Issues
A Tougher Car Safety Agency
The United States has done a fairly good job so far of policing the safety of cars and trucks. The number of deaths in traffic accidents dropped to an estimated 34,000 last year — the least since the 1950s. But that is still too many deaths.
New Toyota Recall Involves About 400,000 Vehicles
Toyota, the Japanese automaker, said Thursday that it was recalling almost 373,000 of its 2000-4 Avalon sedans because of a steering problem that could cause a crash.
In addition the automaker said it was recalling about 39,000 2003-7 Lexus LX 470 sport utility vehicles for a different steering defect.
Click here to read the entire article from the New York Times
Honda Is Investigated for Air Bag Recall
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating whether Honda delayed the recall of almost 440,000 vehicles for an air bag defect that could allow shards of metal to hit the driver.
Last November, Honda notified the safety agency that it was recalling about 3,900 2001 Accords and Civics because the air bag inflator on the driver’s side might be too powerful. That could result in metal pieces going through the air bag and striking the driver.
Deadline Nears for S.U.V. Crash Compliance
There won’t be any public celebrations, but Sept. 1 is a small and contentious landmark in automotive safety. It is the deadline for the auto industry to voluntarily make S.U.V.’s and pickups less deadly in frontal and side-impact collisions with passenger cars.
Seat Belts on School Buses – One District’s Experience
Click here to view the video from Bartholomew County, IN
Volkswagen
Click here to view Volkswagen’s recall website