Earlier Green News
Note that many links have now "expired" (a casualty of on-the-fly web
pages) - see what you missed!
- 21 Dec 16 ANCAP: Road Safety Champion retires following more than two decades of dedication to saving lives on Australasia’s roads - congratulations Lauchlan.
- 20 Dec 16 ETSC: Commission outlines plans for safer cars, vans and lorries + EC: Saving lives with safer cars (mandating AEB, ISA and Seat Belt Reminders)
- 8 Dec 16 OneMoreSecond.com: Industry mourns loss of beloved research expert, Dr. Will Murray + ETSC: In memory of our friend Will
- 1 Oct 16 SMH: Drongo the budgerigar may be model for future air [and road?] safety
- 19 Sep 16 IRCOBI: Saving Lives with Safer Cars: The Past, Present and Future of Consumer Safety Ratings + Powered
Two‐Wheeler Accidents in Germany with Severe Injury Out come ‐ Accident
Scenarios, Injury Sources and Potential Countermeasures
["The most common pre‐crash scenarios were found to be powered
two‐wheelers losing control, or that another vehicle did not notice the
powered two‐wheeler...n 45% of the AIS 3+ injured PTW cases the
scenarios indicated that the PTW was not noticed by the car or heavy
vehicle driver before impact, and therefore better PTW conspicuity or vehicle‐based warning or AEB systems able to detect PTWs could be effective in these cases" - a strong case for motorcycle DRLs?]
- 27 Aug 16 7Yahoo: 'I thought I was going to die': [Bicycle] Helmet saves billionaire Richard Branson
- 13 Aug 16 ABC: NT open speed limits put all road-users at risk, doctors groups say
- 12 Jul 16 CNN: Second Tesla autopilot crash under federal scrutiny.
- 4 Jul 16 Safety Wissen: Dr. Adrian Lund receives the “BMW Vehicle Safety Lifetime Achievement Award” [congratulations Adrian]
- 4 Jul 16 Japan Times: Tesla driver killed in crash with truck first U.S. fatality using autopilot [Opinion:
Telsa is claiming 130 million miles of auto-driving experience. As it
happens 1 fatality per 200 million kilometres (~130 million miles) is
the road fatality rate in most developed nations. Trials will need to
go for much much longer before any claims about increased safety can be
made] + NHTSA urges owners of 313,000 older Honda models to get Takata air bags fixed [perhaps 50% of US vehicles are "unsafe"]
- 4 Jul 16 News.com.au: Here is how to find out if your car has been recalled and what you should do next (800,000 Mitsubishi & Toyota vehicles in Australia) +
- 1 Jun 16 ETSC: Ford says Intelligent Speed Assistance proving popular
- Ford says 95% of customers are opting for its version of Intelligent
Speed Assistance, known as Intelligent Speed Limiter, to be fitted on
new Galaxy and S-Max models sold in Europe + Telematics cut speeding by 97% says UK fleet manager - reduced speeding by 97% and crashes by 47% as well as reducing maintenance costs and improving fuel economy + London to require ISA on all new buses from next year.
- 28 May 16 Scientific American ($): What "Self-Driving" Cars Will Really Look Like
- [reality check!] "Achieving these [software] standards will be
profoundly difficult...the code required will be orders of magnitude
more complex than what it takes to fly an airplane..."
- 9 May 16 SMH: Insurers set to track driver behaviour ( see also Pay-How-You-Drive car insurance)
- 15 Apr 16 ETSC: How safe are new cars sold in the EU? - An analysis of the market penetration of Euro NCAP-rated cars
- 14 Apr 16 Austroads: Achieving Safe System Speeds on Urban Arterial Roads: Compendium of Good Practice
- 14Apr 16 IIHS: Speed limit increases cause 33,000 deaths in 20 years (PDF)
- 20 Feb 16 AAP ($):
- 7 Jan 16 9News: Victorian government wants Australia-wide hoverboard ban (see SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL MOTORISED ALTERNATIVE VEHICLES)
- 14 Nov 15 EU: Benefit
and feasibility of a range of new technologies and unregulated measures
in the field of vehicle occupant safety and protection of vulnerable
road users (ISA may become mandatory in Europe under rulemaking being considered in 2016)
- 10 Nov 15 SciAm: Why Car Hacking Is Nearly Impossible - Despite recent claims, your car is not about to get crashed by hackers
- 2 Nov 15 AAP ($):
- 30 Oct 15 ETSC: Opinion: Has ISA’s time finally come? + ISA-fitted cars start to hit showrooms (see Speed)
- 30 Oct 15 SMH: Volvo tests technology to prevent kangaroo collisions.
- 30 Oct 15 Japan Times: Driverless systems are scene-stealers at Tokyo Motor Show.
- 1 Oct 15 ESA: Safer space for cars
- A spacecraft software tool is now improving car safety by
stress-testing many of the internal computer systems to be sure they
work well when the car is on the road.
- 12 Sep 15 IIHS: U.S. DOT and IIHS announce historic commitment from 10 automakers to include automatic emergency braking on all new vehicles - Audi, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo
- 11 Sep 15 ANCAP: Changes at ANCAP
- CEO, Nick Clarke, will step down at the end of September to pursue
other interests [Opinion: It has been a pleasure to work with Nick for
the past decade. He has been instrumental in the continued success of
ANCAP and he has made a key contribution to international NCAP programs]
- 5 Sep 15 Japan Times: Auto recalls break record in Japan; air bags not only problem + US NHTSA: NHTSA Releases List of All Makes and Models Affected by Takata Air Bag Recalls
- 22 Aug 15 ABC: Trucking boss Peter Colbert jailed for more than 12 years over driver Robert Brimson's death (faulty brakes - see roadworthiness)
- 22 Jul 15 South Australia DPTI: SA set to host first on-road driverless car trials in Southern Hemisphere.
- 15 Jul 15 ANCAP: Australian 5 star trends and benefits presented at global vehicle safety conference. Technical paper: Vehicle Safety Trends and the Influence of NCAP Safety Ratings
- 15 Jul 15 Goauto: More top ANCAP scores.
- 15 Jul 15 (been away!) - links to co-authored 2015 ESV papers added
- 14 May 15 Traffic Injury Prevention: A One Year Pay-as-You-Speed Trial With Economic Incentives for Not Speeding ( see also Pay-How-You-Drive car insurance)
- 13 May 15 ANCAP: Study confirms effectiveness of Autonomous Emergency Braking + Euro NCAP: Study Confirms High Effectiveness of Low Speed Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB).
- 16 Apr 15 ANCAP: New Mitsubishi Triton rises to 5 stars. Mix of 4 and 5 stars for other marques.
- 6 Apr 15 AAP: Motor-vehicle collisions involving child pedestrians at intersection and mid-block locations + Effects of driver age and experience in abrupt-onset hazards + What determines the take-over time? An integrated model approach of driver take-over after automated driving.
- 30 Mar 15 TMR: Ford Intelligent Speed Limiter Aims To End Speeding Fines (see also ISA) (thanks Graham Day)
- 25 Mar 15 ETSC: EU road safety progress grinding to a halt
- "Technologies such as Automated Emergency Braking and Intelligent
Speed Assistance and getting seat belt reminders on all seats could
revolutionise vehicle safety..."
- 25 Mar 15 Car&Driver: 2016 Chevrolet Malibu to Debut New Spyware Targeting Teen Drivers.
- 24 Mar 15 BBC: Bus crash in Peru leaves 36 dead.
- 23 Mar 15 Drive: Ford Ranger slammed over “ridiculous” safety omissions (for developing markets)
- 16 Mar 15 BBC: Brazil bus crash: At least 49 killed on way to religious event (see bus seat belts)
- 12 Mar 15 Global NCAP: Millions of New Cars Worldwide Fail UN Safety Standards + Democratising Car Safety: Road Map for Safer Cars 2020 + ANCAP: Global NCAP calls for all new cars to meet basic universal standards for crash protection and crash avoidance + IIHS: IIHS backs call for safer vehicles everywhere.
- 12 Mar 15 TU Automotive: Driverless cars: Hype is just hype – what’s the reality?
- 20 Feb 15 ACRS: ARSC2015 - Call for Abstracts - NOW OPEN
- the inaugural Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC2015) to be
held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Queensland,
Australia, from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 October 2015.
- 7 Feb 15 Consumer Reports: Everything you need to know about the Takata air bag recall.
- 28 Jan 15 ETSC:
- 26 Jan 15 SMH: Hackers could infiltrate NSW traffic and sewage systems, Auditor-General Grant Hehir warns.
- 11 Jan 15 CARHS Safety News:
- 10 Jan 15 Japan Times: Honda to pay $70 million to U.S. for failure to report deaths, injuries.
- 8 Jan 15 Daily Mail: Is sat-nav putting YOUR life at risk? One in 7 drivers admit making risky manoeuvres to correct GPS mistakes (thanks Graham Day)
- 8 Jan 15 IIHS: Laying the groundwork for safety improvements for back-seat occupants + Rear seat safety: variation in protection by occupant, crash and vehicle characteristics +
- 8 Jan 15 CNN: Some OnStar users may get a break on car insurance (monitors excessive acceleration and braking - see also Pay-how-you-drive insurance)
- 9 Jul 14 ETSC: Intelligent Speed Assistance ‘most effective’ driver support system (see Speed Control).
- 5 Jan 14 CarAdvice: 2014 Australian road toll falls to lowest level since 1945 [safer vehicles a major contributor to the reduction]
- 30 Dec 14 Japan Times: No quick fix for Takata air bag issue as blame game continues.
- 16 Dec 14 Nine News: New braking technology developed in Australia to save young lives (see also Driveways Comment: reversing cameras and other technologies
can reduce but will not "prevent" these incidents - there is no
substitute for close supervision of children near vehicles)
- 8 Dec 14 Goauto: Nissan recalls 6000 cars over fuel leak concern [Patrol, Juke, X-Trail and Pulsar] + ADR/EU harmonisation means rear-view mirrors can be replaced by cameras (see driveway safety)
- 8 Dec 14 CNN: Takata says refusal to comply with regulator is best for customer safety.
- 6 Dec 14 Stay Safe Rangers website
- 1 Dec 14 ITS Australia: Transport for New South Wales – Project Description: ISA Smart Phone Application “Speed Adviser” nominated for an award
- 12 Nov 14 ANCAP: Consumers to benefit from higher safety standards.
- 12 Nov 14 Global NCAP: China NCAP to host Global NCAP’s 2014 Annual Meeting
- 12 Nov 14 Business Standard: 60 killed in road accident in Pakistan [bus and truck crash - see Busbelt.]
- 27 Oct 14 IIHS: Eyes on the road: Searching for answers to the problem of distracted driving.
- 23 Oct 14 The Conversation: Self-driving cars will not help the drinking driver + Driverless vehicles: the uses and benefits (thanks Ian Faulks)
- 23 Oct 14 Goauto: ANCAP: Hyundai’s Genesis tops safety tests. ANCAP results.
- 1 Oct 14 ABC: Alcohol interlock devices mandatory in Victoria for drink drivers who have licences cancelled.
- 19 Sep 14 SMH: Queensland researcher warns of car hacking threat.
- 16 Sep 14 ACRS: 2014 ACRS Submission to
The Australian Road Safety Community (PDF)
- 15 Sep 14 Press Trust of India: New Motor Vehicle Act Proposes Intelligent Driving Solutions
- Intelligent speed adaptation, driver alert control and eye drowsiness
detectors are some of the features proposed in new Motor Bill...
- 12 Sep 14 SMH: Methadone truck driver jailed for killing three in Hume Highway crash.
- 10 Sep 14 Japan Today: Toyota: Cars will be safer, but still need drivers.
- 1 Sep 14 NTC: Industry to have a say on opportunities to improve heavy vehicle roadworthiness
[hopefully more than just industry get to have a say! For background on
the NSW Heavy Vehicle Inspection Scheme, which turns 30 next year, see these links. A clear definition of defects is set out in this 1999 NTC (!) document: National Guidelines for Assessment of Defective Vehicles. Attachment A is a comprehensive list classifying defects.
- 22 Aug 14 Northern Daily Leader: Local drivers fined after bull bar blitz.
- 20 Aug 14 Global NCAP: Latin NCAP: Peugeot and FIAT make progress on safety but Chevy disappoints.
- 20 Aug 14 BBC: Google's driverless cars designed to exceed speed limit [by up to 10mph] - a stunning admission when the safety of these vehicles is under scrutiny. See speed control.
- 8 Aug 14 Goauto: Renault gets all Twizy in Australia - see also Euro NCAP’s Spotlight Falls on Heavy Quadricycles , SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL MOTORISED ALTERNATIVE VEHICLES & Low-speed vehicles aren't crashworthy, new tests show.
- 8 Aug 14 Drive: Insurance discounts for self-braking cars + News.com: Self-braking cars should be standard: NRMA
- 8 Aug 14 Daimler: "Real-life safety" philosophy: Crash test against S-Class: new smart fortwo offers comprehensive occupant protection.
- 8 Aug 14 CNN: 89 claims filed so far by GM victims & families
- 8 Aug 14 IBT: Takata Airbag Recall: Does Your Car Have One Of These Dangerous, Shrapnel Spitting Airbags? (US models) + The Motor Report: Recalls: BMW Takata Airbags,.. (Australian models)
- 3 Aug 14 Paultan.org: Toyota DARV 1.5 – exploring driver awareness further + TMR: Sensor-loaded Seatbelt May Save Fatigued Drivers ((thanks Graham Day)
- 3 Aug 14 IIHSA: Small car ratings vary in small overlap test.
- 21 Jul 14 JNCAP: Detailed crash test ratings for 2013-14 available in English.
- 17 Jul 14 IIHS: Safety rides shotgun: the best used vehicles for teen drivers - see also Young Drivers
- 14 Jul 14 Goauto:
- 16 Jun 14 Goauto: Road fatalities put vehicle safety in spotlight.
- 10 Jun 14 SMH: Car registration idea puts value on safety, environment
- 5 Jun 14 Euro NCAP: Euro NCAP’s Spotlight Falls on Heavy Quadricycles (see also this 2011 ESV paper SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL MOTORISED ALTERNATIVE VEHICLES)
- 2 Jun 14 Technology Tell: Ford inflatable seat belts may be licensed to other automakers (thanks Graham Day)
- 29 May 14 AAP ($): Bicycle
helmets are highly effective at preventing head injury during head
impact: Head-form accelerations and injury criteria for helmeted and
unhelmeted impacts - "bicycle helmets changed the probability of
severe brain injury from extremely likely (99.9% risk at both 5.4 and
6.3 m/s) to unlikely (9.3% and 30.6% risk..."
- 26 May 14 Drive: 32,000 Hyundais [ix35] recalled for airbag check.
- 26 May 14 Goauto: New distributor Ateco recalls all Foton Tunlands - Non-compliant jack behind Foton Tunland recall, could cause a “crush hazard”
- 21 May 14 ANCAP: Vehicle safety a continuing priority for the Federal Government - ANCAP funding commitment
- 11 May 14 Global NCAP: [ANCAP] Vehicle safety program recognised by HRH Prince Michael of Kent
- 11 May 14 Accident Analysis and Prevention ($): Can providing feedback on driving behavior and training on parental vigilant care affect male teen drivers and their parents?
