Randy Barnhart

Auto Electronic Control Systems and Your Safety

As a long-time products liability lawyer fighting the auto manufacturers for negligently if not also knowingly allowing their defective products to cause their loyal customers serious personal injury, I was interested in the recent statement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regarding a report on electronic control systems released by the National Academy of Sciences:

NHTSA commissioned the panel of National Academy of Sciences appointees to comprehensively review electronic control systems. While the auto manufacturers quack "safe, safe, safe," NHTSA stated that it needs to better understand the causes of unintended acceleration in passenger vehicles. So there is more than one cause? There is more than the supposed cause advertised by the manufacturers - lead foot on the gas pedal?

On its website, NHTSA states: The agency "has already taken steps to strengthen its expertise in electronic control systems while expanding research in this area — and the agency has considerable experience dealing with vehicle electronics issues in its research, rulemaking, and enforcement programs. But, NHTSA will continue to evaluate and improve every aspect of its work to keep the driving public safe, including research to assess potential safety concerns and help ensure the reliability of electronic control systems in vehicles. The agency will also further refine its strategic plan to address any potential technical and policy issues."

Potential safety concerns? There is nothing potential about the facts of electronic systems going haywire. Potential technical and policy issues?

Update - February 3, 2012: see this article, Electronics in Autos Pose New Safety Issues, Scientists Say, in the Insurance Journal.

New Video on Dangerous 15-Passenger Vans

KENSTV in San Antonio, TX recently ran this special report on the dangers
of 15-passenger vans, like the Ford E-350.

(visit my micro-blog on defective passenger vans)

NHTSA Receives Ford Freestyle Acceleration Complaints

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received 238 complaints involving 2005 through 2007 Freestyles. Eighteen minor crashes were reported with one minor injury

via www.msnbc.msn.com

Ford Recalls 363,000 F-150 Trucks Over Door Handles

Ford Motor Co. is recalling nearly 363,000 F-150 pickup trucks in North America because of a potential problem with the interior door handles not working properly, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported Thursday.

via www.claimsjournal.com

Toyota Fined Again by NHTSA

On December 20, 2010, NHTSA announced new and larger fines against Toyota for its failure to handle recalls properly:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that Toyota Motor Corporation has agreed to pay an additional $32.425 million in civil penalties as the result of two separate investigations into the automaker's handling of auto recalls. Toyota will pay the maximum fines allowable under the law - $16.375 million in one case and $16.050 million in the other - in response to the Department's assertion that it failed to comply with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act for reporting safety defects to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

...

The second investigation completed today resulted in a $16.050 million fine. In that case, NHTSA investigated whether Toyota properly notified the agency of a safety defect in several Toyota models that could result in the loss of steering control. In 2004, Toyota conducted a recall in Japan for Hilux trucks with steering relay rods prone to fatigue cracking and breaking, causing the vehicle to lose steering control. At that time, Toyota informed NHTSA that the safety defect was isolated to vehicles in Japan and that the company had not received similar field information within the United States. In 2005, however, Toyota informed NHTSA that the steering relay rod defect was present in several models sold in the U.S. and conducted a recall for nearly one million vehicles. Then, in May 2010, NHTSA was alerted to additional information, including complaints from U.S. consumers, that Toyota had not disclosed when Toyota initially notified NHTSA that a U.S. recall was unnecessary.

But what is human safety really worth to Toyota? Compare the $32 million in fines thus far with Toyota's quarterly profits: for example, "the world's largest auto maker by sales, posted a net profit of 153.2 billion yen ($1.68 billion) in the three months through December" of last year! {source}

For Toyota, loss of and injury to human life is easily affordable.

NHTSA Re-Issues 15 Passenger Van Danger Alert

On October 14, 2010, NHTSA yet again issued a safety/danger/risk alert on the defective 15-passenger van.

"As the fall and winter driving seasons get under way, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is urging users of 15-passenger vans to take specific steps to keep occupants safe. Two recent fatal crashes, in New York and Georgia, involving 15-passenger vans that rolled over and resulted in 10 deaths give urgency to this reminder.

