Current Events

New Technology to Reduce Many Types of Crashes

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed new safety regulations that got very little coverage; perhaps because the proposed rule came out on December 13th just before the yearend holidays. These regulations would use a new technology – vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) radio communications – that would allow vehicles to automatically send vehicle sensor data – the vehicle’s speed, heading, brake status and other information – to other vehicles to alert drivers to potential crash situations.

This is interesting technology that could impact the speed with which autonomous vehicles become viable. That is because the chief impediment to the viability of autonomous vehicles are fears that they are not safe enough.

There are already advanced crash avoidance technologies available that employ on-board sensor technologies - such as vehicle camera systems, RADAR, and LIDAR - to monitor a vehicles’ surroundings.

Federal regulators are investigating whether to recall about 313,000 2013 Hyundai Sonatas after receiving allegations that the front passenger seat belt broke loose in a crash.

The investigation was prompted by complaints by two owners.

In each case the owner claimed that the front passenger belt broke away from its anchoring point on the floor, the investigators wrote in a report on the website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

There was one injury, the seriousness of which was not detailed.

“Another vehicle ran the red light and hit us at approximately 45 miles per hour,” an owner from Buena Park, California wrote about a crash in August.
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Buckled in her booster seat in the back of her family’s Toyota Camry, Moriah Modisette got the worst of the crash.

It was the day before Christmas 2014, and Moriah and her family — father James, mother Bethany and older sister Isabella — were in Denton County, Tex., headed south on Interstate 35W.

There was some kind of police activity ahead that brought traffic to a standstill, so James Modisette pressed the brake, bringing the car to a stop in the left lane.

Garrett Wilhelm never saw their brake lights, police believe.
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Some Land Rover SUVs and Jaguar XF sedans are being evaluated following reports of consumer injuries after the vehicles rolled away while parked, according to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

NHTSA’s Office of Defect Investigation (ODI) has received seven reports of rollaways for model year 2012-2014 Land Rover Evoque sport-utility vehicles and 2013 Jaguar XF cars. An estimated 39,000 vehicles may be affected, according to the report on NHTSA’s website.
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A federal appeals court on Wednesday revived a lawsuit accusing Medtronic Plc of defrauding shareholders by covering up negative side effects from its Infuse bone growth product for nearly a decade.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul, Minnesota said a lower court judge erred in finding that the plaintiff shareholders sued too late, by waiting more than two years after learning information that could suggest an intent to defraud.
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Takata and its ongoing airbag saga headlines today’s Daily Drive-Thru with reports stating a high-dollar criminal probe settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice while the U.S. Department of Transportation continues to look for ways to accelerate replacement of the defective airbags.
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Kristiana Tweed Burrell, whose stillborn daughter Ariel Grace inspired the name of a bill that would have enhanced a victim's ability to sue medical device manufacturers, has filed a lawsuit in North Carolina against Bayer Corp. for damages caused by its sterilization implant Essure.

The complaint alleges medical malpractice, negligence and wrongful death. It was filed Dec. 16 on behalf of Burrell, as an individual and as the administrator of her daughter's estate, in Buncombe County, N.
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Shifting a vehicle from park into gear and back again is among the most basic of driver functions, akin to learning how to use the brakes.

Yet, for the second time in less than 18 months, federal safety regulators are investigating why drivers of some Fiat Chrysler vehicles are having problems getting their cars to get into or stay in park.

In April, FCA recalled 1.1 million vehicles equipped with a vexing European-style three-position shifter that, according to a lawsuit, led to the June death of Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin. Now in safety investigators' cross-hairs: the four-stop rotary dial shifter FCA began using in 2012 to make more room in the center console of its best-selling Ram 1500 pickup.
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A federal judge said on Thursday that Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) has reached an agreement in principle to provide "substantial compensation" to the owners of about 80,000 3.0-liter polluting diesel vehicles, a key hurdle to resolve the German automaker's emissions scandal.

U.S.
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Vehicles Affected: Approximately 6,000 model-year 2016-17 Hyundai Tucson SUVs manufactured between May 19, 2015, and Nov. 14, 2016, and model-year 2017 Santa Fe SUVs manufactured between Nov. 28, 2015, and Nov. 14, 2016

The Problem: An accessory trailer hitch wiring harness may have a malfunctioning tow-hitch module, which could result in a trailer's brake lights being constantly illuminated while in use, possibly confusing other drivers and increasing the risk of a crash.

The Fix: Dealers will replace the accessory trailer hitch wiring harness for free.
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The Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule Dec. 19, banning the use of most powdered medical gloves.

The rule, which goes into effect Jan. 18, applies to patient examination gloves, powdered surgeon's gloves and absorbable powder for lubricating a surgeon's glove. 

"While use of these gloves is decreasing, they pose an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury to health care providers, patients and other individuals who are exposed to them, which cannot be corrected through new or updated labeling," the agency said in a March news release.
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