- "providing feedback on driving behavior and parental training in
vigilant care significantly improves the driving behavior of young
novice male drivers..."
- 1 May 14 Miami Herald: Following years of debate, Senate approves car seat bill; awaits governor’s signature.
- 28 Apr 14 Global NCAP: Crash test organisations from around the world to meet in Melbourne.(5 May 2014 - there is also a road safety workshop on 7 May)
- 24 Apr 14 ABC: Truck driver gets 3 years jail for killing student and tow truck driver on Hume Highway
- 24 Apr 14 NHTSA: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Rear Visibility - Final Rule.
- 24 Apr 14 IIHS: Regulators revive truck recorder rule after legal setback
- electronic logbooks on commercial vehicles (I prepared a
specification for electronic log books in 1989 when I was working for
the RTA! Here is a recent Australian spec)
- 24 Apr 14 Goauto: Australian Camry to miss out on safety tech - AEB on US model but not for Australia
- 22 Apr 14 Computerworld!: Connected vehicle tech trial to start trucking on in NSW.
- 7 Apr 14 RACV: 2014 Global Road Safety forum 5-7 May 2014 in Melbourne.
- 7 Apr 14 GizMag; TRW's roof-mounted [passenger frontal] airbag to debut on Citroen C4 Cactus (thanks Graham Day)
- 21 Mar 14 ANCAP: The importance of ESC clear in new ratings.
- 15 Mar 14 BBC: GM recall: Report 'links' faulty vehicles to 303 deaths - note quotes around 'links'.
- 14 Mar 14 IIHS: Preventing driveway tragedies: Rear cameras help drivers see behind them (see also Driveway safety - reversing cameras and other technologies
can reduce but will not "prevent" these incidents - there is no
substitute for close supervision of children near vehicles)
- 4 Mar 14 PR News: Apple rolls out CarPlay giving drivers smarter, safer, more fun way to use iPhone in car.
- 4 Mar 14 NEURA: National Child Restraint Best Practice Guidelines.
- 24 Feb 14 ABC: Government urged to expedite compulsory high-tech braking system adoption (ESC) - see this 2004 report that looked at ESC on cars and heavy vehicles.
- 5 Feb 14 USA Today: Too many children still dying in car crashes
- 5 Feb 14 Japan Today: Car-to-car talk: Hey, look out for that collision!
- 5 Feb 14 IIHS: Minicars fall short for small overlap frontal protection.
- 3 Feb 14 ANCAP: Updates to the ANCAP Road Map and Variant Policy are available on the ANCAP media page (see "Protocol papers")
- 30 Jan 14 Car Dekho: Indian NCAP system coming soon.
- 20 Dec 13 ANCAP: ’Tis the season . . . . . . for 5 star safety - 9 5-star safety ratings released.
- 20 Dec 13 IIHS: IIHS safety awards for 2014 go to 39 vehicles.
- 17 Dec 13 NewSci: Police could use radio waves to bring cars to a halt (and others?)
- 17 Dec 13 Euro NCAP: On the Road with Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems + Cars of the future need "Readable" roads now + Maserati Ghibli in latest round of crash test ratings.
- 20 Nov 13 CBT: Miros crash test old Saga.
- 20 Nov 13 Car Safety Rules: Cost of crash prevention technologies set to fall.
- 18 Nov 13 NEURA: Vehicle safety seminar - Bringing up the rear - Sydney December 4th, free.
- 15 Nov 13 Detroit News: NHTSA wants automakers to fast-track vehicle technology (thanks Graham Day)
- 12 Nov 13 AAP ($): A different perspective on conspicuity related motorcycle crashes
- Previous research often concluded that car drivers
fail to yield to motorcycles (MCs)... In many scenarios car drivers do
not fail to yield to MCs more often than to cars... Only when the car
makes a left turn [across the path of an oncoming vehicle], drivers
fail to yield to MCs relatively often. [comment: this scenario is
precisely the one where long-distance conspicuity is needed, such as bright yellow front turn signals used as DRLs]
- 11 Nov 13 BBC: The cars we’ll be driving in the world of 2050.
- 7 Nov 13 Ingenie - UK pay-how-you-drive insurance for young drivers in the UK. Uses a black box recorder to assess safe driving performance.
- 1 Nov 13 Land Transport NZ: Research Report 521 An investigation into the deployment of an advisory ISA system in New Zealand (thanks Ian Faulks)
- 1 Nov 13 Stuff.co.nz: Child car seats now compulsory till age 7 [New Zealand] - for background see Stronger laws for the safer restraint of children (2007). NZTA advice.
- 1 Nov 13 Euro NCAP: On the Road with Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems - a component of the Safety Assist score from 2014.
- 29 Oct 13 Telegraph: Truck cuts safety fears
- "...plan to cut 21 team leader positions from the heavy vehicle
inspection team". I have scanned several documents associated with the
introduction of the NSW Heavy Vehicle Inspection Scheme (HVIS) in 1985:
- 29 Oct 13 AAP ($): A computational simulation study of the influence of helmet wearing on head injury risk in adult cyclists -
They reduced the risk of an AIS > 3 injury, in cases with head
impacts, by an average of 40%... There was no evidence that helmet
wearing increased the risk of neck injury, indeed helmets were found to
be protective of neck injuries in many cases.
- 5 Sep 13 Euro NCAP: Euro NCAP Releases Latest Round of Crash Tests.
- 20 Aug 13 Traffic Injury Prevention: Peer-Reviewed Journal for the 23rd International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles
- 7 Aug 13 CarSafety Rules: Alto K10 crash test highlights how India car industry neglects safety.
- 27 Jul 13 Royal Institution of Australia: Low level speeding.
- 20 Jul 13 New Scientist ($): Don't think and drive or you'll crash + $25 gadget lets hackers seize control of a car + Cars that look around to work out where they are.
- 3 Jul 13 CarSafetyRules: Euro NCAP wants Speed Assist tech to help drivers control speeding (see also Speed Control) + DEVELOPMENT OF AN ASSESSMENT PROTOCOL FOR AFTER-MARKET SPEED LIMIT ADVISORY DEVICES - 23rd ESV (2013)
- 6 Jun 13 SRS: NHTSA Drops the Hammer on Chrysler Jeeps.
- 6 Jun 13 ANCAP: Calls for new wave of reform to reduce road trauma + Top safety rating for home-grown VF Commodore
- 6 Jun 13 Global NCAP: Global NCAP seeks support to eliminate sub-standard safety + US car safety organisation plans to promote driver assist systems + Global NCAP movement marks gathering momentum at Seoul Annual Meeting [Congratulations
to Euro NCAP, Volvo, Adrian Hobbs, Keith Rogers and Maurice Eaton for
their awards. Also to Prof Youn for his NHTSA award]
- 10 May 13 ANCAP: Driving forward pedestrian safety + Malibu reaches the peak, while Freemont falls short
- 10 May 13 The Motor Report: Australian Road Safety Groups Look To The Future On Pedestrian Safety
- 1 May 13 Amarillo (Texas): House OKs stricter child restraint law.
- 12 Apr 13 ABC: Thousands of cars recalled from Australian roads
- the front passenger [airbag] may not inflate correctly because of a
manufacturing defect in the propellant used in the airbag inflator.
Affects some Hondas, Mazdas, Nissans & Toyota built between 2001
and 2004. Details should be on the ACCC recalls website soon.
- 12 Apr 13 Kids and Cars: Families of Children Killed in Car Backover Incidents and Safety Groups Urge Obama Administration to Take Action on
Rearview Cameras in Cars. Comment: reversing cameras and other technologies
can reduce but will not "prevent" these incidents - there is no
substitute for close supervision of children near vehicles.
- 10 Apr 13 ANCAP: Sports car, SUV or hatch - maximum safety available for all car types.
- 10 Apr 13 CARHS: Updates to several NCAP Protocols
- 20 Mar 13 Japan Today: Honda recalls 250,000 vehicles worldwide over braking problem ("improper electronics and wiring in the vehicle-stability-assist system") + Toyota recalls 310,000 FJ Cruiser SUVs on seatbelt issue.
- 13 Mar 13 Herald Sun: Number-plate technology to help pick cars fitted with alcohol interlock devices + Wheels.ca: Why GM’s centre airbag is 2013’s best new technology + CarSafetyRules: Renault Zoe to make electric cars safer and more affordable + Drive: The car that can avoid cyclists (thanks Graham Day)
- 28 Feb13 Goauto": ANCAP: Foton Tunland awarded three stars + Five ANCAP stars for Proton Preve
- 28 Feb 13 ANCAP: A first for Proton; Prevé achieves 5 star ANCAP safety rating + Important safety ratings for 4x4 buyers.
- 21 Feb AAP ($)
- 18 Feb 13 SMHL: Driver who caused 'catastrophic injuries' after his car hit mother and baby escapes jail
- Mr Wayland told police he mounted the kerb after the accelerator
pedal in the car became caught under a floor-mat and jammed. The court
heard from other Lexus car owners who said they had experienced similar
problems.
- 18 Feb 13 Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 52 ($):
- 1 Feb 13 ANCAP: New Southeast Asian car safety rating program reveals mix of ratings + ASEAN NCAP
- 18 Jan 13 Physics.org: App helps catch drunk drivers [actually, it records the view of the road ahead - thanks Graham Day]
- 18 Jan 13 RedOrbit: NTSB Pushes For Ignition Locks For Drunk Drivers [thanks Graham Day]
- 17 Jan 13 CREP: Latest child restraint assessments published.
- 5 Jan 13 NewSci: Graphic in-car crash warnings to slow speeding drivers + SciAm: How Likely Are You to Die…Today? (the "microlife")
- 20 Dec 12 IIHS: Family cars outperform luxury models in rigorous new crash test - Suzuki Kizashi is the only midsize moderately priced car to earn a good rating for structure in the small overlap test.
- 20 Dec 12 Euro NCAP: Fading Stars: Toyota Aygo and twins [Citroën C1 and Peugeot 107] disappoint in safety tests - 3 stars
- 20 Dec 12 ANCAP: 5 star safety leads the way this Christmas.
- 20 Dec 12 CNN: Toyota to pay record safety fine - floor mats in Lexus RX.
- 20 Dec 12 BRAKE seminar: Blind spots and manoeuvring: preventing crashes with cyclists and pedestrians - Birmingham UK, 28 May 2013 + Using in-vehicle technology to improve driver safety - Birmingham UK, 23 January 2013
- 18 Dec 12 NewSci: Touchpad steering wheel keeps eyes on the road - nice to see it seems to have an ISA function.
- 7 Dec 12 Drive: Elderly people need newer cars: study "Injuries to older drivers could be reduced by 90 per cent if they upgraded to the safest vehicle available currently for sale in Australia..." + MUARC: The potential crash and injury reduction benefits of safer vehicle choices for older drivers in Australia and New Zealand.
- 5 Dec 12 IIHS Status Report: Intelligent speed adaptation devices can reduce speeding.
- 4 Dec 12 Foxbusiness: Will Insurers Soon Pay us Not to Speed? See also Pay-How-You-Drive car insurance
- 12 Sep 12 SMH: Bus expert: seatbelts not the answer. See also bus seat belts and (2007!) Seatbelts to be fitted in school buses.
- 5 Sep 12 India Today: Government plans pre-fitted GPS devices on vehicles to check speed
- 5 Sep 12 Mix Telematics: Managing driver speed.
- 31 Aug 12 ANCAP: Australasia’s next electric car achieves top safety rating.
- 31 Aug 12 Euro NCAP: When innovation and a world first brings higher vehicle safety.
- 31 Aug 12 Messring: MESSRING is mourning its company founder Ulrich Führer,
a pioneer in accident research in Germany and an innovator in the
development and construction of modern crash testing facilities across
the world.
- 29 Aug 12 Goauto: Holden recalls 50,000 vehicles - Barina, Captiva, Epica and Viva recalled due to potential brake control module issue
- 15 Aug 12 IIHS: New crash test aims to drive improvements
in protecting people in frontal crashes + New crash test by insurance group may add to vehicle weight, cost (thanks Steve Oesch) + New Insurance Institute crash test trips several upscale models.
- 13 Aug 12 Daily Telegraph: Favourite holiday destination Bali claims Australian life every nine days - He said traffic accidents [scooters] were the biggest cause of deaths after natural causes or pre-existing conditions.
- 3 Aug 12 NHTSA: An Analysis of Recent Improvements to Vehicle Safety
(4Mb PDF) - The likelihood of escaping a crash uninjured has
improved from 79 to 82 percent as a result of improvements between the
2000 and 2008 car fleets (thanks Steve Oesch)
- 27 Jul 12 SciAm: Smart Headlights Let Drivers See Through Rain and Snow
- 18 Jul 12 Goauto: Geely recalls MK sedan and hatch - note that the problem with the seat slide mechanism and door latch came to light in the ANCAP tests conducted last year.
- 18 Jul 12 Drive: Speed cameras reduce fatal crashes: review.
- 18 Jul 12 ANCAP: Autonomous Emergency Braking can slash the road toll.
- 18 Jul 12 Thomas.net: NTSB Details Three Safety Recommendations to NHTSA - including performance standards for advanced speed-limiting technology for heavy vehicles
- 17 Jul 12 NHTSA: Advanced Braking Technologies That Rely on Forward-Looking Sensors; Request for Comments [Docket No. NHTSA–2012–0057] + IIHS: Crash
avoidance features reduce crashes, insurance claim study shows;
autonomous braking and adaptive headlights yield biggest benefits + Queensland TMR: Forward collision avoidance technology + CASR/VDR report Potential benefits of forward collision avoidance technology.
- 13 Jul 12 ANCAP: Stellar safety for new Colorado, i30 and BRZ + Goauto: Five ANCAP stars for Holden Colorado.
- 25 Jun 12 Drive: $25 [a week] not to speed - financial reward virtually eliminates speeding in US study.
- 25 Jun 12 Carsguide: Breathalysers mandatory in France (thanks Graham Day)
- 25 Jun 12 IIHS: Antilock brakes cut motorcycle crashes for newly insured riders.
- 19 Jun 12 ANCAP: Reaching for the Stars - Vehicle Safety Requirements Rise for 2017 - Road Map extended out to 2017.
- 19 Jun 12 AAP ($) Special Issue on Intelligent Speed Adaptation
- Is intelligent speed adaptation ready for deployment?
- What benefit does Intelligent Speed Adaptation deliver: A close examination of its effect on vehicle speeds
- Pay as You Speed, ISA with incentives for not speeding: A case of test driver recruitment (see also Pay-how-you-drive insurance)
- Could Intelligent Speed Adaptation make overtaking unsafe?
- Adapting ISA system warnings to enhance user acceptance
- Can enforced behaviour change attitudes: Exploring the influence of Intelligent Speed Adaptation
- How much benefit does Intelligent Speed Adaptation deliver: An analysis of its potential contribution to safety and environment
- Deal or no deal: Can incentives encourage widespread adoption of intelligent speed adaptation devices?
