Issues
Fatal accident sparks investigation into car
By First Coast News Staff
LAKE CITY, FL – A fatal accident involving a Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy has sparked a statewide investigation into the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.
Dallas Police Officer Dies in Flaming Car
10/24/2002
By ROBERT THARP and TONY HARTZEL / The Dallas Morning News
An off-duty Dallas police officer working traffic control in an overnight freeway construction zone died in his flaming patrol car early Wednesday after being struck by what police called a speeding drunken driver.
Officer Patrick Metzler, 31, was at the wheel of a police cruiser that was slammed into from behind just after 1 a.m. in the closed right lane in the High Five construction area where Central Expressway intersects with LBJ Freeway.
Mourners Remember Cab Driver
By Bobby Cuza
STAFF WRITER
October 28, 2002
Mourners on Monday remembered taxi driver Mohammed Yousuf, who was killed Friday in Woodside when his cab was rear-ended and burst into flames — an incident that has prompted calls for a class-action lawsuit against the Ford Motor Co.
More than 90 percent of the city’s yellow taxis are Ford Crown Victorias, which came under federal scrutiny after a dozen police officers died after their cars’ gas tank caught fire in rear-end collisions.
Crown Victoria Death Watch
Troy Couple’s Car Known for Catching Fire when Hit – 9/21/04
Latest Crown Victoria Fire Claims Family of NASCAR Crew Chief – 9/11/03
Trooper Dies in Fiery Crash – 5/31/03
Geographic Recalls in the News
Some automakers think regional recalls sufficient; consumer advocates disagree
06/19/02
Christopher Jensen
Plain Dealer Auto Editor
Consumer groups are demanding that the government prohibit regional automotive safety recalls, a practice they say puts motorists’ lives at risk while saving automakers money.
In a regional recall, the automaker limits the repairs to cars in states where the problem is most likely to occur, rather than carrying out the safety program nationwide.
Letter to Dr. Runge: The Temporal Recall Problem
June 21, 2002
Dr. Jeffrey Runge, Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
400 7th Street SW
Washington DC 20590
Dear Dr. Runge:
NHTSA Reverses Redaction Policy
Why recall information disappeared from files
By Christopher Jensen
Plain Dealer Auto Editor
Sunday, June 30, 2002
Edition: Final, Section: Driving, Page F1
Is it a mistake or a conspiracy?
If you ask Clarence Ditlow, the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration is trying to prevent scrutiny of regional-recall problems by
no longer disclosing the city and the state of consumers who complain.
Letter to Administrator Runge on Redaction
June 6, 2002
Dr. Jeffrey Runge, Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
400 7th Street SW
Washington DC 20590
Dear Dr. Runge:
Letter to Attorney General of California Bill Lockyer
May 15, 2002
Honorable Bill Lockyer
Attorney General of California
1515 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Attorney General Lockyer:
Airbag Study Shows Huge Variation In Safety Records
July 3, 1997
Safety experts urge government to tell public which airbags are most dangerous
Washington, D.C. … Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety today released a study revealing significant differences in the safety records of passenger-side airbag designs. The study analyses the auto models which have had the highest fatality rates in airbag crashes, and concludes that some cars are fitted with airbags much more dangerous than others.