BREAKING NEWS - Major Vehicle Recalls

National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defect Investigation (ODI) announces new Recalls & Alerts:

Chrysler Recalls Dodge Charger Police Vehicles 

Chrysler has issued a recall of approximately 9,688 Dodge Charger police vehicles due to a defect affecting the low beam headlamps. The headlamps in certain 2011 and 2012 vehicles may fail due to an overheated bulb harness connector. Other vehicles may lose abs/esc system function due to an overheated power distribution center. This could lead to loss of visibility and/or braking ability, increasing the risk of a crash.

The recall is expected to begin sometime in March 2012, and dealers will inspect the vehicle and perform the necessary service free of charge. Owners may contact Chrysler directly at 1-800-853-1403 and reference safety recall no. M01.   Additional details can also be found by referencing NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 12V042000.

Nissan Versa Recall

Nissan has issued a recall of approximately 36,000 Versa vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission and manufactured from June 9, 2011 through January 13, 2012. Certain 2012 vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 114 regarding “Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention.” Due to interference between the shifter rod and the shift knob, the vehicles may be shifted out of the park position without depressing the brake pedal. The operator can inadvertently shift the vehicle into gear without the brake pedal being depressed, increasing the risk of a crash or injury to a nearby pedestrian.

The recall is expected to begin on February 20, 2012, and dealers will inspect the vehicle and perform the necessary service free of charge. Owners may contact Nissan directly at 1-800-647-7261. Additional details can also be found by referencing NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 12V032000.

Honda Airbag Defect Recall

Honda has issued a recall of approximately 347 Accord and Crosstour vehicles due to a defect affecting the driver or passenger-side curtain airbags. The airbag inflator in certain 2012 vehicles may not have been manufactured according to the correct specifications. The defective airbag may fail to deploy in a crash, significantly increasing the risk of enhanced injuries. 

The recall is expected to begin on or about February 10, 2012, and dealers will inspect the vehicle and perform the necessary service free of charge. Owners may contact Honda Customer Service directly at 1-800-999-1009.   Additional details can also be found by referencing NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 12V030000.

Toyota Airbag Defect Recall

Toyota has issued a recall of approximately 427 RAV4 vehicles manufactured from November 24, 2011 through December 19, 2011. The propellant used for the initiator assembled in the curtain shield airbag inflator may not be the proper specification. In this condition, the inflator may not perform properly, preventing one or both curtain shield airbags from deploying in a crash and significantly increasing the risk of enhanced injuries. 

The recall is expected to begin sometime in March 2012, and dealers will inspect the vehicle and perform the necessary service free of charge. Owners may contact Toyota directly at 1-800-331-4331.   Additional details can also be found by referencing NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 12V029000.

Owners are encouraged to contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153) or go to www.safercar.gov with any questions or concerns surrounding these or any other recalls or safety campaigns.

Farmers Insurance $140,000 Class Action

Farmers Insurance has settled a class action lawsuit for close to $140,000,000 for mishandling claims made by hundreds of people injured in car crashes. Because of its claims adjustment procedures, Farmers either didn’t pay at all, or didn’t pay everything it should have paid, on personal injury protection (PIP) and medical payment claims filed for medical services needed by people injured in car accidents.
The claims in question were filed from January 2001 to early February 2009. The case recently settled according to court documents (PDF). Under the settlement, claimants are entitled to 60 percent of the difference between the amount of the medical bills submitted to Farmers and the amount paid by Farmers. If you think you’re covered by the settlement and haven’t received the paperwork in the mail, you can get a claim form online.
Farmers says it settled the suit ”to avoid the burden and expense of continued litigation.” There’s speculation that Farmers settled to avoid a blockbuster jury award. Given the nationwide reach and eight-year claims period involved in the suit, who knows how much a jury could have awarded the class?
This is especially relevant when you consider Farmers’ previous experience with class action lawsuits over its PIP coverage. Earlier this year, a jury ordered Farmers to pay about $9 million on claims that it underpaid PIP claims, again, because of the process it used to determine how much to pay.

AAA Urges Families to Prepare for the "Silver Tsunami" of Aging Drivers

The first wave of America's baby boomers turning 65 this year will be driving the "silver tsunami" says the American Automobile Association (AAA). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, this segment of the population will increase by 75 percent over the next two decades. Research has shown that people today live an average of about 7-10 years beyond their safe driving ability. To aid aging drivers and their families weather the predicted forecast, AAA is helping promote Older Driver Safety Awareness Week to help get the conversation started.

