car safety

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Feds Probe 'Lunging' Ford Freestyle

Safety officials receive 238 complaints of lurches while idling, driving slowly

(Newser) - Federal safety officials are investigating the Ford Freestyle after getting 238 complaints that it can suddenly lunge forward when it’s supposed to be idling or moving slowly. Eighteen minor crashes were reported with one minor injury involving 2005 through 2007 Freestyles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the...

Traffic Deaths Hit 61-Year Low
 Traffic Deaths Hit 61-Year Low 
Apr 1, 2011 3:28 AM CDT

Traffic Deaths Hit 61-Year Low

2010 least deadly year on American roads since 1949

(Newser) - Some 32,788 people died on American roads in 2010, the smallest number since Harry Truman was in the White House—and there were a lot fewer people on the roads back then. Last year saw the fewest traffic accident deaths since 1949, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration...

Hey, Kids: You're Stuck in Back Seat Til Age 13

Academy of pediatrics ups age guidelines for car seats

(Newser) - Cue the choruses of, "Oh mom, do I have to?": The American Academy of Pediatrics has cracked down its carseat guidelines, reports the Washington Post , and they're likely to cause plenty of bickering. Among them:
  • All children should sit in the back seat until they are 13 years old
...

Study: Time for Fat Crash Dummies
Study: Time for
Fat Crash Dummies
Dec 22, 2010 1:27 PM CST

Study: Time for Fat Crash Dummies

Obesity brings higher risk of death in car crashes: study

(Newser) - Obese people face a much higher risk of death in car crashes—so doctors say we should be building overweight crash test dummies, the Daily Mail reports. A study of more than 150,000 US car crashes found that moderately obese people were 21% more likely to die in car...

10 Most Dangerous Cars Ever
 10 Most Dangerous Cars Ever 
Dec 5, 2010 8:02 PM CST

10 Most Dangerous Cars Ever

Smart car? Maybe not so smart

(Newser) - Some of us lovingly referred to our first car variously as "the jalopy," "the tin can on wheels," or "the death trap." And some of us were right. Here, as per Autoshippers, are the most dangerous cars of all time:
  • 1967-1971 Ford Pinto: Had
...

Thank Cadavers for Today's Car Safety

Automakers quietly rely on them in tests

(Newser) - Those cute crash test dummies make for better commercials, but automakers have long relied on a less-publicized way of ensuring safety: cadavers. Dummies and computer modeling have come a long way, but actual bodies provide more accurate results about, say, damage to internal organs in an accident, explains Justin Hyde...

Prius Growing Noisier to Warn Pedestrians

Toyota offers 'humming device' to help people hear hybrid coming

(Newser) - Prius drivers worried about mowing down pedestrians who can't hear them coming are being offered a chance to make their cars noisier. Toyota is selling a $150 device that makes a humming noise that's about as loud as a regular car's engine, AP reports. The speaker system is designed to...

Toyota's Top Test Driver Killed in Lexus 'Supercar'

He dies testing prototype of car he helped develop

(Newser) - Toyota's chief test driver has been killed driving a prototype of a Lexus LFA "supercar." Hiromu Naruse, 67, apparently veered out of his lane and collided with test drivers in a BMW. The two drivers in the BMW survived, though one is in critical condition, AOL Autos reports....

Chrysler Launches Massive Recall

Order covers hundreds of thousands of Jeeps, minivans

(Newser) - Chrysler is recalling almost 600,000 minivans and Jeep Wranglers in the US and another 100,000 elsewhere because of brake or wiring problems that could create safety issues, the company and federal regulators said today. The company is recalling 288,968 Jeep Wranglers from the 2006 through 2010 model...

Don't Buy This Lexus: Consumer Reports

GX 460 SUV flips in routine testing, magazine warns

(Newser) - The 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV is so dangerous that Consumer Reports has given it the rarely used "Don't Buy" designation, the magazine said today. The vehicle, which retails for about $52,000 to $57,000 , responded so badly "when pushed to its limits on a handling course"...

