Issues
U.S. Wants Report Card for Cars
The Wall Street Journal
By Josh Mitchell
August 30, 2010
…The EPA’s McCarthy said the agency was constrained by federal statutes that specify only tailpipe emissions, not upstream emissions, be included on the label. But Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, said the agency wouldn’t have been blocked from providing more information on emissions from power plants…
Safety Recalls May Be ‘Voluntary,’ but Are Required by Law
Christopher Jensen
9/21/10
“A voluntary safety recall.”
I have been covering automotive safety for about 30 years, including now writing a weekly roundup of safety recalls for Wheels, and whenever a carmaker recalls a vehicle for a safety problem, it often describes it as voluntary.
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.
CAS Rulemaking Comment 11/27/2009
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