"In less than 10 years, one in four licensed drivers will be age 65 and older, which means that millions of American families will be working through this challenge," said Jake Nelson, director, AAA Traffic Safety Advocacy and Research. "Most families don't know where to turn for help so by partnering with the American Occupational Therapists Association (AOTA) during Older Driver Safety Awareness Week, AAA hopes to raise visibility of resources and tools that will help families address real and perceived challenges associated with driving and aging." 

AAA's senior driver safety and mobility website SeniorDriving.AAA.com provides expert advice and research-based tools for senior drivers and their families. Tools on the site are designed to aid in prompting conversations, assessing abilities and improving the comfort and safety of older drivers.

Conversations about safe driving can evoke strong emotional reactions as concerns about personal independence and managing other day-to-day activities may come into question. AAA encourages seniors and their families to approach these sensitive conversations as opportunities for constructive communication and problem solving.

Regal Cinemas and Outcast PumpTop TV to Air PSAs Across the Country

The U.S. Department of Transportation today unveiled "OMG," a new public service announcement (PSA) to warn teenagers against the dangers of distracted driving. The PSA is available on the newly redesigned Distraction.gov website, along with new materials designed especially for young drivers. The PSA will air nationwide on Regal Cinema theater screens this week and on gas station pump-top screens owned by Outcast PumpTop TV throughout the month of December.
"Teen drivers are particularly vulnerable to distracted driving, which is why we are making an extra effort to ensure they understand the dangers," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Thanks to the help of Regal Cinemas and Outcast, we're reaching teens directly — whether they're at the movies or filling up their tanks — to emphasize the importance of keeping their eyes on the road, their hands on the wheel, and their focus on driving at all times."
With the holiday driving season under way and young drivers preparing to take to the roadways during their winter vacations, the new PSA is designed to reach teenagers using imagery that relates to popular shorthand text messages such as "L8R" for "later" or "LOL" for "laugh out loud."
Two versions of the PSA will air. A version geared toward a teenage audience will run exclusively on 6,589 movie screens in 526 cinemas across the country that are owned and operated by Regal Entertainment Group. A more somber version will air on the 12,000 screens that top pumps at high traffic gas stations across the United States operated by Outcast PumpTop TV. Both versions of the PSA are available for viewing on DOT's redesigned website, www.Distraction.gov.
"Regal Entertainment Group is pleased to support the Department of Transportation's public service campaign to create awareness of many driver distractions and to encourage safe driving habits," stated Greg Dunn, President and COO of Regal Entertainment Group. "We hope that together we can make a difference by programming the 'Distracted Driving' PSA in our theaters across the country during this busy holiday season."
"We are proud to work with Secretary LaHood and DOT to help raise awareness for this lifesaving campaign by reaching drivers with a relevant reminder about texting and talking while driving," said Nathan Gill at Outcast's PumpTop TV. "We want to ensure that our busy, on-the-go audience has access to important information that can help save lives, and there is no better time to be reminded of this vital message than during those five minutes our viewers are stopped at the pump."
"Today's teenagers make no secret about the fact that they want to stay connected to their social networks and enjoy text messaging. That's why it's so important that we educate young drivers of the dangers of distracted driving and help them make smart decisions that will keep them safe during the holiday season and beyond," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.
In 2009, Secretary LaHood launched a national anti-distracted driving campaign to combat the growing trend toward this dangerous behavior, including a dedicated website to provide the public with a comprehensive source of information on the issue. Since then, DOT has also hosted two national summits devoted to reducing distracted driving, crafted sample legislation which states can use to adopt distracted driving laws, and initiated pilot law enforcement programs in Hartford, Conn., and Syracuse, N.Y., modeled after the Department's successful efforts to increase seatbelt use and curb drunk driving.
Currently 35 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have banned text messaging by all drivers. Nine states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands have prohibited all hand-held cell phone use while driving.

Car Accidents and Military Veterans

Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for military personnel in their first year home from the war, according to Karen Cutright, a program manager for the Veterans Administration who runs clinics for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. More veterans die from car accidents than from suicide, a different kind of tragedy that has gotten more headlines.


Government officials are worried about the number of young veterans getting into fatal car accidents after they return home from the battlefield. The ones dying most often tend to be young, unmarried males. They tend to come from the infantry ranks, or on gun crews or in seamanship roles.

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are 75% more likely to die in car accidents than the general population. Historically, veterans have had increased fatalities following their service. Vietnam vets were twice as likely to die in crashes than non-veterans, and Gulf War veterans had a 30% to 50% greater risk of dying in crashes.

Why they are risky drivers

Medford said NHTSA and the Department of Veterans Affairs were disturbed to discover that a lot of the deaths were due to some risky behavior by the driver – speeding, alcohol, not wearing seat belts, or not wearing motorcycle helmets.

