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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.

 

New Jersey city sues Ford over police car safety A New Jersey city has sued Ford Motor Co., alleging the Ford Crown Victoria sedan often used as a police cruiser is prone to leak fuel and catch fire in high-speed, rear-end collisions. In a lawsuit seeking class action status, the city of New Brunswick, New Jersey, echoed concerns that have also been raised by the state of Arizona over the safety of the Crown Victoria, whose fuel tank is behind the rear axle, where officials said it is prone to being punctured in a crash. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, claims Ford has known for decades that the fuel-tank placement could lead to fires in crashes, and that its own internal tests shows the tanks leak in 50-mph crash tests. "Ford's practice of marketing and selling the Crown Victoria with a known hazardous design amounts to an illegal act or unconscionable business practice," the city said in its lawsuit. Read the full article

Red-Light Cameras Should Not Replace Sound Traffic Engineering, AAA Says AAA recommended today that local jurisdictions considering red-light cameras should first apply all practical traffic engineering countermeasures. While recognizing the dangers of the alarming increase of crashes due to red-light running, delegates to the AAA Annual Meeting, celebrating the association's centennial, gave strong support to specific engineering measures designed to reduce these crashes. These include engineering improvements such as adjusting signal timing, making lane improvements, evaluating sight-distances and improving signage. "Although some local jurisdictions are looking at red-light cameras as the quick fix, it is not always the most effective means of reducing crashes at intersections," said Susan G. Pikrallidas, vice president of AAA Public Affairs. According to safety analyses conducted by AAA Michigan, implementation of various engineering safety countermeasures other than red-light cameras have resulted in significant decreases in intersection crashes. Read the full article

Seat Belts No Longer an ``Option'' CarSafe, the brain-child of independent inventor Lynthia Muller may soon make those "Buckle-Up!" signs on the interstate obsolete. CarSafe is a locking device housed within the gearshift that prevents an automobile's gears from being moved out of the Park/Neutral position. When the seatbelt is fastened, a sensor within the belt buckle releases the locking device and allows for normal gear shifting. Weight sensors in vehicle seats coordinate with the seatbelt sensors alerting CarSafe of passenger positions. If a seatbelt is removed while the car is in motion, CarSafe sounds an alarm until the belt has been re-attached. "The number of preventable traffic fatalities is appalling. We have laws mandating seat belt use, yet still only about 67% of us wear them regularly," says Ms. Muller. "Auto accidents are currently the leading cause of death among people aged 6 to 27 and are in the top five among the rest of us." The most recent data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) states that car accidents claim the lives of 43,000 Americans each year. NHTSA also states that roughly half of these deaths could be avoided by the use of a seatbelt. Read the full article

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