- ISA implementation and uncertainty: A literature review and expert elicitation study
- 19 Jun 12 Euro NCAP: Euro NCAP to drive availability of Autonomous Emergency Braking systems for safer cars in Europe
- 19 Jun 12 ANCAP: Safety Ranks Highly Across New Releases.
- 30 May 12 ANCAP: New Crash Test Program for South East Asia + BHP Billiton Announces 5 Star NCAP Fleet Policy.
- 30 May 12 Australian Government: Gillard Government Congratulates BHP Billiton on Vehicle Safety + New Rules Give Cyclists a Boost (see also SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR SMALL MOTORISED ALTERNATIVE VEHICLES )
- 28 May 12 CBT: Miros launches crash test site (in Malaysia - I was there - one reason this webpage has been neglected for a few weeks!)
- 28 May 12 Sympatico: Swedish firm reinvents seat belts (thanks Graham Day)
- 18 Apr 12 Goauto: BMW rollaway inquiry escalates - US safety regulator upgrades investigation into BMW 7 Series rollaway reports
- 17 Apr 12 The Age: Safe vehicles are driving the drop in road deaths.
- 17 Apr 12 Irish Trucker: RSA conference: What else should be done with bad drivers?
- Professor Carsten said that the use of ISA could lead to a 28.9%
reduction in the number of injury crashes and a 50% reduction in fatal
crashes...
- 16 Apr 12 ANCAP: Spread of Ratings Across Marques - new ratings for Aurion, Compass & Pikup
- 20 Mar 12 Consumers Reports: [US] Consumers see fewer differences among car brands - "...safety was the top consideration" (thanks Keith Simmons)
- 14 Mar 12 BBC: Switzerland bus crash kills 28, including 22 children - see also THREE
POINT SEAT BELTS ON COACHES - THE FIRST DECADE IN AUSTRALIA
- this appears to be a crash where Australian 20g seat-belt equipped
seats would have prevented many of the fatalities. More at Busbelt.
- 12 Mar 12 Goauto: Airbag faults trigger Volvo, Chrysler recalls.
- 23 Feb 12 Euro NCAP: Jeep Compass disappoints, Honda Civic impresses (note that at least 25% is required in the pedestrian tests to achieve a 3 star overall rating - the Compass got 23%).
- 23 Feb 12 CNN: Honda recalls 46,000 Odyssey minivans - tailgate drops unexpectedly + Consumer Reports supports cars of the future.
- 9 Feb 12 ANCAP: More Choice for Fleets with 4 Star Navara Ute.
- 3 Feb 12 ANCAP: New Civic and Veloster Set Highest Safety Standard.
- 1 Feb 12 Goauto: European safety watchdog sings the praises of Aussie-engineered Ford Ranger.
- 24 Jan 12 ANCAP: Subaru and Toyota Add More Stars.
- 19 Jan 12 CNN: U.S. auto safety agency NHTSA needs improvement - study says.
- 19 Jan 12 BRAKE: Speed, the acclaimed 4th international congress on speed reduction and control - 17 May 2012, London
- 18
Jan 12 CNN: Americans keep their clunkers longer (average age now
similar to Australia - with consequent low safety and environmental
performance)
- 12 Jan 12 CNN: Ford recalling 450,000 minivans, SUVs [in USA] - includes Ford Escape brake fluid leak.
- 22 Dec 11 Drive: Four-star crash-test shocks.
- 21 Dec 11 ANCAP: Give The Gift That Keeps On Giving.
- 21 Dec 11 PRAISE: Driving for Work and Managing Speed New Report and Fact Sheet
- 21 Dec 11 ATRF 2011: Analysis of a financial incentive to encourage safer driving practices.
- 16 Dec 11 IIHS: 115 winners of 2012 Top Safety Pick - Stronger roofs lead to another record year for award
- 16 Dec 11 CNN: Cell phone bans don't work - insurance group.
- 8 Dec 11 BBC: How close are we to a crash-proof car?
- 7 Dec 11 CNN: Chevy Volt buyback offer gets about 24 takers - [a] safety investigation, being run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was started after a Chevrolet Volt caught fire three weeks after a crash test.
- 5 Dec 11 ANCAP: 5-Star Holiday Safety Bonanza For Motorists.
- 26 Nov 11 ANCAP: Latin American Countries Denied Safer Vehicles.
- 26 Nov 11 Eurio NCAP: Chinese manufacturers investing in safety [but with an offset test score of 9.1 out of 16 the EC7 barely made it to the 8.5 required for 4 stars in Australia]
- 25 Nov 11 Latin NCAP: Latin America’s top selling cars not safe enough says Latin NCAP
Poor structural integrity and absence of airbags put Latin American motorists at risk.
- 15 Nov 11 Taiwan News [!]: Electric car battery catches fire [3 weeks] after crash test - see also SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND ASSESSMENTS FOR CRASHES INVOLVING ELECTRIC VEHICLES
- 10 Nov 11 BRAKE: Speed, the acclaimed 4th international congress on speed reduction and control - Thursday 17 May 2012, 9am – 4pm, Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMECHE) London.
- 7 Nov 11 ANCAP: Skoda Yeti SUV Gains A 5-Star Rating, Toyota HiAce 4.
- 2 Nov 11 Drive: Blurred vision on reversing cameras.
- 2 Nov 11 IIHS: Five [US] minivans earn Top Safety Pick award; 2 others lag behind on rollover protection
- 28 Oct 11 ANCAP: Australian Designed Ranger A 5-Star Vehicle For The World. Adelaide Now: Ford Ranger's dual cab crash hot. Goauto: New Ford Ranger the world’s safest ute. New York Times (!): Ranger Aces Euro NCAP Safety Test, but Ford Insists There’s No Business Case for U.S. Sales. [would it make the F150 look poor?]
- 26 Oct 11 Euro NCAP: Euro NCAP awards first 5 star rating for a pick-up
- The most remarkable result this month is the Ford Ranger, the first
pickup to achieve a five star rating, with impressive scores in all
areas of Euro NCAP’s assessments. This third generation model was
designed and engineered by Ford Australia [congratulations to the Ford
team]
- 25 Oct 11 ANCAP: Toyota Fleet's Safety Upgrade Continues (5-star Tarago/Previa)
- 19 Oct 11 New Scientist: Cars have evolved to go faster – but humans haven't -
Faster, safer modern cars may make higher speed limits appealing, but
the human body is still stuck in the slow lane...So the challenge for
governments who wish to change limits is complex. This is particularly
so for those wishing to raise them, which is a less familiar path. What
is clear, given the historical evidence and our biology, is that if
they choose to permit faster driving, they must accept their part in
the increased casualties that will follow.
- 6 Oct 11 ANCAP: Another Bad Result for Chery in Latest ANCAP Ratings.
- 6 Sep 11 CNN: Honda recalls 1 million cars globally - Fit/Jazz and CR-V- power window switch can potentially cause a fire.
- 3 Sep 11 CNN: 6 ways your car can spy on you.
- 25 Aug 11 Euro NCAP: More 5 stars but upcoming tougher requirements.
- 23 Aug 11 ACCC (a recent selection of recalls):
- Ford—SZ Territory - Certain Ford SZ Territory models sold between June 2011 to July 2011. Potential fire hazard.
- Audi—R8 Spyder Vehicles - Defect may lead to fuel leaks
- Mazda—Mazda6
- with L5 Series 2.5 litre petrol engines, produced between 8th January
2008 to 12th February 2008 - It is possible that one of the circlips
that retain the piston pins within the pistons has been incorrectly
installed.
- Chery J1 Sedans - Under certain operating conditions, the integrity of the seat frame structure may be compromised.
- Volvo—S80 - The power steering return line may fail
- 22 Aug 11 ANCAP: Australians Choosing To Purchase Safer Vehicles.
- 9 Aug 11 Goauto: ANCAP five-star crash result gets new Hyundai Accent off to a safe start.
- 5 Aug 11 ANCAP: ATECO claims on Chery J1 Incorrect.
- 30 Jul 11 Car Advice: BMW speed limit display begins local testing.
- 28 Jul 11 SMH: Top speed cameras still make a fast buck
[opinion: this media frenzy over speed cameras being revenue raisers
and particularly the NRMA veiled support of this myth is a sad day for
road safety in NSW. See Low Range Speeding and the Potential Benefits of Intelligent Speed Assistance + Fixed, Digital Speed Cameras in NSW: Impacts on Vehicle Speeds and Crashes]
- 26 Jul 11 GoAuto: Toyota fights back on safety - Crash avoidance is next big thing for Toyota as it shows off new safety systems
- 20 Jul 11 IIHS Status Report: Volvo's City Safety prevents crashes at low speeds and reduces insurance costs, a new HLDI analysis shows.
- 19 Jul 11 Links to ESV papers added.
- 2 Jun 11 Drive: Toyota recalls 100,000 Prius cars - steering fault
- 27 May 11 Drive: High-tech saviours: 10 ways to reduce the road toll.
- 27 May 11 Goauto: Chinese manufacturer recalls more than 900 Australian Great Wall X240 SUVs [possible brake problem] ACCC web page + Nissan Navara D40 ST-X Dual Cab [road wheel recall]
- 26 May 11 IIHS: New crash tests: small cars improve and the top performers also are fuel sippers
- 26 May 11 ANCAP: Rukus & Pajero get 4-star safety rating, Territory maintains 5 stars - Toyota Rukus and Mitsubishi Pajero ratings.
- 26 May 11 Euro NCAP: Euro NCAP’s standard set for upcoming electric and range-extender cars - includes Nissan Leaf and Lexus CT200.
- 25 May 11 IIHS: 50 years of progress: Where do we go from here? PDF of presentation by Adrian Lund.
- 24 May 11 Australia Transport Council: National Road Safety Strategy 2011 - 2020 + media release: New National Road Safety Strategy For Australia. ANCAP and ISA are key components of the strategy.
- 18 May 11 Goauto: Keeping safety in sight - Chery J1 crash safety shortcomings highlight the benefits of ANCAP
- 11 May 11 Motodash: inthinc Technology Used in Landmark IIHS Study on Teen Driving Safety + Tiwi: inthinc Wins Best of State Award for Driving Safety System (thanks Bill Roberts)
- 11 May 11 Goauto: Chery J1 scores three stars in crash tests & Five-star Camry in the wings + ANCAP Camry, Camry Hybrid & Chery J1 results.
- 3 May 11 ANCAP: Commonwealth Takes a Lead on Vehicle Safety - the
Federal Government decides to require Commonwealth fleet passenger car
purchases to have a 5-star ANCAP safety rating from July this year, as
well as 4/5 star light commercials.
- 27 Apr 11 IIHS: Chevrolet Volt & Nissan Leaf earn top ratings in 1st U.S. crash tests of mainstream electric cars.
- 26 Apr 11 Manly Daily: Speed cameras (letter - for the 10% estimate see Low Range Speeding and the Potential Benefits of Intelligent Speed Assistance )
- 26 Apr 11 Goaauto: Citroen C4 and Kia Magentis recalled
- 11 Apr 11 Goauto: Defective tyres and brakes top safety concerns on Victoria’s roads in VACC report - see also Vehicle roadworthiness and accidents (my submission to the Victorian Parliament Road Safety Committee in 2000).
- 8 Apr 11 Goauto: Volvo safety chief calls for Isofix - BUT see my comments on 2 Jul 10
- 6 Apr 11 CNN Mercedes recall: Cruise control won't shut off - Deja Vu! 10 Feb 2010: "Ford
says it has found nothing wrong with the four-wheel drive vehicle that
was stuck in cruise control at 80km/h and took its driver on a
terrifying drive."
- 4 Apr 11 Drive: Smart phone to bar drivers [from some distracting functions while driving].
- 1 Apr 11 Herald Sun: Big cars involved in majority of child deaths in driveways - BUT all vehicles are potentially dangerous.
- 1 Apr 11 NewSci: How an MP3 can be used to hack your car - The
as-yet-unpublished research was presented to the National Academy of
Sciences Committee on Electronic Vehicle Controls and Unintended
Acceleration... [no - not an April 1st hoax!]
- 29 Mar 11 ETSC: Towards a Vision Zero for Road Safety in Europe - the Commission should have shown stronger leadership in promoting Intelligent Speed Assistance Systems,” Mr. Avenoso explained. Reducing speeds across the EU by just 1 km on average could save 2,200 lives every year.
- 25 Mar 11 Drive: Margin for error on speeding reduced to zero - seems to be a beat up but, in any case, is a further good reason to get advisory ISA. See Casualty crash reductions from reducing various levels of speeding for the potential benefits of reducing low-range speeding. In brief, doing 62km/h in a 60 zone does not feel unsafe
but about 20 Australian who die in road crashes each year would have
survived IF one of the involved vehicles been travelling at
60km/h instead of 62km/h. The widespread availability ISA means that there is no longer an excuse for speeding - the technology helps you keep to the speed limit.
- 23 Mar 11 7News: Rear-facing safety seats best until age two: US panel
- Comment: Channel 7 in Sydney put together a hastily prepared TV item
on this that was misleading. Infants can safely use forward facing
child seat when they outgrow a rearward-facing infant capsule (generally 6 to 12
months). For more than three decades Australian infants facing forward have
survived extremely severe frontal car crashes without serious
head or neck injuries - provided that they are correctly strapped in.
US studies are not necessarily applicable to Australian child restaint systems. See
these reports and papers for the Australian situation: Australian Road Rules 7th Amendment Package 2007, Draft Regulatory Impact Statement (2007) + PROTECTING
CHILDREN IN CAR CRASHES: THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE (ESV 2003) + NeuRA researchers contribute to new child restraint legislation:
Despite claims by Volvo that the new legislation
puts children in danger, Assoc Prof Bilston says the Australian
legislation has been constructed upon the best available evidence, and
that there is no evidence that the concerns raised by Swedish
researchers via Volvo Australia are an issue for Australian children.
“Our study reviewing all spinal injury among children in NSW over
a 5 year period found no serious neck injuries in forward-facing child
restraints that were not being grossly misused,” says Assoc
Professor Bilston. “Children under four in Australian
forward-facing restraints often survive very severe frontal crashes
with no or only minor injuries, even when multiple other vehicle
occupants have been killed,” she says. “This is very strong
evidence that Australian forward-facing restraints provide excellent
protection to children even in very high severity crashes.”
Note there is nothing to prevent rearward-facing child restraints
for older children being sold in Australia - the Australian Standard
provides for them. However, in general, they are not practical to use
in the rear seat of most cars (the safest position for children) and there appears to be no market for them.
- 23 Dec 10 IIHS Status Report
(PDF): Good side test ratings vastly reduce the risk of dying in
real-world crashes compared with vehicles rated poor + Wheego Whip
crash test shows why low-speed electric vehicles shouldn't mingle with
regular traffic
- 4 Dec 10 Automotive News: NHTSA proposes mandatory backup cameras in all new cars. NHTSA page.
In 2001, with Dr Michael Henderson, I first raised the problem of
rearward blindspots for all types of vehicles and identified reversing cameras as a possible countermeasure.