"The bottom line is, these men and women are taught to drive in Iraq and Afghanistan like madmen," said Chuck DeWeese, assistant commissioner of the New York State Governor's Traffic Safety Committee in Albany, N.Y.

While at war, soldiers are trained to look for anything that could be a bomb laying at the side of the road. They could be hidden in animal carcasses or garbage bags. Merging cars could be filled with bombs ready to blow up a tank.

A 2009 Army study showed that while deployed, 50% of soldiers said they were anxious when other cars approached quickly, 23% had driven through stop signs, and 20% were anxious during normal driving.

"When they come back, driving is hard," said DeWeese. "They think they're invincible. They've gone through combat, they think they can live through anything."

Aggressive driving in young soldiers is just one cause of dangerous driving among veterans, Cutright said. Post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries could also result in erratic driving, as can medication and self-medicating (using alcohol and illegal drugs) to cope with symptoms. And there is no check to see if the vets should be driving their own car when they get back. Their license is, of course, still valid.

Cell phone study finds no cancer link, but how about kids' risk?

Cell phone users have something new to yak about: the biggest study ever of cell phones found no evidence whatever that even long-term use of the devices causes brain cancer.

The Danish study of more than 350,000 people showed that there was no difference in cancer rates between people who had used cell phones for more than a decade and people who hadn't.

The findings come less than six months after the International Agency for Research on Cancer called cell phones "possibly carcinogenic." That position grew out of a study of more than 14,000 people that showed a hint of a link between very heavy cell phone use and glioma, a rare but often deadly brain tumor.

In the new research, published online Thursday in the journal BMJ, researchers updated a previous study examining 358,403 cellphone users age 30 and over from 1990 to 2007. Cancer rates in people who used cell phones for about 10 years were similar to rates in people without a cell phone. Cell phone users were also no more likely to get a tumor in the part of the brain closest to where phones are usually held against the head.

Is this the last word on cell phone safety? Probably not.

"This is encouraging news, but it doesn't mean we're at the end of the road," said Hazel Nunn, head of Health Evidence and Information at Cancer Research U.K., which wasn't involved in the study.
Others disputed the study's findings. The advocacy group MobileWise, which believes cell phones pose a health risk, said the study wasn't long enough to gauge long-term risk, since brain tumors can take decades to form.

Nunn agreed that studies with longer-term data were needed and that there was little information on risk to children from cell phones.

The bottom line for now? Nunn said that except perhaps for limiting kids' use of cell phone, there was no need for cell phone users to change their habits based on the current evidence. As she put it, ""There are a lot more worrying things in the world than mobile phones."

Texting While Driving Even Worse Than Previously Thought, Study Finds

There’s no serious dispute that texting while driving leads to crashes that get a lot of people hurt and killed. But, as The Associated Press reports, new research has found that the distraction of texting undermines the performance of drivers even more than previously thought.


The study, by the Texas Transportation Institute, monitored 42 drivers on an 11-mile test-track driving course. The research team watched how quickly the motorists responded to a flashing yellow light when they were focusing exclusively on their driving versus when they were texting behind the wheel.

According to the researchers, texting more than doubled driver reaction times. Reactions that ordinarily took one to two seconds instead took three to four seconds when someone was texting. And it made very little difference if a driver was composing a message or reading one.

What’s more, drivers who were texting were 11 times more likely to altogether miss the flashing light.

For a driver cruising at 60 mph, two extra seconds of reaction time means it takes 176 more feet to stop or maneuver the car.

Or, as U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement responding to the study: “If you look down to text for just a few seconds at 55 miles per hour, your car travels the length of a football field while you’re not looking at the road. Texting and talking on the phone while driving can be deadly, and drivers have a responsibility to put away these distracting devices every time they get behind the wheel.”

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 34 states have adopted bans on texting while driving. Still, 35 percent of drivers said they have read or sent a text message while driving in the last month, according to a survey released this week by the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety.


The new assessments come while automakers, as FairWarning reported last month, are running publicity campaigns urging drivers to avoid distractions such as texting behind the wheel. At the same time, however, FairWarning pointed out that the same car companies are seeking to pump up sales by packing their new models with cutting-edge infotainment systems that encourage multi-tasking, including texting, behind the wheel.

Federal authorities estimate that distracted driving caused 5,474 deaths in 2009, including 995 from using cellphones, although the precise number from texting isn’t clear.

Source:
http://www.fairwarning.org/2011/10/texting-while-driving-even-worse-than-previously-thought-study-finds/