Toyota Stalled US Recall
 Toyota Stalled US Recall 
Apr 12, 2010 4:57 AM CDT

Toyota Stalled US Recall

Treated safety flaws differently in Europe, Canada

(Newser) - Toyota stalled on US recall pledges and treated the same safety problem differently in the US than in Europe and Canada, new documents released by the automaker show. “The time to hide on this one is over. We need to come clean,” an American Toyota executive urged the...

Toyoda: 'We Pursued Growth' Over Safety
 Toyoda: 'We Pursued 
 Growth' Over Safety 
CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY
Feb 24, 2010 1:25 PM CST

Toyoda: 'We Pursued Growth' Over Safety

Toyota CEO is 'deeply sorry' for accidents that may have killed 39

(Newser) - Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda is on Capitol Hill today to make amends for the safety issues that have plagued his company’s cars and are tied to 39 traffic fatalities. Toyoda told the House Oversight Committee that the automaker’s priorities had become confused. “We pursued growth over the...

'Humbled' Toyota Prez: We're Going Back to Basics

Akio Toyoda promises to make company a safety leader again

(Newser) - Toyota's president brushes up on his apologizing skills ahead of tomorrow's House testimony and outlines the steps the company is taking to become a leader in automotive safety in today's Wall Street Journal. Akio Toyoda, grandson of the company's founder, admits that the company has been slow to address customers'...

GM's $5K Minivan Is a Smash in China

...but with the power of a 'pumpkin on wheels,' it's likely staying there

(Newser) - General Motors has a major overseas hit in its Wuling Sunshine, a $5,000 minivan that gets more than 40 miles to the gallon. It sold 590,000 of them in China last year, but don't be too quick to complain that its foreign-only status is totally unfair: The Sunshine's...

Toyota Recall Spirals Into Lawsuit Frenzy

Car owners are suing over accidents and even lost value

(Newser) - The legal circus surrounding Toyota’s admitted safety issues has just begun, and could end up tacking billions more onto the final cost of the recall. Lawsuits are rolling in, and mainly fall into two camps: those seeking damages for accidents that may have been preventable, and those seeking compensation...

Web-Worthy Computers Coming to Your Dashboard
 Web-Worthy Computers 
 Coming to Your Dashboard  
DISTRACTED DRIVING dept.
Jan 7, 2010 10:51 AM CST

Web-Worthy Computers Coming to Your Dashboard

Some block web surfing in motion, but some don't

(Newser) - Advances in computer chip technology have finally made web-connected dashboard computers possible in cars, to the delight of automakers and the horror of safety advocates. Chips used to draw too much power to make state-of-the-art car setups viable, but that’s changed, and this year’s CES has seen a...

Ford's Inflatable Seat Belts Not Just Hot Air

More comfortable, and safer than regular airbags

(Newser) - Still not a fan of wearing your seat belt? Ford’s latest take on the safety standby could change your mind: It’s inflatable, as with vehicle air bags, and its softer webbing has been a comfortable hit with test groups. And unlike many front-seat airbags, the belts inflate with...

Ford Recalls Another 4.5M Vehicles Over Fire Hazard

Faulty switch linked to decade-long problems

(Newser) - Ford today made 4.5 million vehicles eligible for what is already its biggest recall ever. The move involves a faulty switch, an automatic cruise control deactivator made by Texas Instruments, that has been linked to at least 550 fires, mostly while the vehicles were turned off. Ford has now...

Traffic Tweets Send Mixed Messages
Traffic Tweets Send Mixed Messages
Sep 19, 2009 7:38 AM CDT

Traffic Tweets Send Mixed Messages

States send updates, but prohibit drivers from reading them

(Newser) - Safety experts complain that states are undermining their own no-texting-while-driving laws by offering motorists constant Twitter updates on traffic conditions, the AP reports. At least 22 states with laws that essentially ban drivers from using smartphones and similar devices behind the wheel provide such information, and, in some cases, readily...

US Squelched Data on Car Phone Danger

(Newser) - In 2003 a federal agency compiled hundreds of pages of research on the dangers of using cell phones while driving, but suppressed the findings because of pressure from Congress. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a part of the Transportation Department, also planned a long-term study of the risks of...

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