of vehicles in the U.S. We did just that.

Today, we as a nation decided (or were ordered) to once again undertake the task of doubling our fuel economy. The short of it is, when faced with adversity and up against the wall – we are pretty kickass innovators. The quotes below were pulled from newspapers during the height of fuel economy debates in the 70’s. It’s fascinating to see what people were saying 40 years ago when asked to double vehicle fuel economy and how it compares and contrast to today.

The Windsor Star – Dec 6, 1974 (Massachusetts AP) – “All of these innovations are not new, but they previously wouldn’t pay for themselves during the car’s first year of ownership with fuel savings. When fuel cost 25 to 30 cents a gallon, added costs of the improvements could not be paid for in the car’s firs three years, considered the average time of its first ownership. But that’s all changed with fuel prices more than double that amount” Donald Hurter, director of EPA/DOT study.”

The Toledo Blade – Oct 24, 1974 (Washington AP) – “Interior Secretary Rogers Morton said, “If we don’t get the cooperation we need we will be glad to provide a menu with some tougher turkey. We are going to tell the industry how the government intends to measure the 40 percent increase. We will also ask the industry how they plan to achieve that goal in four years.”

Lakeland Ledger – Feb 2, 1975 (by: Agis Salpuka) -“In the fall of 1925, Charles Kettering, one of the great pioneering engineers of the auto industry, delivered a prophetic paper to a meeting of the American Chemical Society in NYC. The paper was called “Motor Design and Fuel Economy.” Mr. Kettering’s major points: petroleum is a finite resource; supplies could some day run short, posing a catastrophe for the auto industry. The catastrophe could be averted “if motor car fuel economy can be materially increased. Mr. Kettering then outlined the design of a hypothetical car which would yield maximum gas mileage. It would be small, light, streamlined. It would have a high compression engine, an ignition system whose spark would always be property adjusted for speed and load, a four-speed transmission with a system providing for the disengagement of all other gears at fast speed except the high gear. All of these innovations were possible in 1925. Mr. Kettering said while this hypothetical car would have good gas mileage, the public probably would not buy it. It would not produce fast acceleration in high gear. It would not climb hills well. It would lack “that reserve power so much desired in the motoring public.”

The automotive industry has seen considerable changes in the last few years. It will be interesting to see how product lineups evolve to achieve these greener policy goals. Much of the anticipated consumer benefits highlighted by the EPA are savings from higher fuel prices, but make no mention of added cost to vehicle prices. Also, what will come of things like the highway trust fund and other beneficiaries of fuel-based revenues? Will we transition to a pay-per-mile system? If electrification strategies are the key to meeting CAFE goals how will automakers encourage capital investment for charging facilities, price products without federal subsidies and deal with the overwhelming lack of interest from consumers around hybrid technology? These are all questions that must be addressed to move forward and create a sustainable model of personal mobility.

Happy Motoring,

DCAG

Aug

#CAFE2025 – Public Notice Memorandum