- 3 Dec 10 ATN: Safety strategy launched to reduce road deaths
- The draft report suggests all road projects should be designed to
reduce the risk of crashes and develop safety-driven fleet purchasing
policies, encouraging drivers to buy new, safe cars. It calls on a
national information campaign about safety benefits of appropriate
speeds and encourages adoption of Intelligent Speed Adaptation,
which would help drivers comply with the speed limit and move towards
limiting the speed of novice drivers and repeat offenders. It also
calls on more point-to-point speed cameras, and improvement of speed
enforcement through a mix of automated and manual detection.The changes to speedometer displays
to emphasise legally permissible speeds should also be considered,
according to the report, including more effective registration
sanctions for trucks with non-operational speed limiters.
- 1 Dec 10 Dept Infrastructure...: Draft National Road Safety Strategy 2011–2020.
- 1 Dec 10 Vale John Stott.
John did pioneering work on child restraints in the 1970s and made
significant contributions to road safety in Australia in subsequent
decades. He was an inspirational boss and wonderful friend. Please contact me for details about a celebration of John's life (on 12/12).
- 1 Dec 10 AAA: What [Australian] car best suits your family?
- 25 Nov 10 Euro NCAP: Euro NCAP publishing first Chinese vehicle rating - Today,
Euro NCAP releases the crash test results for fourteen cars, including
the first Chinese-manufactured vehicle it has tested.
- 25 Nov 10 Oxford Mail: [UK] Speed cameras likely to be back on in April + Cameras save lives + Speed camera effectiveness - Allsop - report
" if speed cameras were to be decommissioned across Great Britain
then about 800 more people per year could be killed or seriously
injured..." (thanks BRAKE)
- 18 Nov 10 BRAKE: If a child steps into the road – speed, stopping distance and force of impact + Kids Say SLOW DOWN!
- 12 Nov 10 3News: Are you aware of your reversing blindspot? - Video (thanks Clive Matthew-Wilson) - see also Driveways.
- 6 Nov 10 Drive: World first: the bicycle airbag.
- 3 Nov 10 Motor Report: ANCAP: SsangYong Actyon Sports Ute 3-Star ANCAP Safety Rating Not Good Enough. Detailed results.
- 26 Oct 10 SAE-Aust: Child Restraint Systems Symposium - Wednesday 10th November, 2010, Venue: Carlton Football Club, Time: 1.00 – 5.30pm
- 25 Oct 10 Daily Telegraph: Calls for anti-speeding beep test by RTA. RTA research report.
- 22 Oct 10 Drive: Toyota recalls 1.5 million cars worldwide - including 30,000 in Australia, over brake fluid leak.
- 20 Oct 10 TUV: 8th International Conference Protection of Children in Cars - Munich 2-3 Dec 10
- 19 Oct 10: Latin NCAP kicks off
with a dismal batch of results - "de-speccing" (missing airbags and
seat belt pretensioners and substitution of low-strength steel in
structure?) seems to have a severe effect on crashworthiness. FIA: full details of initial release (4Mb PDF)
- 12 Oct 10: SpeedAlert Advisory ISA now available on the iPhone as part of the Metroview Navigator app.
- 23 Sep 10 ETSC: Future Road Safety in the EU At Stake?
- 21 Sep 10 TRB: Rollover Crashworthiness International Research Workshop - 2010 Mid-Year Meeting: July 23, 2010 (presentations can be downloaded) + 2011 TRB ANB45(1) Rollover Subcommittee Meeting - Thursday, January 27, 2011Call for Abstracts Deadline: November 1, 2010.
- 18 Sep 10 BBC: Clever cars to mean safer driving
- 15 Sep 10 Goauto: Latest crash avoidance systems to be included in car safety ratings by ANCAP
- 15 Sep 10 NZ Herald: Skoda aces the crash test -
Skoda has pushed the safety envelope by staging a frontal offset crash
test at a far higher speed than is accepted by regulatory bodies
worldwide. The carmaker's researchers crashed a Yeti model into a
stationary Superb station wagon at 90km/h - 26km/h faster than the
64km/h standard used by Europe's New Car Assessment Programme. (thanks
G Day) + Skoda: Impact test confirms safety of Škoda cars. BUT "A Škoda Yeti travelling at a speed of 90km/h hit a standing
Škoda Superb Combi head on. " This means that the test was
equivalent to a much lower speed head-on crash - maybe similar to a
50km/h offset crash test, which is less than the regulation test speed and much less than the NCAP speed!
- 14 Sep 10 Science Daily: Ten Minutes Could Prevent One-Third of Road Deaths, Spanish Study Finds (thanks G Day)
- 8 Sep 10 Drive: Toyota has announced a safety recall of more than 116,000 four-wheel-drive HiLux vehicles across Australia + Used-car safety confusion + Local hero: Holden's new [Cruze] hatch (with DRLs?)
- 8 Sep 10 IIHS: New booster ratings: 21 Best Bets and 7 Good Bets; 8 out of 72 seats evaluated aren't recommended (USA child restraints)
- 8 Sep 10 Herald Sun: Pedestrian death toll rise blamed on iPods in New South Wales (thanks G Day)
- 24 Aug 10 IIHS Status Report Aug 2010:
Hot-button issues often drive highway safety policy, draining time and
attention from initiatives with greater potential to save lives +
Require speed limiters in big trucks for safety as well as fuel economy +
Roof strength ratings for more than 100 passenger vehicles
- 24 Aug 10 CNN: U.S. digs deeper into stalling Toyotas.
- 18 Aug 10 CNN: GM recalls 240,000 SUVs for [rear] seat belt problem - Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Saturn Outlook (which appear to be the same as the Holden Captiva)
- 17 Aug 10 Engineers Australia: Seminar on child safety restraints
- The National Panel on the Biomechanics of Impact Injury is
organising a seminar on child safety restraints in vehicles. The
seminar will explore the introduction to Australia of ISOFIX, the
international standard for the attachment points for child safety
restraints (seats) in vehicles, commonly applied in America and Europe.
The seminar will be held on 31 August from 2pm to 5pm at Engineers Australia's National Office. Barton ACT Registration
- 7 Aug 10 Brisbane Times: End of the road for leadfoots? + Laws on car breath test locks come into force.
- 4 Aug 10 NSW RTA: Child Restraint Evaluation Program (CREP) 2010 results.
- 4 Aug 10 Sheriff: Deaths of Law Enforcement Officers by Motor Vehicle Crashes: A Review of FARS Data for the Years 1996 to 2007. (thanks IIHS)
- 30 Jul 10 SMH: Science purge to continue at UNSW - will close a prominent government-sponsored accident research centre as part of a continuing purge of its science faculty.
- 30 Jul 10 Goauto: Toyota recalls Lexus LX and LandCruiser -
potentially life-threatening risk of steering shaft disengagement in LX
and LC100 Sahara models fitted with VGRS steering systems.
- 29 Jul 10 SMH: Crushing result of putting your foot to the floor
- 28 Jul 10 Engineers Australia talk: VicRoads & Innovation: The Path to the Future of Road Safety - Mon 1 Aug, Melbourne
- 24 Jul 10 NewSci: Too soon to blame Toyota drivers for throttle problems.
- 19 Jul 10 Goauto: EU adopts Aussie side-impact safety plan.
- 15 Jul 10 Automotive News: Toyota cites driver errors in acceleration cases.
- 12 Jul 10 Drive: Blind spot (ANCAP) + Car makers call for better safety rating system. BUT see Crash testing for safety - possible enhancements to ANCAP test and rating methods
- 2008. It is ludicrous to suggest that all light vehicles in
Australia are reaching the top 5-star rating and therefore the system
is flawed - commercial vehicles have mostly 3-star models. In any case,
as set out in the above paper, ANCAP is working on a system to
recognise safety beyond 5-star occupant protection.
- 7 Jul 10 Goauto: Honda recalls 2001 Civic Sedan over airbags.
- 2 Jul 10 Herald Sun: ISOFIX call for safe child seats Comment: in theory
ISOFIX has potential as a way of simplifying the installation of child
restraints in vehicle. The ISOFIX system is intended to replace the use
of an adult seat belt for securing the bottom of the child restraint.
The main problems with ISOFIX are:
- An additional attachment is needed to prevent the child
restraint pitching forward in a crash. In Australia and North America this is done with a
top tether. Some overseas designs use a rigid brace that is supported on the
floor - this introduces additional problems.
- The four ISOFIX lower anchorage points are usually
located to accommodate two child restraints, spread across three rear
seating positions - not much good if you have three rear seat occupants!
- The ISOFIX anchorages might not align with the
corresponding top tether anchorage points (that line up with each
seating position) - an angled top tether results in extra
unnecessary movement in a crash.
- The mechanism for clipping into the ISOFIX anchorages,
and the loads that must be withstood by the child restraint structure,
can substantially increase the bulk and weight of the child restraint.
They can also make it difficult to fit the child restraint in a car
without ISOFIX anchorages.
Australian child restraints perform exceptional well in severe car crashes. The lesson is, Australia should not rush into using ISOFIX
- 1 Jul 10 Drive: [NSW] Child restraints mandatory from July 1 (actually the March 2010 changes to the law will be enforced)
- 28 Jun 10 Drive: NSW launches $1.2m speeding ad campaign (good reason to buy a sat-nav with intelligent speed advice - avoid fines and drastically reduce your chance of being involved in a fatal accident).
- 23 Jun 10 BRAKE: Brake warns [UK] Government on road safety funding bombshell.
- 17 Jun 10 Goauto: Ford Falcon Ute goes five star. Details.
- 17 Jun 10 Australasian Paint & Panel: Fatal results for crash tested repairable write-off.
- 16 Jun 10 FIA Foundation: Australia boosts ANCAP with $5 million grant.
- 16 Jun 10 Blacktown Sun: MP wants speed limiters on cars.
- 8 Jun 10 CNN: Another floor mat issue - Ford Fusion owners warned + Chrysler recalls 285,000 vehicles for possible fire issue ( 2008 and 2009 Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country) + Chrysler recalling 365,000 Jeep Wranglers (brake fluid leaks)
- 7 Jun 10 Minister Albanese: Federal Government Partnering With ANCAP for Car Safety - The
Federal Government is joining forces with Australias leading
independent vehicle safety advocate to increase the number of crash
tests conducted on and safety ratings given to new cars entering the
Australian market.
- 3 Jun 10 Australian Design Awards 2010 finalist: Bumpfree Dynamic Speed Bump
by Bryce Killen - allows drivers who are travelling the speed limit to
pass over the bump without hindrance or typical speedbump abruptions,
and transversely "remind" drivers travelling above the designated speed
limit that they are travelling too fast with the typical experience
felt when passing over the speedbump.
- 3 Jun 10 Drive: World's cheapest car rolls out of India.
- 2 Jun 10 Drive: Victoria mulls tech solution to speed.
- 26 May 10 Drive: 89 deaths 'tied to Toyota problems'.
- 24 May 10 Drive: Volvo updates software following 'embarrassing' collision.
- 19 May 10 Drive: The cyclist-friendly car - Subaru Eyesight object detection system.
- 18 May 10 IIHS: Q&A Child passenger safety [in USA]. (see also tips for Australia)
- 18 May 10 BBC: Hack attacks mounted on car control systems. See also 30 Mar.
- 18 May 10 Brake: Towns and villages still blighted by speed, finds research launched at London conference today + Brake slams transport secretary announcement not to fund cameras.
- 14 May 10 New Scientist: Modern cars vulnerable to malicious hacks. See also 30 Mar.
- 14 May 10 Daily Telegraph: Nearly 90 per cent of child restraints checked in promotion were unsafe, some potentially deadly [comment: "unsafe" is too strong - see this paper that discusses the classification of child restraint mis-use]
- 12 May 10 Drive: New models raise bar for small-car safety.
- 11 May 10 Drive: New Volvo crashes in safety demo.
- 11 May 10 CARHS courses in English during July: Euro NCAP and global Tests for Consumer Protection through Active and Passive Safety + International Crash-Rules and Regulations: Current Status and Future Developments + [Euro NCAP] Knee Mapping Workshop.
- 8 May 2010 Goauto: Australia takes side-impact safety lead
[An international regulation is proposed which, even if fast-tracked,
will take many years to implement. ANCAP added the side pole crash test
to its assessment in 2003. In 2004 it became a requirement for a
5-star safety rating. As reported in the article, the Australian auto
industry (FCAI) is developing a code of practice]
- 5 May 10 ANE: Vans, light trucks face [top] speed limiters in EU - to prevent them exceeding 120 km per hour...
- 5 May 10 Goauto: Mitsubishi recalls Lancer - Tyre troubles ground Mitsubishi’s Lancer as clutch woes effect the Evo rally rocket... + Sticky throttles hit Dodge [Caliber] + Volvo recalls XC90 - Potential fire risk
- 27 Apr 10 ANCAP: 5 Star For Vw Polo, 4 Star Results For Toyota Camry Hybrid And Great Wall Motors SUV
"The ANCAP tests of the Camry Hybrid showed the driver’s knees
were vulnerable to injury from the steering column despite it being
redesigned for keyless ignition. The Camry Hybrid
also missed out on a passenger seat belt reminder that is now standard
in the Aurion as well as in all Commodores and Falcons." + The Motor Report + Herald Sun: Toyota safety wrangle over Camry hybrid rating.
- 17 Apr 10 ETSC: Safety Monitor April 2010 - Speed
is the most important contributory factor to road deaths and injuries,
playing a role as a contributing factor in one third of all fatal
collisions. Speeding remains extremely widespread, it is estimated that
at any one moment about 35% of drivers exceed speed limits outside
built-up areas and as much as 50% in urban areas (see Low Range Speeding and the Potential Benefits of Intelligent Speed Assistance)
- 16 Apr 10 IIHS Status Report (PDF): IT’S A SAFETY
MARKETPLACE, AND CONSUMERS ARE BUYING.
- 16 Apr 10 Science: New Guidelines Aim to Improve Studies of Traumatic Brain Injury.
- 4 Apr 10 Drive: Driver instruction the key, not speed - WRONG!
- 4 Apr 10 USA Today: Speeding 'cushion' may dwindle due to recession - USA enforcement tolerance. But see Low Range Speeding and the Potential Benefits of Intelligent Speed Assistance
- 31 Mar 10 Automotive Engineering International: letter about ISA.
- 31 Mar 10 Space.com: NASA Joins Federal Probe Into Toyota Vehicle Problems.
- 30 Mar 10 SMH: Cars 'fail on pedestrian safety'
- 30 Mar 10 SMH: Covert speed cameras to catch [Qld] motorists + NSW reintroduces mobile speed cameras [avoid a speeding fine - buy a sat-nav that alerts you to speeding on any road]
- 30 Mar 10 NewSci: Electronic car bugs: What drivers need to know - see also the comment about malicious software + Wired: Hacker Disables More Than 100 Cars Remotely.
- 26 Mar 10: Harley-Davidson has introduced an LED turn signal that is integrated into the mirror stalk. These could be used as daytime running lights for motorcycles.
- 24 Mar 10 Drive: Canberra car crash an unsurvivable tragedy - but discusses benefits of head-protecting side airbags.