The agency warns that tire maintenance is paramount to preventing tragedies, such as these recent rollover crashes, from occurring. Users of 15-passenger vans need to make sure the vehicles have appropriately-sized tires that are properly inflated before every trip. The agency also points out that tires degrade over time. For this reason, NHTSA recommends that spare tires not be used as replacements for worn tires. In fact, many tire manufacturers recommend that tires older than 10 years not be used at all.

NHTSA said that it is directing this advisory to church groups, other non-profit organizations and colleges that may be keeping older 15-passenger vans in service longer than usual because of tight transportation budgets. Pre-primary, primary and secondary schools should not use 15-passenger vans for transporting school children, as they do not provide the same level of safety as school buses. It is also against federal law for schools to buy new 15-passenger vans for school transportation purposes.

Here are some safety tips for anyone planning a trip in 15-passenger vans:

• If you are an owner, make sure the vehicle is properly maintained.
• Owners should make sure drivers are fully trained and experienced in operating a 15-passenger van and are properly licensed.
• 15-passenger vans are very sensitive to loading and should not be overloaded under any circumstances. Agency research shows overloading not only increases rollover risk but makes the vehicle more unstable in any handling maneuvers.
• Owners should make sure that properly sized tires are being used on their vehicles.
• Before every trip, drivers should check the tires for proper inflation, and make sure there are no signs of wear. Correct tire size and inflation pressure information can be found in the owner’s manual.
• If you are a passenger, make sure you buckle up for every trip."

NHTSA forgot the most important safety tip: avoid these death traps like the plague.

Evolving Crash Test Ratings

NHTSA - 47,000 Auto Complaints/Year Divided by 21 Staff = Disaster

I subscribe to Google alerts about Sean Kane, who was recently quoted in a news report by 10news.com reporting San Diego:

"They clearly have a job that's nearly impossible," said auto safety expert Sean Kane.

He's talking about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the federal agency in charge of tracking complaints. ...

10News discovered in the past five years, NHTSA received more than 235,000 complaints detailing problems about vehicles on the market and on the road.

But there are only 21 people working on in the agency's Office of Defects to investigate the complaints.

Do the math: 235,000 complaints over 5 years equals 47,000 complaints per year, divided by 21 staffers at the ODI (Office of Defects Investigation)  equals over 2,200 complaints per staffer per year.

No wonder far too many ODI "investigations" are little more than calling the auto manufacturer and saying "Hello, we got a complaint.  Please send us any info?" The typical big auto response: "Must be driver error."

Call your congressional representatives and senators!

15-Passenger Vans with Cooper Tires = Fatal Rides

Soon, co-counsel in various jurisdictions and I will file a major, personal injury and wrongful death action in California against several defendants, including Ford Motor Company and Cooper Tire. The 15-passenger van experienced a left-rear tire tread separation and then rolled over, injuring many and killing one. The 15-passenger van was a defective Ford van made doubly dangerous by being mal-equipped with defective Cooper tires.

The passengers, our clients, never reached their destination as they rightfully expected. After the short and fatal ride, NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), issued a "Research Note" which found:

• In 2007, fatalities to occupants of 15-passenger vans increased nearly 20% from the previous year.
• In 2007, there were 45 fatalities in 15-passenger vans that rolled over, 73% more than in 2006.

In our case, the fatal ride occurred in 2008. To our injured clients, and to counsel, fatality  trends  are absurd.

Point of concern: The NHTSA Research Note concluded: "All new 15-passenger vans being manufactured now have [Electronic Stability Control] ESC as standard equipment. When enough data are available, an analysis of the effect of ESC on rollover fatalities in 15-passenger vans will shed more light on this issue."  NHTSA fully expects that 15-passenger vans will continue to rollover; that is, vans without ESC will not be recalled as fatally dangerous and defective! Even if fatalities decline going forward, there will still be numerous van rollovers, many causing severe personal injury and death.  No single vehicle mishap -- a tire tread separation, for example -- should rollover, no matter the driver's skills. Tires should not suffer tread separations, but if they do, the vehicle should not roll over.