Current Events

U.S. motor vehicle deaths last year topped 40,000 for the first time since 2007 as cheap gasoline and a healthy economy encouraged motorists to drive more, according to new estimates released Wednesday by the National Safety Council.

Roadside fatalities last year hit 40,200, a 6 percent gain from 2015 and up 14 percent from 2014, according to the group. The trend reflects similar findings by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which in January reported an 8 percent rise in deadly crashes in the first nine months of 2016 compared to the prior-year period.
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A third wrongful death lawsuit was filed Tuesday in connection to a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center mold outbreak.

This is the latest death in the wake of five other known deaths since October 2014 linked to heavy mold growth found in the linens at two University of Pittsburgh Medical Center hospitals, according to a report.

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Adjusting your seat position while driving can be dangerous, but it can be even more hazardous if you don’t know your seat is going to move. That’s why Mazda has recalled nearly 174,000 vehicles with seats that can unexpectedly change position.

The Associated Press reports that the carmaker has recalled 174,000 model year 2010 to 2011 Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 and model year 2011 Mazda 2 vehicles over seat adjustment issues.

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Feb 14 A federal judge on Tuesday granted preliminary approval to a Volkswagen AG settlement to pay at least $1.22 billion to fix or buy back nearly 80,000 polluting U.S. 3.0 liter diesel-engine vehicles.
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Toyota is recalling 72,847 Tundra trucks because of a possible defect with the rear step bumper.

The truck recall affects Tundras from the 2016 and 2017 model year produced between July 29, 2015 and Dec. 22, 2016.

“In the event of an impact to the corner of the bumper, the resin bracket may be damaged, but not be noticed,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.

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 Carfax released recent data showing that there are more than 63 million recalled cars on the road in the United States today that continue to drive unrepaired.

Are people not getting their cars fixed as often anymore, or are there more open recalls on vehicles, or both?

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The Ford Explorer is the best-selling midsize SUV in the country, with around one million on the road. But hundreds of customers say the vehicles might be making them sick.

Hundreds of people who own Explorers describe it as a sulfur or rotten egg smell coming into the car while they are driving, reports CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave. It’s exhaust, from the rear of the vehicle, and they worry it could be toxic. One police officer we spoke with said it nearly killed him.
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Hyundai Motor America is recalling the 2017 Hyundai Elantra to fix a potentially serious problem with the car's brake booster. The recall affects 33,803 Elantra vehicles registered in the U.S.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Elantra's brake booster was supplied by Mando America Corporation, based in Hogansville, Georgia. Unfortunately, some of them were improperly manufactured, and as a result, "the diaphragm in the brake booster may unseat, resulting in a vacuum leak and reduction or loss in power brake assist".
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General Motors has announced plans to recall some 91,007 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky Roadsters built for the 2006-2010 model years. Documents from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal that one the airbags in those vehicles may be disabled, increasing the risk of injury to occupants during crashes.

The problem affects the front passenger-side airbag and is linked to the passenger airbag suppression (PPS) system, which was manufactured by IEE Sensing Inc. That system determines whether an adult is sitting in the passenger's seat and turns on or off the airbags accordingly.

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Abbott Laboratories, which acquired Minnesota medical device maker St. Jude Medical last month, is halting use of a commercially promising blood pump in the U.S. and Europe following a patient death and several malfunctions.

The device at issue, the HeartMate PHP catheter, consists of a propeller inside a thin wire cage that is inserted in the heart to keep blood flowing at a predictable rate during a procedure to unblock clogged blood vessels.
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More than 300,000 BMW owners will soon be eligible to claim their portion of a $478 million settlement over allegations that a design defect resulted in water damage to electrical components in vehicles’ trunks.

Reuters reports that the settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in New York last week, resolves a class-action lawsuit that claimed the carmaker knew for years about an issue in the affected vehicles that could cause water damage, interferring with the vehicle’s electrical components including lights, speedometer, and wipers, but did nothing to address the problem.

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