- 23 Mar 10 Fellet News: Euro NCAP: driving forward vehicle safety.
- 13 Mar 10 BRAKE: 3rd international SPEED Congress 2010 - 13 May, London.
- 8 Mar 10 Goauto: Holden Combo among flurry of fresh recalls - brake booster on E-Gas
Falcon, steering gear on Volvo’s XC60, parking brakes on
Ford’s FG Falcon ute, airbags/seatbelt pretensioners on Holden
Combo van, fuel pipe on Peugeot Expert, throttle cable on Hyundai iMax
& iLoad and rear vent windows on Mercedes Viano and Vito.
- 8 Mar 10 SMH Letters: Safe speeding reduces road toll ... in your dreams + (sadly, this illustrates my point) Four dead in NSW road crashes.
- 8 Mar 10 IIHS: New airbags don't provide optimal protection for belted drivers (Status Report - thanks Graham Day)
- 8 Mar 10 Bike Europe: Car Airbag to Protect Cyclists (thanks Graham Day)
- 6 Mar 10 Drive: More new cars driving away with five-star safety rating + Speed doesn’t kill, says Benz [on German Autobahns!]
- 3 Mar 10 CNN: The safest car ever? The Mercedes-Benz ESF concept car has every imaginable safety feature, and some you never thought of.
- 2 Mar 10 InterRegs: NHTSA Proposes New Regulation to Mitigate Occupant Ejection in both Vehicle Side Impact and Rollover. (thanks CARHS)
- 2 Mar 10 Mobileye: Pedestrian Detection (thanks CARHS)
- 2 Mar 10 Motor Trader: Malaysia's first passenger car crash test (thanks CARHS)
- 1 Mar 10 Goauto: Ford recalls more E-Gas Falcons - 9072 more E-Gas Falcons recalled as Ford offers fix for Territory ball joints.
- 1 Mar 10 NSW RTA: New child restraint laws from today
- 27 Feb 1- IIHS: Status Report - Phoning while driving (PDF)
- 26 Feb 10 2010 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference Canberra - 31 August to 3 September 2010 - abstracts close 1 March
- 20 Feb 10 SMH: Child car seat rules to honour Isabelle - based on this 2007 Report
("the Commission engaged consultants - Road Safety Solutions, Vehicle
Design and Research and Centre for Automotive Safety Research - to
develop a detailed discussion paper on child restraints. That
discussion paper provides the basis for Part A of this regulatory
impact statement with modifications and recommendations made by the
Commission"). NSW Regs are in three PDFs: 2010-46, 2010-47 and 2010-48.
- 18 Feb 10 Consumer Reports: How to stop a runaway car: Don’t pump the brakes. Comment: This situation makes a very good case for top-speed-limiting
every vehicle sold in Australia (to 120km/h). There are now numerous
reports of vehicles speeding up to more than 160km/h due to "sudden
unintended acceleration".
- 16 Feb 10 ETSC: Open Letter to Commissioner Kallas on Setting Ambitious EU Road Safety Targets for 2020.
- 16 Feb 10 Drive: 'Thirty-four Toyota-related deaths' [in USA since 2000] + [US pick-up] Truck recall adds to Toyota's troubles + Toyota says no problem with electronics + Phone app shows speed camera locations (so does the Sygic mapping app)
- 16 Feb 10 Goauto: Ford recalls Explorer (cruise control fire risk)
- 15 Feb 10 Daily Telegraph: Safety will be Isabelle Broadhead's legacy.
- 12 Feb 10 New Scientist: Toyota's car recall sparks 'drive-by-wire' concerns.
- 10 Feb 10 Daily Telegraph: Holden Colorado fails roof crush
- well not actually the Holden Colorado but a similar US model! See 5
Feb. Update: 12 Feb 10 The Daily Telegraph retracted its statement
about the Holden Colorado!
- 10 Feb 10 Goauto: Safety recall for Toyota’s Prius + Toyota pedal recall extends to Europe, China (Camry, Avalon, Aygo, iQ, Yaris, Auris, Corolla, Verso, Avensis and RAV4 + Peugeot 107 and Citroen C1)
- 10 Feb 10 Drive: Driver has no answers on terror drive
- Ford says it has found nothing wrong with the four-wheel drive
vehicle that was stuck in cruise control at 80km/h and took its driver
on a terrifying drive.
- 10 Feb 10 Automotive News: NHTSA fielding complaints about 2009-10 Toyota Corolla [electric power] steering
- 6 Feb 10: IIHS Status Report Dec 2009
(PDF) - Children are safer restrained in boosters than kids who use
safety belts alone + What good lap/shoulder belt fit and bad belt fit
looks like.
- 5 Feb 10 IIHS: First time Institute rates small pickups for rollover protection;
only one model rates good in test that assures strength of roof.
- 5 Feb 10 New Scientist: Toyota car recall sparks 'drive by wire' concerns.
- 4 Feb 10 New Scientist: Cars learn to keep an eye on the weather [note ISA is already here]
- 4 Feb 10 CNN: Complaints pile up about Prius brakes + Toyota recalls top 5.3 million vehicles.
- 30 Jan 10 CNN: Cell phone driving bans don't work [actually, they have no statistically significant effect on crash rates - a different conclusion!] + Laws banning cellphone use while driving fail to reduce crashes, new insurance data indicate.
- 29 Jan 10 Scientific American: What Might Cause a Gas Pedal to Become Stuck?
- 29 Jan 10 The Age: Child seat laws risk young lives. Comment: this is nonsense
- despite decades of monitoring children in car crashes in Australia by
biomechanical experts there have been no cases of serious neck injury
in very severe frontal crashes with a properly installed forward-facing child seat. See these reports, in particular the discussion of neck injury risk in this 2003 international conference paper: PROTECTING
CHILDREN IN CAR CRASHES: THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE
- 28 Jan 10 Goauto: Five safety stars for Territory - details from ANCAP
- 27 Jan 10 BRAKE: Fresh calls for [UK] government action on speed.
- 26 Jan 10 UK Telegraph: Average speed cameras could be used on all motorways.
- 14 Jan 10 ETSC: Ambitious Road Safety Targets Needed for 2020
- possible avenues include the application of new life saving
technologies, such as intelligent speed assistance or the introduction
of improved post accident care with eCall... + Conference: Future Directions in Speed Management - 23 February in Brussels
- 14 Jan 10 The Age: GPS tool to warn speeding drivers (note that the Navig8r G35 sat-nav already has SpeedAlert. Also the greatest benefits of ISA will come from a reduction in inadvertent speeding) + Herald Sun: Hoon drivers to be used in test of government's new GPS speed device.
- 12 Jan 10 Washington Post: Car meets the Web at CES, raising concerns about distracted driving.
- 12 Jan 10 CARHS: Euro NCAP updates Test Protocols - Significant Changes in Pedestrian Protection.
- 8 Jan 10 CARHS: SafetyCompanion 2010 booklet has
new and updated tables and graphs summarising all important rules and
regulations in vehicle safety. New pages on roof crush tests according
to FMVSS 216 & IIHS, child protection assessment in Euro NCAP and
the new standards in automotive functional safety ISO 26262 have been
added to the new SafetyCompanion.
- 8 Jan 10 Drive: Cruise control terror case 'closed'
- A police investigation into Melbourne's runaway cruise control
vehicle has been completed, but it hasn't provided the answers the
driver was looking for...
- 8 Jan 10 Goauto: 13,000 Captivas go back to Holden dealers after steering fails in two vehicles + Base Honda Civic gets an airbag boost to inflate safety claims (but still a 4 star ANCAP rating)
- 22 Dec 09 IBT: Five-star Christmas cheer for car buyers - details from ANCAP
- 22 Dec 09 Coffs Coast Advocate: Australia's worst crash remembered - led to three point seat belts on coaches
- 16 Dec 09 Goauto: Safety recall for Great Wall ute - Seatbelt failure in crash test has repercussions as Great Wall’s V240 ute recalled...
- 16 Dec 09 Drive: Melbourne driver stuck on cruise control - Comment: Cruise control forces the vehicle to travel at a minimum speed
unless there is driver intervention (or the system fails - in this case
the brake pedal signal to the ECU appears to have failed and so
braking did not deactivate the cruise control. To make matters worse,
by design, the ignition could not be turned off and the transmission
could not be changed!). Many fatigue-related crashes in outback
Australia involve the driver falling asleep when cruise control is
engaged. Active ISA can replace cruise
control as a way of maintaining an appropriate speed on the open road
and has significant road safety benefits.
- 9 Dec 09 MUARC: Fatal choices: cars young people drive are killing them - see also Choosing
safer vehicles for young drivers
- 8 Dec ACRS: November Journal - has an article Daytime Running Lights for Motorcycles – an Idea and Research Proposal
- 2 Dec 09 Goauto: Aurion reclaims Australia’s ‘best large car’ award
- "we now have all five-star ANCAP cars from Ford, Holden and Toyota."
Other 5-star cars awarded are: Hyundai i30 SX diesel, Volkswagen Golf,
Subaru Liberty, Subaru Outback and the Land Rover Discovery.
- 2 Dec 09 Advertising Talk: Transport for London’s New Technology Can Solve London’s Traffic Problems According to SAGA Car Insurance.
- 1 Dec 09 Enablecom - ISA software for mobile phones in the UK.
- 24 Nov 09 Drive: Airbags a winner as thousands saved.
- 20 Nov 09 Drive: Staying in control
- 19 Nov 09 Goauto: Loose screw threat in steering forces Nissan to recall 20,000 vehicles
- X-Trail and Dualis compact SUVs to rectify a screw in the steering
system that might come loose, potentially causing a loss of steering + Volvo puts zap into battery safety + More than 1000 Accords to be recalled by Honda Australia due to faulty airbags.
- 19 Nov 09 NHTSA: U.S. Department of Transportation Releases New Action Plan to Address Motorcoach Safety Issues
- the action plan proposes to better protect motorcoach occupants by
requiring the installation of seat belts and discusses additional
measures such as the establishment of performance requirements for
enhanced roof strength, fire safety, and emergency egress. See also
this ESV paper on Australian initiatives in the early 1990s. No mention of electronic tachogrpahs for coach drivers!
- 19 Nov 09 Euro NCAP: Euro NCAP awarded Prince Michael Road Safety Award.
- 19 Nov 09 CNN: Safest cars - Just 27 vehicles this year meet the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's new, tougher standards.
- 9 Nov 09 RTA: 2009 Intelligent Speed Adaptation Conference - final program for Sydney tomorrow.
- 9 Nov 09 New Scientist: Spy-in-the-cab could improve teenage driving [data recorders].
- 7 Nov 09 Drive: New Vic road rules set for next week - The changes will tighten rules on mobile phones, GPS units, child restraints and U-turns.
- 7 Nov 09 Volvo: Cars that drive themselves can become reality within ten years (thanks CARHS)
- 6 Nov 09 CNN: Ford to introduce inflatable seat belts.
- 6 Nov 09 Daily Telegraph: Bus crash coroner slams Pacific Highway duel carriageway delays. See also 17 Oct.
- 4 Nov 09 Drive: Compulsory booster child seats in cars [in NSW] (background) + Power windows can kill and injure kids, says [USA] report
- 2 Nov 09 AAP ($): Accessory child safety harnesses: Do the risks outweigh the benefits?
- the risks associated with accessory child safety harness
systems most likely outweigh any potential benefits, in frontal impacts
at least. More tips.
- 2
Nov 09: Road safety researcher Barry Sweedler died October 27, 2009. He
spent 31 years at the National Transportation Safety Board, where he
worked tirelessly to prevent tragedies in all modes of transportation.
In recent years he was at Safety and Policy Analysis International. In 2007 he received the Haddon Award of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety
- 2 Nov 09 Vicroads: Choosing and using child restraints and booster seats (1Mb PDF)
- 31 Oct 09 Adelaide Now: He's Doohan it for road safety - motorcycle safety
- 27 Oct 09 Adelaide Now: Cut speed to let our cyclists live.
- 27 Oct 09 Goauto: Official: Holden builds the first-ever five-star ute (ANCAP details)
- 17 Oct 09: Preliminary report on the Grafton bus crash, 20 October 1989 (scanned text as 2MB PDF)
- 16 Oct 09 Australian Mining: VDO launches Speed Alert to handle varying speed limits (not the same as SpeedAlert)
- 15 Oct 09 Fox4: Are crash-test ratings for dummies?
- 14 Oct 09 IIHS: 50 years of road safety research - congratulations
- 11 October 09: Holden HSV E2 has standard daytime running lights.
- 3 Oct 09 ETSC: PRAISE Report 1 In-Vehicle Safety equipment for work-related road safety (thanks Will Murray)
- 3 Oct 09 Drive: Volvo pedestrian avoidance system + Crash me if you can + Young drivers 'more likely to speed'
- 2 Oct 09 Daily Examiner: Memorial to honour bus crash victims
- At just before 4am on October 20, 1989, a semi-trailer laden with
cans of fruit juice drifted to the wrong side of the Pacific Highway
and ripped the side from a Sunliner coach heading in the opposite
direction.Twenty people died as a result. [See also THREE
POINT SEAT BELTS ON COACHES - THE FIRST DECADE IN AUSTRALIA.
I attended the scene of the Grafton crash and assisted with the crash
investigation. Other recommendations resulting from that
crash, and the Kempsey crash a few weeks later, related to
emergency exits, speed limiters, bullbars and vehicle monitoring
devices (tachographs). 20 years on and some of the recommendations are
still outstanding]
- 29 Sep 09 Drive: Proton, GWM utes fair poorly in NCAP crash tests - details: Jumbuck, SA220 & V240
- 23 Sep 09 Apple iTunes/Sygic: Intelligent Speed Assistance function now available for the Apple iPhone - BUT no school zones and no dedicated ISA mode
- 21 Sep 09 Drive: Driveway deaths of children under probe (by University of Queensland) - see the links to earlier research on driveway safety (research that was used by NHTSA in teh USA to develop its policy)
- 18 Sep 09 Traffic Technology Today: Vision Zero International - New international magazine (thanks Jon Gibson)
- 18 Sep 09 ETSC: How can In-vehicle Safety Equipment improve
road safety at work? ( see also In-vehicle safety technologies - picking future winners!)
- 13 Sep 09 ScienceDaily: School bus seat belt study enters final research year
- 12 Sep 09 Drive: Ute’s just beaut the way it is - Ford [the Falcon Ute with head-protecting side airbags has not been crash tested by ANCAP]
- 8 Sep 09 Goauto: Holden Ute eyes five stars.
- 3 Sep 09 Columbus Dispatch: Teen drivers going too fast in 58 percent of crashes.
