Issues
Traffic Deaths Drop to Lowest in 60 Years
Traffic deaths last year in the United States fell to the lowest level in 60 years, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The 33,808 deaths in 2009 represented a 9.7 percent decline from the previous year, the safety agency said on Thursday.
The number of injuries also dropped to 2.22 million last year from 2.35 million in 2008.
The agency said preliminary estimates showed Americans drove 0.2 percent more miles in 2009 than the previous year.
Florida Trooper Killed in Fiery Crash
Posted: May 17th, 2010 05:13 AM EDT
HIALEAH GARDENS, Fla. —
A Florida Highway Patrol officer was killed in a fiery crash on the turnpike Saturday night.
The Florida Highway Patrol said Trooper Patrick Ambroise was parked in his 2006 Ford Crown Victoria on the right shoulder near the Okeechobee interchange, when his cruiser was hit in the back by a black Lexus.
Both vehicles caught fire and Ambroise was unable to get out. He died at the scene.
The driver of the Lexus was identified as 19-year-old Jonathan Robert Garcia from Miramar.
Fuel tank probe rekindles old issue
The placement of fuel tanks on passenger vehicles has changed over the past three decades, and for good reason.
Automakers gradually have repositioned the tank to an area in front of the rear axle, generally below the rear passenger seat. Statistically speaking, the tank in that location is less vulnerable in a high-speed, rear-end crash than in the previous location — between the rear bumper and axle.
Fiery crashes of the Ford Pinto and Mercury Bobcat in the 1970s prompted automakers to rethink how to protect the gasoline tank.
Toyota Is Recalling 1.1 Million Corollas and Matrixes for Stalling Problem
Toyota said on Thursday that it was recalling about 1.1 million 2005–8 Corollas and Matrixes as well as well as almost 162,000 Pontiac Vibes to fix a stalling problem. The Vibe is a mechanical sibling of the Matrix.
The announcement comes four days after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it was intensifying its investigation of the issue.
Grand Cherokee Is Investigated for Gas Tank Danger
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Tuesday it would grant a consumer group’s request to investigate whether an estimated three million Jeep Grand Cherokees had gas tanks that were too vulnerable to fires after a rear impact.
The petition to investigate the 1993–2004 Jeeps was made last October by the Center for Auto Safety, which says the gas-tank design is defective.