RETURN TO JANUARY 2004 NEWSLETTER

In the News

Every day the ARC Network updates the web site with valuable, important industry news.
Following are a few articles from last month.

VW Jetta In The Hot Seat As NHTSA Looks Into Burns The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into the Volkswagen Jetta after seven people reported they were burned by their seat warmers. Three people reported to NHTSA's Office of Defect Investigation injuries due to the overheated seats, and in some cases the seat covers showed evidence of a burn. NHTSA spokesman Tim Hurd said the agency in mid-November wrote to Volkswagen of America Inc., a subsidiary of German-based Volkswagen AG , notifying them of the investigation and requesting more data. Volkswagen spokesman Tony Fouladpour said the company would cooperate with any investigation of this type, but could not confirm the details NHTSA had posted on its Web site. The seat heater problems have occurred in the 2002 and 2003 models. NHTSA also upgraded its investigation into dashboard fires in the 1999 and 2000 Audi A6. The government agency opened its initial investigation into the fires in July on the basis of three complaints, and after receiving information from Audi, the agency has decided to undertake an engineering investigation. Audi AG , a publicly traded unit of Volkswagen AG, has reported back that it has heard of 19 similar complaints. Read the full article

Auto Club: New Rules of the Road for 2004 Red light camera reform, changes to the teen driver learner permit criteria and seat belt fine increases are a few of the new laws going into effect beginning Jan. 1, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. "The new laws focus on driver and passenger safety and are designed to strengthen existing regulations," said Alice Bisno, the Auto Club's vice president for legislative and regulatory affairs. The following are among the new laws taking effect Jan. 1, unless otherwise noted: Red Light Cameras AB 1022 reforms California's current red light camera program by specifying that certain functions of the program cannot be delegated to the red light camera vendor. It also prohibits vendors from being paid on a per-ticket basis. Cities and counties with red light camera programs must establish citation-processing guidelines for the vendor to follow, which include assurances that only citations that have been reviewed and approved by law enforcement are mailed to violators. The legislation also requires the local government entity to oversee the establishment of any change to a traffic signal light timing and clarifies that minimum yellow light intervals are maintained, unless a city or county establishes a longer interval. Data Recorder Equipment AB 213, effective July 1, 2004, provides that a manufacturer of a new motor vehicle that is equipped with an "event data recorder" must disclose the existence of this equipment in the owner's manual for vehicles manufactured on or after July 1, 2004. These devices record the speed of a vehicle, brake performance and other data. The law also requires that the owner give permission before the information is accessed, except under certain circumstances, such as a court order or for purposes related to vehicle repair. Read the full article

SUVs Responsible for More Pedestrian Deaths; Rowan Engineering Research Reveals Vehicles' Threat Pedestrians struck by light trucks and vans (LTVs), including sports utility vehicles (SUVs), suffer a higher fatality rate than those struck by a traditional passenger car, according to research conducted by Dr. Clay Gabler, a Mechanical Engineering professor at Rowan University, Glassboro, N.J., and 2000 (B.S.) and 2001 (M.S.) Rowan graduate Devon Lefler. Gabler and Lefler's work -- "The Fatality and Injury Risk of Light Truck Impacts with Pedestrians in the United States" -- recently was published in Accident Analysis & Prevention. While previous studies indicated collisions between LTVs/SUVs and cars showed greater threats to car passengers (car passengers suffered 81 percent of fatalities), the risk to pedestrians in accidents as a function of vehicle body type for cars, light trucks and vans in the United States had not been explored. Gabler and Lefler analyzed United States traffic accident statistics involving SUVs, pickup trucks, full-sized vans and minivans from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) General Sampling System and NASS Pedestrian Crash Data Study (PCDS). Read the full article

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