- 2 Sep 09 ABC: Maximum 80kph urged for P-platers
[in South Australia] Comment: NSW has an 80km/h limit for learner and
1st year drivers. Having recently witnessed the frustration and
risk-taking of other drivers "trapped" behind drivers restricted to
80km/h on long stretches of 2-lane highway, I am not sure if the
measure is best for overall safety. I would prefer all drivers being
allowed to travel at the speed limit [up to 100km/h*] but have zero
tolerance for novice drivers exceeding the prevailing speed limit (or
100km/h). There are now $150 devices available in Australia that assist drivers keep to speed limits
and exceeding 80km/h should be on condition that the novice driver has
such a device in operation. (* South Australia has an 110km/h limit on
many 2-lane country roads - this is clearly too high for all
drivers but has tenuous historical/policitial reasons. In NSW 110km/h is
normally only permitted on dual carriageway highways.)
- 1 Sep 09 Drive: Toyota gadget to deter drink-driving.
- 18 Aug 09 Drive: Mercedes van earns five stars for safety - details.
- 18 Aug 08 Goauto: Mercedes Vito scores top marks, but only if the $800 curtain airbag option is ticked.
- 16 Aug 09: Australian Intelligent Transport System Summit 2009 - 18-20 Nov, Melbourne.
- 14 Aug 09 IIHS: 3 small cars earn Top Safety Pick award - 2010 Honda Insight, 2010 Kia Soul, and 2010 Toyota Prius
- 14 Aug 09 CNN: Safest hybrid cars
- 14 Aug 09 Drive: Instant fines for darkly-tinted windows [in NSW]
- 1 Aug 09 CNN: Honda recalls another 440,000 vehicles
- The automaker expands a previously announced [USA] recall due to a
potentially lethal defect in the airbag's inflation system...
- 24 Jul 09 NTC: A
position paper released for consultation outlines a practical
alternative to paper-based work diaries using technology already fitted
to many trucks and buses - Comment: One of my last tasks
before I left the NSW RTA in 1990 was to draft a specification for
"electronic log books". 19 years later the idea has reached the
national level!
- 24 Jul 09 Omaha.com: Shelved data to drive phone curb?
- 17 Jul 09 Drive: Hyundai makes its iLoad van the safe choice + ANCAP datasheet (zipped)
- 16 Jul 09 HGVUK: BVRLA calls for more ambition - The
British Vehicle Renting and Leasing Association (BVRLA) has urged the
Department for Transport to be more ambitious in its attempts to reduce
the number of people killed and seriously injured on Britain’s
roads...The department should commit to producing a national digital
speed map and encourage the development of non-mandatory intelligent speed adaptation systems, which monitor vehicle speeds and help drivers adhere to local limits.
- 15 Jul 09 Goauto: [Australian] Engineers urge mandatory ESC on commercial vehicles + Canberra makes ESC mandatory.
- 11 Jul 09 IIHS: Enhanced belt reminders reduce drivers' fatality risk
(PDF Status Report). Note that the US belt reminders only cover the
driver and are not as "intelligent" as those required by ANCAP and Euro
NCAP for bonus points.
- 11 Jul 09 VDR: DRL update
- 8 Jul 09 Drive: Car safety data may be shared globally.
- 6 Jul 09 Yahoo!Green: Lightweight, fuel-efficient cars not necessarily less safe.
- 1 Jul 09 AAP: Caution:
A comment on Alena Erke's red light for red-light cameras? A
meta-analysis of the effects of red-light cameras on crashes + Cross-cultural differences in drivers’ speed choice + A new method for assessing the risk of accident associated with darkness.
- 30 Jun 09 ESV: A Safe Ride Height Line for Child Car Occupants
- 30 Jun 09 IIHS: Sustaining Real World Safety through Innovative Technologies.
- 23 Jun 09 Drive: Stability control compulsory in 2011 [for Australia] - see also this 2005 review
- 11 Jun 09 Drive: Motorists sold short on safety + ANCAP media release
- 10 Jun 09 ESV21 abstracts now online.
- 10 Jun 09 IIHS: Audi Q5 earns Top Safety Pick award
- 10 Jun 09 New Scientist: Parasite may increase your odds of an auto accident.
- 9 Jun 09 CARHS (BAsT): NHTSA: Department of Transportation doubles Roof Strength Standard for Light Vehicles in 2012 - The
new regulation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
will double the current roof strength requirement for light vehicles
weighing up to 6,000 pounds. It specifies that both the driver and
passenger sides of the roof must be capable of withstanding a force
equal to three times the weight of the vehicle. The current standard
calls for roofs to withstand 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle,
applied to one side of the roof, for light vehicles up to 6,000 pounds.
Heavier vehicles from 6,000 to 10,000 pounds, which have never been
regulated, must now have both sides of the roof capable of withstanding
a force equal to 1.5 times the weight of the vehicle. The phase-in
schedule, which begins in September 2012, will be completed for all
affected vehicles by the 2017 model year. NHTSA Media Release. NHTSA Rulemaking PDF + Rollover page
- 5 Jun 09 Drive: A smashing sort of career.
- 28 May 09 Victorian Minister for Roads: NEW NATIONAL SAFETY LAWS TO BETTER PROTECT KIDS IN CARS (background here)
- 22 May 09 ABC: Passengers injured in bus roll-over in WA's north.
- 20 May 09 NZ Herald: Crash-test results prompt ACC warning over vans' poor safety
- 20 May 09 The Age: Motor industry slams speed-curbing trial - but see Speed limiting trials in Australia
- "the claim is somewhat hypocritical given that cruise control has
been in use on vehicles for many years and forces the vehicle to
travel at a minimum speed unless there is driver intervention. "
- 19 May 09 Daily Telegraph: NSW plan for speed limiters in all cars.
- 17 May 09 Herald Sun: Risky ride for 70,000 students (see also SCHOOL BUS SEAT BELTS: THEIR
FITMENT, EFFECTIVENESS AND COST)
- 14 May 09 Transport Briefing: TfL urges sat-nav makers to embrace ISA technology (like the Navig8r M35)
- 12 May 09 Drive: Holden’s new Cruze scores five stars for safety + Goauto: Holden cruises to five stars.
- 12 May 09 BBC: Speed limit device tested on bus + Autocar: Speed limiter tests in London
- 11 May 09 ACRS: Heavy Vehicle Transport Safety and Fatigue Risk Management Workshop - Sydney 20 May 2009. Contact: Dr Teresa Senserrick
Telephone: +61 2 9657 0323
- 11 May 09 Times: Speed-curbed cars launched in Government trial + Taxis and buses face automatic speed limiting + Telegraph: Speed-restricted car: a review.
- 7 May 09 SpeedAlert: Would you like to help us Beta trial one of the most revolutionary Speed Limit Awareness software products in Australia? (mobile phone speed limit advisory system)
- 7 May 09 IIHS: In-Vehicle Monitoring and the Driving Behavior of Teenagers
+ WHEN PARENTS ARE WATCHING (but no mention of non-US ISA trials).
- 6 May 09 IIHS: IIHS submits comment to NHTSA concerning backover crashes (see Driveways for NSW technical standards, including Technical
Specification No 149 Devices to assist in reducing the risk to young
pedestrians from reversing motor vehicles (PDF from RTA))
- 2 May 09 Drive: Big Brother can track younger drivers (see Speed control - the Australian Speedshield product has this capability) + The pros and cons of technology + Digital detective: black boxes in cars.
- 29 Apr 09 Abstracts for 2009 Road Safety Research, Education and Policing Conference close this Friday!
- 25 Apr 09 Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 41, Issue 3, May 2009 (selection of abstracts $$)
- 21 Apr 09 New engineeering journal: International Journal of Vehicle Structures: Design, Analysis & Optimisation - call for papers.
- 21 Apr 09 New Scientist: Protecting pedestrians from killer cars (no mention of speed control!)
- 21 Apr 09 Drive: Bright idea to save lives (electronic tages for school children) + New blind-spot study reveals visibility dangers + Back-seat survivors: new NCAP test devised.
- 5 Apr 09 SMH: MP's mission to preach the [motorcycle] safety gospel - unique daytime running lights would be a good start!
- 26 Mar 09 RTA/ACRS: Abstract
submissions for the 2009 Road Safety Research, Policing and Education
Conference to be held in Sydney from 11 to 13 November are now open.
- 24 Mar 09 IIHS: Roof strength is focus of new rating system - 4 of 12 small SUVs evaluated earn top marks.
- 23 Mar 09 Drive: Holden looks for a safe bet with Cruze
- Holden is expecting the new Cruze to be the first small car it
sources from Korea to score the maximum five-star Australasian NCAP
independent crash-test result.
- 23 Mar 09 Goauto: Car-makers applaud Victorian P-plate rule change.
- 19 Mar 09 F;eet News: Fleets will benefit from drop in speed limits (plans to cut the national speed limit from 60mph to 50mph)
- 14 Mar 09 Transport Canada: Canada proposes to make ESC compulsory on light vehicles starting on 1 September 2011.
- 10 Mar 09 ATZ Online ($): Development Strategy for Collision Warning Systems in the Low Price Segment + Toyota Adds Front-Side Pre-Crash System and Seatbacks to Safety Technologies + New rating to play starring role in improving car safety + Worldwide First All-LED Headlights for the Audi R8 (with integrated LED Daytime Running Lights).
- 10 Mar 09 SMH Drive: Driven to distraction - a big advantage of the Navig8r sat-nav is that it can be operated in SpeedAlert mode, with no map displayed to distract the driver.
- 10 Mar 09 Wikipedia: 'ICE' (In Case of Emergency) Campaign. It
is a method of contact during emergency situations. As mobile phones
are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is
store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted
during emergency under the name 'ICE'
- 7 Mar 09 IIHS: Status Report 44-2
- Crashes in the real world don't always mirror tests, so new frontal
tests merit exploration; Frontal crash case files illustrate 5
important configurations; Having improved compatibility, automakers
disband cooperative effort to address this issue; Frontal airbags
reportedly failed to inflate, but Institute researchers found errors in
the way crash data sometimes are reported
- 7 Mar 09 Traffic Tecnology Today: TRL consortium unveils Sentience vehicle (thanks Tom Gibson)
- 5 Mar 09 The Citizen (UK): Lancashire drivers to test new 'road safety sat navs (ISA)
- 3 Mar 09 Goauto: Commodore wagon, International, Omega LPG join five-star list. ANCAP:
- 3 Mar 09 SpeedAlert Live! now beta testing - works on a mobile phone to keep you constantly up to date about fixed and variable speed limits.
- 27 Feb 09 Fleet News: Tougher five-star test regime introduced. Fleet
managers who specify that all their new cars must have a five-star
crash rating from EuroNCAP have been advised that a new stricter crash
regime has been introduced...The power of the new scheme is already
evident as two manufacturers who were threatened with a downgraded
result decided to make ESC optional on all variants.
- 27 Feb 09 Euro NCAP: New rating to play starring role in improving car safety
- 25 Feb 09 Fleet News: Safety drops off fleet managers' radar.
- 20 Feb 09 New Scientist ($): Why the Survival Car died an early death (or "Over Niagara Falls in a barrel of spikes") - brilliant article about the early days of vehicle safety.
- 17 Feb 09 Goauto: Three stars for Ford, Suzuki work vans in crash test + ANCAP: Ford Transit, Suzuki APV, Volvo XC60.
- 15 Feb 09 Traffic Injury Prevention (abstract): The Need for Enhanced Protocols for Assessing the Dynamic Performance of Booster Seats in Frontal Impacts.
- 14 Feb 09 Drive: Volvo collides with ENCAP over testing.
- 13 Feb 09 BBC: Airbag jacket 'could save lives'
- 12 Feb 09 Chalmers Uni: Call for Abstracts - First International Conference on Driver Distraction and Inattention, 28‐29 September, 2009, Gothenburg, Sweden,
Abstracts due 15 April, 2009 (thanks Mike
Regan)
- 9 Feb 09 Canberra Times (reprint): A new attitude to speeding needed.
- 5 Feb 09 Drive: Volvo drivers get cheaper premiums thanks to safety technology + Germans get cash bonus to crush old cars
- 31 Jan 09 NHTSA: Notice of postponement of the implementation of enhancements to NCAP (thanks CARHS Training)
- 29 Jan 09 NHTSA: Not-in-Traffic Surveillance 2007 - Highlights [driveway and parking lot fatalities].
- 28 Jan 09 Fleet News: Managers must be aware of new [UK Health and Safety (Offences)] act + Analysis: Save lives – and money.
- 24 Jan 09 New Scientist: Invention: Sleepy driver sensor.
- 23 Jan 09 Goauto: Toyota luxury brand announces fuel line recall in US
- No vehicles are affected in Australia by the recall, which involves
Lexus IS250/350, GS300/350 and LS460/460L vehicles built between 2006
and 2008.
- 23 Jan 09 Consumer Reports: New rules will make [US] school bus rides safer (but see this report on retrofitting seat belts to Australian buses )
- 11 Jan 08 Harvey Norman: M35 sat-nav with SpeedAlert passive ISA system now on sale for $148 - in my view, the best road safety investment that has ever been available, particularly when you are actually paying for an Australian navigation system!
- 9 Jan 09 Fleet Directory (UK): ISA should be the new ‘must have’ fleet safety feature, says Roadsafe.
- 7 Jan 09 FleetNews: ‘Thinking’ technology makes safety a priority.
- 31 Dec 08 Financial Times: Advisers urge fast action on speed limiters
- Fitting cars with speed controllers could cut road injuries by a
quarter and reduce air pollution... + Commission for Integrated
Transport: Speed limit adherence and its effect on road safety and climate change.
- 31 Dec 08 Moldova: Nissan debuts world's first intelligent cruise control
- Utilizing route-information fed through the on-board navigation
system, the Intelligent Cruise Control system can modulate the
vehicle-speed in anticipation of the next curve on the road [but no
mention of ISA]
- 30 Dec 08 Parliament of Victoria Road Safety Committee: Inquiry into Improving Safety at Level Crossings
recommends... that the Department of Transport, together with VicRoads
and the Transport Accident Commission, investigates and trials
the use and application of Intelligent Speed Adaptation technology on
the approach roads to level crossings.
- 29 Dec 08 AAP Dec 08 ($):
- 23 Dec 08 CASR: Vehicle improvements to reduce the number and severity of rear end crashes (4.8MB PDF)
- 23 Dec 08 NRMA: New Ford Fiesta rates five stars for safety - links to details.
- 18 Dec 08 APROSYS: The APROSYS Final Event will take place on the 17th and 18th of February 2009. The results of the project will be demonstrated and presented:
- New Injury Criteria and Injury Tolerance
- New Mathematical Models of Human Body
- New Harmonised Crash Dummy
- Enhancement of Virtual Testing Technology
- New Knowledge and Tools for Intelligent Safety Systems
- New Test Methods for Advanced Safety Systems
- Advanced Protection Systems/Other Road Users/VRU
- Vulnerable Road User: Pedestrian/Motorcyclist
- Car Occupant Safety: Driver/Passenger
- Field Operational Testing: potential for Integrated Safety
- Virtual Testing
- 17 Dec 08 Drive: New technology enforces mobile free driving + Car that can dodge pedestrians.
- 10 Dec 08 Drive: One in three Vic cars fail safety test [by the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce - see also Vehicle roadworthiness and accidents
- Submission to the Victorian Parliament Road Safety Committee in 2000!
- 6 Dec 08 CarAdvice: ANCAP 2008 Ford Transit Crash Test
- good description of the ANCAP process. Note that the Ford Transit
rating will probably be published in January 2009, along with some
other commercial vehicles.
- 4 Dec 08 Drive: Commodore scores five-star safety rating, but only one model. Details.
- 2 Dec 08 NewSci: Hands-free phones not risk-free for drivers.
- 27 Nov 08 Euro NCAP: The last time best-selling cars score five stars? + Euro NCAP's first rear impact (whiplash) test: 80% of seats tested need improvement.
- 19 Nov 08 Adelaide Now: Children under seven to be banned as front seat passengers - an outcome of the NTC review.
- 19 Nov 08 VDR: Review of the worlds first passive ISA navigator device with a national speed limit database - the Naviga8r M35 with SpeedAlert™ Passive Intelligent Speed Assist.
- 19 Nov 08 Consumer Reports: Faulty tire valves may have been installed on 2007 Fords [in USA].
- 9 Nov 08 AAP Vol 40 Issue 6 (selection):
- 7 Nov 08 ACRS:
High-level review of road safety management: Sweden - a case studyby
Jeanne Breen : Friday 21 November 2008 at 10.00 a.m., The George
Institute for International Health, Sydney - Contact Ian Faulks.
- 6 Nov 08 Drive: Holden Barina improves crash rating - ANCAP: Barina Bounces Back With A 4 Star Safety Rating + ANCAP results + Images & Videos + Datasheet.
- 5 Nov 08 BBC: Fatal bus fire on German motorway
- Australia introduced much tougher requirements for emergency exits on
busses after a review of the Grafton and Kempsey bus crashes in 1989.
See this report on retrofitting seat belts to buses.
- 3 Nov 08 NHTSA: New Federal Rule to Make School Buses Safer.
- 1 Nov 08 IIHS: Insurance
losses are 21 percent lower, and fatal crash rates are reduced 38
percent for motorcycles with antilock brakes compared to those without + Research paper (PDF): Effectiveness of antilock braking systems in reducing fatal motorcycle crashes
- 27 Oct 08 Drive: Australian car buyers short-changed on safety.
- 25 Oct 08 ABC: Driver follows GPS into lake.
- 22 Oct 08 2008 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference: Workshop 3. Engineers Australia Frontiers in Vehicle Safety Technology and Testing.
- 13 Oct 08 ABC South Australia: 'Creeping' motorists targeted
- Motorists who drive several kilometres an hour over the speed limit
are being targeted in a State Government road safety campaign.
- 9 Oct 08 NRMA: 5 star rating for the new Lancer Sportback.
- 8 Oct 08 Drive: Ford to let parents set speedo for teens.
- 2 Oct 08 News.com.au: Lax car safety standards slammed.
- 1 Oct 08 IIHS: Many booster seats aren't up to the job of improving safety belt fit for children - see also NTC Report that discusses limitations of Australian booster seats. A new bigger booster seat is being introduced in Australia under the Australian Standard.
- 1 Oct 08 Drive: Toyota develops rear window air bag [for rear collisions]
- 29 Sep 08 Drive: Pedestrians at risk as car safety rules slip behind.
- 25 Sep 08 ABC Science: Quiet cars give false sense of security - see Speed page (mentioned in 1996 report!)
- 25 Sep 08 Europe: Daytime Running Lights for all new vehicles from 2011 to increase road safety. See DRL page.
- 20 Sep 08: 3G phone application help you keep track of your “runs, hikes and walks...RunKeeper displays the current pace, distance and time as well as a bar graph of the speed over time.“
Then, it “automatically uploads the data to www.runkeeper.com.
Log in there to see a Google map of the route as well as the
run’s total distance.”
- 18 Sep 08 AAA Foundation: The AAA Foundation in collaboration with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently completed a report on new car features and driving-aid technologies:
- Adaptive Cruise Control
(ACC): Although it’s designed to help drivers maintain an
established following distance from the vehicle ahead of them, many
drivers incorrectly thought their ACC systems would help avoid a
collision in situations outside the capability of most systems.
- High-Intensity Discharge (HID) or Directionally Adaptive Headlights: HID headlights
use an electrical arc and typically produce brighter, blue-colored
light (compared to traditional headlights), and directionally-adaptive
headlights adjust the aim of the beam to illuminate the road
based on inputs from the vehicle. Our study found that the ability to
see greater distances at night with the HID or adaptive headlights can
provide a false sense of security, resulting in driving at faster speeds
- Backing Aid Sensors and Rear-View Cameras:
They’re designed to assist the driver by warning as a vehicle
backs slowly toward an object, but they won’t detect everything
in a vehicle’s path. Most backing aid systems can’t detect a child,
object or animal directly underneath the bumper and don’t provide
a warning when a car is backing up at speeds faster than 3 to 6 mph.
There were several scenarios in which respondents reported that their
backing aid system would help them avoid a collision “fairly
well” or “perfectly,” when in reality it would be
likely to work poorly or not work at all.
- Navigation Systems:
More than three of five (63%) respondents said that they were not aware
of any manufacturer’s warnings or limitations about their
navigation system. The most common warnings cited in
owner’s manuals relate to the potential for driver distraction
and the need for the driver to not rely only on the voice guidance from
the system but to make sure that all maneuvers are made legally and
safely.
- The full report is available here.
- 17 Sep 08 UK DfT: Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) - project reports
- 16 Sep 08 Uk Telegraph: Drivers could have speed limited by satellite devices (see ISA page) + SpeedAlert Australian coverage (on target)
- 12 Sep 08 SAE: Rollover Symposium - Sydney 2 Oct. Related links (for several sides of the debate)
- 9 Sep 08 Drive: Honda Jazz v Toyota Yaris, Mazda2, Suzuki Swift -
We've deliberately chosen cars that would get four- or five-star
crash-protection ratings, which means downsizing is no longer a
compromise on safety.
- 8 Sep 08 Drive: Anatomy of a crash (Ford Falcon design)
- 3 Sep 08 Intropy (blog): Telling stories and lies with statistics - looks at ways of presenting risks of travel.
- 2 Sep 08 The Age: Burnley Tunnel crash truck 'unroadworthy' - "Of the six brakes on the trailer, only three were operating at all,'' See roadworthiness links.
- 1 Sep 08 Drive: Car seat company recalls two child seats
- A children's car seat manufacturer has conducted a national recall of
two of its models after fears they don't comply with the consumer
product safety standard. The two models that were both branded as "Baby
Shield" and sold via online sites.
- 1 Sep 08 Goauto: Local crash test ratings to remain as Europeans target tougher pedestrian protection.
- 1 Sep 08 Drive: Mobile use may have caused road deaths
- NSW Police are checking the mobile phone records of drivers involved
in fatal accidents to see if they were talking or texting at the time.
- 30 Aug 08 CNN: GM recalls 944,000 vehicles for fire hazard (washer bottle heater)
- 29 Aug 08 Drive: Car safety focus switches to pedestrians (see 28 Aug)
- 28 Aug 08 Drive: Speeding [ticket defence] via GPS
- An American youth is appealing his speeding ticket based on GPS data,
potentially setting a precedent for the way speeding tickets are
handled in future...[the system was] capable of tracking his speed, sending signals every 30 seconds ... and would even email his parents if he ever exceeded 70mph
- 28
Aug 08: SAE-A and NSW Injury Risk Management Research Centre (IRMRC)
presents a Rollover Crashworthiness Symposium in Sydney. Thursday 2nd
October 2008. SAE-A events page (link to Rollover flyer not currently working)
- 28 Aug 08 Apple Store iPhone Apps: iBrake (measures brake efficiency with the built-in accelerometer) + InstaMapper (tracks location and speed of a vehicle in real time using the built-in GPS - displays on Google Maps in real time)
- 28 Aug 08 Euro NCAP: New rating system to address low pedestrian scores
[in 2009] + new ratings for Daihatsu Cuore (4*), Hyundai i30 (5*),
Lancia Delta (5*), Renault Koleos (5*), & Mercedes Benz M Class (5*)
- 22 Aug 08 Fleet News: Legal drivers bullied by aggressive tailgaters
- Motorists who adhere to speed limits are often bullied by aggressive
drivers trying to force them to speed up... + TRL Media release: Direct Line Study Uncovers Reasons for Road Rage and "Bully Driving"
- 21 Aug 08 Consumer Reports: Booster seat laws vary from state to state [USA]
- 20 Aug 08 Victorian Parliament Road Safety Commitee: Inquiry into Vehicle Safety - media release & final report. Covers many of the items in the above priority list.
- 19 Aug 08 Car Central: Upcoming Chevrolet Beat could serve as Barina replacement - "...upgrading the Beat to U.S. safety standards would require a substantial investment..."
- 14 Aug 08 CNN: BMW recalls 200,000 vehicles - passenger airbag in 2006 3-Series & 2004-2006 X3 SUV.
- 13 Aug 08 Brisbane Times: Bus crash in China kills 24 (see this paper on bus seat belts)
- 12 Aug 08 Goauto: ANCAP calls for governments to buy only five-star cars and considers six-star rating.
- 12 Aug 08 SMH: iPod to join mobile as crash villain? [get a device to play the iPod through the car hi-fi]
- 12 Aug 08 New Scientist ($): Why complex systems do better without us - evidence
from simulations and real traffic flows [in 2 lanes] shows that at a
critical density of traffic, the obstruction to lane-changing begins to
have a beneficial effect. Because drivers tend to stay in one lane,
they disturb the flow of traffic less, leading to a higher total
throughput of vehicles...[putting this another way - frequently the
advantage gained by one impatient road user is misplaced as the whole
system suffers from the disturbance due to speeding and lane-changing]
- 12 Aug 08 Goauto: Four-star Commodore safe, says Holden.
- 8 Aug 08 ESV2009: Brochure for 21st ESV in Stuttgart, Germany, 15-18 June 2009.
- 8 Aug 08 BBC: Top Italian car designer killed
- Andrea Pininfarina, head of a world-famous Italian car design
group, has been killed in a road accident. Mr Pininfarina was riding a
scooter which was hit by a car
- 7 Aug 08 Perth Now: $2.34b to save thousands of lives and serious injury
"...To replace corporate and Government fleet vehicles with cars that
have electronic stability controls, which take over control if a
vehicle runs off the road, as well as intelligent speed adaptation
systems, that are linked to global positioning systems, and sound an
alarm for the driver when the car is travelling over the speed limit." WA Office of Road Safety media release.
- 6 Aug 08 Goauto: New Ford Falcon becomes first Aussie-made car to score top five-star crash rating + Drive: Falcon makes history with 5-star crash protection rating + Auto speed warnings (see this paper on alternative systems)
- 1 Aug 08 AAA Foundation: Slow Down! Five Reasons You Shouldn't Speed + Governors Highway Safety Association: Slow Down! Following Speed Limits Good for Safety and Your Wallet.
- 1 Aug 08 CNet: Sat-navs set to nag about speed limit.
- 1 Aug 08 IIHS: Small pickups skimp on safety + NHTSA makes many small changes to the New Car Assessment Program (PDF)
- 30 Jul 08 Drive SMH: Size matters in car crashes (but car to car is not the only factor to consider) + US study raises alarm on ute crashworthiness + Emergency vehicles 'cause daily crashes' + Country roads a killer - Lower speed limits on country roads could be the result of a five-year study into rural road safety in Queensland.
- 3 Jul 08 AAA Foundation: Hands-Free: They're on anything but the wheel: Cell phones, ipods, lab dogs, the GPS: We're driven to distraction + Providing safety through car seats: Child car seat safety tips + Speeding? This phone will text your parents.
- 2 Jul 08 IIHS: IIHS submits roof strength comment to NHTSA (PDF)
- 25 Jun 08 AI: Big safety gains for small cars (IIHS tests)
- 25 Jun 08 SMH: Big brother satellites to put brakes on speeders + NZH: High-tech backseat driver set for trials + ABC: Speed-limit device trialled in cars + LiveNews: Big Brother's under your hood: Govt trials new speed tracker + Gold Coast: Cars to trial Big Brother speed control.
[Comment: There is no "Big Brother" watching/tracking the cars - the
system uses GPS to determine the road and speed and an on-board digital
map of speed limits - see Speed Control] RTA: ISA webpage.
- 25 Jun 08 FleetNews: New Vauxhall will read speed signs (this paper has a discussion of the problems of speed sign recognition for use with ISA)
- 23 Jun 08 Fleet News: Vans: speed limters
- "Since introducing speed limiters three years ago, British Gas has
seen a reduction in incidents. In the first year, they fell by 8% and
over the past two years have fallen by 14%. " + Car companies come together in safety drive.
- 21 Jun 08 TUV (Conference): Neck injuries in Road Traffic an Prevention Strategies, TUV Akademie, November 18 - 19, 2008, Munich, Germany
- 19 Jun 08 Euro NCAP: Updates to test & assessment protocols.
- 17 Jun 08 Euro NCAP: Adrian Hobbs receives CBE for services to road safety - congratulations Adrian.
- 15 Jun 08 Drive SMH: Full LED-headlamps offered for Audi R8 - Audi is offering the Audi R8 supercar with the option of full LED headlamp technology in addition to daytime running lights.
- 15 Jun 08 Nature: Bumper stickers reveal link to road rage -
“The number of territory markers predicted road rage better than
vehicle value, condition or any of the things that we normally
associate with aggressive driving,”
- 13 Jun 08 Drive SMH: Bangers and smash: why new small cars are safer than old big cars.
- 11 Jun 08 NTC: Improving Safety Management in Australia's Bus Industry - Discussion Paper - NTC seeks feedback from stakeholders with an interest in bus safety...(see also Retrofitting seat belts to buses and Bus Accidents in Australia: 1970-1993 neither of which are mentioned in the discussion paper, plus Summary of bus safety projects) .
- 6 Jun 08 IIHS: IIHS testifies on the relationship of roof strength and injury risk in rollover crashes (PDF)
- 6 Jun 08 New website: Road Safety at Work of GeoLibrary.org (thanks Will Murray)
- 5 Jun 08 AI: Auto roof rules may toughen - NHTSA may rewrite proposal to improve 35-year-old regulation after senators' criticisms.
- 4 Jun 08 ANCAP: Five-Star Safety For Under $30,000. Detailed PDFs are here & some action pictures.
- 4 Jun 08 Goauto: Hyundai's i30 becomes first Korean car to score a five-star ANCAP crash test rating.
- 4 Jun 08 ABC: China bus, truck collision leaves 22 dead. See this paper on bus seat belts.
- 3 Jun 08 ABC: Perth motorists nation's worst for speeding: survey.
- 30 May 08 SAE presentations at joint government/industry meetings (thanks Rick Morgan):
- 29 May 08 SMH: Speed traps still fail most schools.
- 28 May 08 CARHS (Germany): Euro NCAP and global Tests for Consumer Protection through Active and Passive Safety - two day seminar on 23 June.
- 27 May 08 Goauto: Peak national crash test body ANCAP pushes for a mandate on crash safety ratings.
- 27 May 08 New Scientist: Crash-predicting car can brace itself for impact.
- 26 May 08 NineMSN: Business Hurt By Demerit System - no mention of ISA (intelligent speed assistance) to help employees avoid loss of points.
- 24 May 08 Derive SMH: Safety body targets utes and vans.
- 23 May 08 Fleet News: Survey shows a lack of speed limit knowledge + Fleets ‘unprepared for new Act’.
- 23 May 08 AAA: [USA] States Lack Key Laws That Would Offer Protections on Highways.
- 23 May 08 SMH: 'Held together' car's 263kmh dash + Singing star's son runs over daughter [in USA] (see driveway safety)
- 21 May 08 CarAdvice: 2008 MITSUBISHI LANCER VRX - CRASH TEST
- If you are in the market for a new or used car right now – make
damn sure you choose a car with Curtain Airbags...[note ANCAP has not
yet released a rating for the Lancer - stay tuned]
- 19 May 08 AI: Buckle up over that belly - Risks higher for unbelted obese, pregnant riders
- 18 May 08 [Sydney] Sun Herald: Time to lift the lead foot (speed control)
- 15 May 08 AI: Tiny Smart car gets crash test kudos - The
Smart ForTwo earns the top rating for front and side impact protection
in crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
IIHS: First
Institute crash tests of Smart car: diminutive two-seater earns top
ratings for protecting people in front & side crashes.
- 13 May 08 [UK] Daily Mail: Satnav that tells you not to break the speed limit (see also Speed Control)
- 8 May 08 Fleet News: Safety dilemma for fleet operators [whiplash protection and small cars]
- 1 May 08 ETSC: Lower speeds: Win-Win for Road Safety and the Environment + Managing Speed: Towards Safe and Sustainable Road Transport.
- 1 May 08: NSW RTA Speed Page now has a crash test video showing a recent model car crashing at 60km/h and 100km/h + 40 & 50 km/h speed limits on NSW roads
- 25 Apr 08 Fleet News: Fleets remain reluctant to adopt telematics
- 22 Apr 08 Goauto: Hyundai push to mandate ESC
- Hyundai is campaigning for electronic stability control to be fitted
on all new cars sold in Australia and, to kick-start the campaign, is
fitting the potentially life-saving technology on three of its models
as standard for a limited time...
- 22 Apr 08 Forbes Auto: The most desirable new car features (ISA not in survey!)
- 14 Apr 08 ACRS: Motivating behaviour change among high risk road users: What works and what doesn't work? - Brisbane 18-19 Sep 2008.
- 9 Apr 08 Fleet News: EU pushes for new vehicle safety rules (brake assist) + GM commits to safety initiative. DfT: Driving for Better Business
- 8 Apr 08 AI: Chrysler recalls Sebring, Avenger sedans for tire-monitor fix.
- 8 Apr 08 Goauto: Proton calls the Savvy back in for safety check.
- 7 Apr 08 CNN: Smart car doesn't ace [NHTSA] crash tests.
- 28 Mar 08 Fleet News: Get ready for corporate manslaughter + Speeders get the message.
- 26 Mar 08 ANCAP: 5 Star results remain elusive as Utilities score 2, 3 and 4 stars. Includes results for Commodore, Mahindra, Navara, BT-50/Ranger as well as a range of vehicles tested by EuroNCAP.
- 26 Mar 08 AAA: Rescuers changing tactics in accidents
- 19 Mar 08 Consumer Reports: Combi USA recalls 67,000 infant car seats.
- 19 Mar 08 Fleet News: Fleets encouraged to adopt telematic insurance.
- 14 Mar 08 Goauto: Ford considers standard curtains for Falcon + Ford: Korean Barina 'inferior' + Nissan on Navara crash course + Drive: Holden, Ford in pre-sale dogfight
- 14 Mar 08 AAA Foundation: Bill would fit school buses with belts.
- 14 Mar 08 USA Today: Crash-test report backs stronger roofs on SUVs.
- 13 Mar 08 Hella FAQ on Daytime Running Lights (PDF)
- 12 Mar 08 AI: Study finds stronger car roofs raise survival rate - Feds underestimate number of lives that can be saved in rollover crashes + IIHS: Status Report Rollover & report Roof Strength and Injury Risk in Rollover Crashes.
- 12 Mar 08 Fleet News: Industry 'wikimedia' website launch
- 9 Mar 08 Accident Analysis & Prevention
Volume 40, Issue 2
- 5 Mar 08 Goauto: Federal automotive body slams state and territory calls for mandatory ESC from 2010
- 2 Mar 08 Sunday Telegraph: Seatbelt law tightened
- CHILDREN under the age of seven will be banned from riding in the
front seat of cars under radical changes to seatbelt laws to be adopted
across Australia. For background seeNational Transport Commission: Stronger laws for the safer restraint of children + Proposed regulation changes and justification.
- 2 Mar 08 SMH: Turn left in 400 metres, don't crash - Satellite navigation devices, which give drivers aural guidance to
their destinations, could prove to be even more dangerous
distractions than mobile telephones at the wheel. [but this is "anecdotal evidence"]
- 29 Feb 08 AI: [US] Feds urge 4.6M Ford recalls - Safety officials tell affected vehicle owners to get cruise control corrected now + Bush signs auto safety bill into law [backover accidents and power windows]
- 29 Feb 08 ANCAP: New Forester Maintains Subaru's 5 Star Reputation + details.
- 29 Feb 08 Goauto: Nissan starts “service campaign” as Navara scores a shock one-star NCAP crash result + Drive: Popular 4WD utes flunk crash tests.
- 26 Feb 07 Euro NCAP: Euro NCAP picks up carmakers' weaknesses in new category (utility or pick-up). Navara 1 star, Rodeo 2 stars, L200/Triton 4 stars. + Low safety rating for Nissan truck + Nissan's NCAP nightmare
- 26 Feb 08 BBC: Testers say recall 'unsafe' truck (Euro NCAP rating of Nissan Navara utility due out tomorrow)
- 16 Feb 08 Detroit News: '06 ATV crashes killed more than 550, U.S. says - At least 555 people -- including more than 100 children -- died in all-terrain ("wreckreational") vehicle
accidents in 2006. Government safety officials expect the number to go
much higher as they receive information from coroners and hospitals
nationwide.
- 16 Feb 08 ABC: Child injured in [school] bus crash [in SE South Australia]
- 15 Feb 08 Detroit News: Senate sends 'Kids and Cars' act to Bush.
- 13 Feb 08 Philadelphia Inquirer : Making a smarter crash test dummy - abdomen injury risk can now be measured (thanks Andrew Knackstedt, LTNZ)
- 8 Feb 08 AAA: Federal agency to keep airbag regulations (fatal crashes where airbag did not deploy).
- 8 Feb 08 NHTSA: U.S. DOT Announces Upgraded Roof Strength Proposal + Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking.
- 3 Feb 08 CNN: One million Evenflo [infant] car seats recalled [in USA] + Volvo recalls 82,000 cars - Volvo's S40 and V50 models recalled because of rust risk that could stall engines. + Detriot News: Ford recalls autos already fixed once (cruise control wiring)
- 31 Jan 08 CASR: Vehicle design for pedestrian protection (5.1M PDF)
- 31 Jan 08 Detroit News: Child car seats get new rating -
Manufacturers will have to meet stricter standards with safety administration's revised grading system. NHTSA: details of new system.
- 30 Jan 08 New Zealand Herald: Seatbelt horrors bring booster-seat demand.
- 30 Jan 08 NTC: Sharing responsibility for heavy vehicle speed compliance.
- 29 Jan 08 NHTSA: Sec. Peters Catches Bus to School, Proposes New Safety Rules for School Buses + Notice of Proposed Rule Making + NHTSA Releases 2007 NSUBS Results on Booster Seat, Child Restraint and Seat Belt Use + Characteristics of Crash Injuries Among Young, Middle-Aged, and Older Drivers + Statistical Analysis of the Effectiveness of Electronic Stability Control (ESC) Systems – Final Report
- 29 Jan 08 Public Citizen: Agency's proposed roof crush test does not reflect real world factors + DFP: Safety of vehicle roofs in rollovers is debated + Consumer Affairs: Feds Delay Roof Strength Rule
- 23 Jan 08 Mayor of London: Mayor sets out budget to continue London's 'green' revolution (ISA under consideration to encourage compliance with 20mph speed limits)
- 22 Jan 08 Courier Mail: Mazda top scores in crash test + ANCAP detailed results.
- 20 Jan 08 ABC: Britain's first tuk-tuk fleet hits the skids.
- 19 Jan 08 AAA: Auto Recalls Increase 30 Percent in 2007 + Parents Say That Child Passenger Safety Laws Should Be Consistent Across the Country + Bills Would Send a Message to Cell Phone-Using Drivers in Rhode Island
- 13 Jan 08 SMH: Big Brother speed control to be trialled - not sure where the "Big Brother" came from, or my title as "Queensland Transport Consultant"! + News.com: Secret car speed-limiter trials. Opinion: secret and dangerous?? Anyone who has attended the annual Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference
for the past 6 years would have been briefed on the status of ISA
(intelligent speed limiting) in Australia. The Australian College of
Road Safety held an ISA seminar in Sydney on 1 August 2007 - current
government projects and ISA technology were described in detail. The
links to papers on my Speed Control webpage debunk the myths about speed limiting being "dangerous". For a comprehensive description of "government" plans see: Demonstration of Advisory Intelligent Speed Adaptation Technology in Western Australia
- 9 Jan 08 Brisbane Courier Mail: Move to speed-limit fast cars - see the many article links at Speed Control.
- 6 Jan 08 The Age: If you phone and drive, you're also a bloody idiot + TRL ($): Conversations in cars: the relative hazards of mobile phones + FirstGroup bans use of hands free mobile phones when driving.
- 5 Jan 08 Fleet News: Pedestrian protection (Bosch system) + Majority of grey fleet is not safe [unroadworthy private vehicles used for business].
- 22 Dec 07 TG Daily: Bots crash at the DARPA Urban Challenge - so much for autonomous vehicles!
- 22 Dec 07 New Scientist ($): Sports cars more dangerous than SUVs.
- 21 Dec 07 RTA: Latest child restraint ratings.
- 21 Dec 07 Drive: Volvo’s crash test glitch + 2008 Ford Falcon countdown begins
"Ford is rumoured to be working towards making the Falcon the first
locally-built car to receive the maximum five star crash rating from
independent safety auditor NCAP (New Car Assessment Program)."
- 21 Dec 07 Fleet News: Tougher sentences for mobile phone users. Sat-nav targeted too + BBC: Mobile phone driving jail threat.
- 18 Dec 07 Consumer Reports: 2008 car safety features - list of models on the US market.
- 4 Dec 07 NRMA Insurance: Family sedans lag behind in reversing
- NRMA Insurance has today praised the increasing number of
manufacturers who have adopted potentially life saving reversing camera
technology in a bid to reduce the number of children injured in
reversing incidents.
- 2 Dec 07 NHTSA: Proposed changes to child restraint ease-of-use assessments (PDF)
- 30 Nov 07 AI: Ford to settle Explorer rollover suits.
- 30 Nov 07 CNN: Toyota faces 2 lawsuits for safety defects + Toyota recalls 264,000 luxury cars [potential fuel leaks - Lexus]
- 30 Nov 07 Fleet News: Record drivers behaviour on video
- 30 Nov 07 SMH: Judges go for safety first in picking the top cars.
- 27 Nov 07 Recent presentations:
- 27 Nov 07 AAA: Are crosswalk lights worth the high cost? + Schools question new federal bus [seat belt] proposal: Concerns about cost, student safety are priority.
- 27 Nov 07 AI: Nissan recalling Altima and Sentra cars over sensor problems.
- 23 Nov 07 Carsguide: Saab alerts tired drivers.
- 21 Nov 07 TAC: Latest ANCAP Brochure.
- 21 Nov 07 NRMA: Holden Epica awarded four ANCAP stars
- 21 Nov 07 RACV: Latest ANCAP crash test results
- 21 Nov 07 ANCAP: Esc Vital To Vehicle Safety & Saving Lives
- 16 Nov 07 Fleet News: Speeders likely to lose licence.
- 15 Nov 07 AI: Ford, Honda lead safest list + Auto safety bill may get approval
- 15 Nov 07 IIHS: 2008 winners of Top Safety Pick award — number of winners increases; pickups eligible for first time.
- 14 Nov 07 ABC: Research says fewer accidents with stability control + MUARC: New Australian research proves ESC saves lives + MUARC: Preliminary evaluation of electronic stability control effectiveness in Australasia
- 14 Nov 07 Informa: Rail Safety 2008 - Addressing
the key safety challenges in rail: level crossings, human factors and
technology. 27th - 28th February 2008, Melbourne + AusRAIL PLUS 2007, 4-7 December, Sydney - will also cover level crossings.
- 14 Nov 07 ACRS: Safe Walking: A Colloquium on Pedestrian Safety - Sydney 26th Nov.
- 14 Nov 07 Fleet News: Worn tyres hazard + Speeding not the cause of rural road crashes
(BUT "The contributory factors are the opinions of police officers
based on the evidence available to them at the time of reporting the
accident..." and it does not take into account the very strong effect
that impact speed, and therefore travelling speed, has on the outcome of a crash).
- 7 Nov 07 Drive SMH: 2007 Drive Car of the Year: Who's in, who's out
- The biggest black mark against the Corolla is that stability control
- a proven crash avoidance technology that's reducing fatalities around
the world – is not available on any model even as an option. Note
that ANCAP will require ESC for 5 star ratings from January 2008.
- 6 Nov 07 NewSci: 'Aggressive but safe' SUV wins robotic street race.
- 5 Nov 07 Scientific American: Robots Prepare for the Battlefield by First Fighting City Traffic.
- 4 Nov 07 AI: Parking aid: Infiniti offers overhead view (see driveway safety)
- 2 Nov 07 AAMI: Drug Driving reports released.
- 2 Nov 07 AAA Foundation: The [motorcycle] Helmet Debate
- 26 Oct 07 Herald Sun: Vote one, vote car safety - have your say and encourage the Federal parties to support ANCAP by sending an email.
- 26 Oct 07 Fleet News (UK): Speed limiter idea gains momentum
- An influential body that advises members of the House of Commons and
House of Lords has recommended that all fleet vehicles be fitted with intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) systems to improve road safety.
- 24 Oct 07 AAA: Millions keeping their eye on group's refined crash tests.
- 13 Oct 07 CNN: Crash tests: Not all SUVs built alike + Stop, thief! OnStar will brake stolen cars - call-center operators in Detroit to remotely cut off engine power in OnStar-equipped vehicles that are reported stolen
- 13 Oct 07 IIHS: New crash tests: some midsize SUVs perform worse than many cars in side tests.
- 12 Oct 07 NTC: Seatbelt retrofit Code for safer buses
- A voluntary guideline will protect bus owners and the public against sub-standard seatbelt retrofit practices.
- 8 Oct 07 Fleet News: New warning on sat-nav systems (windscreen devices might obscure vision) + Road injury figures a ‘smokescreen’ (opinion)
- 8 Oct 07 CNN: Chrysler recalls 125,000 cars for fire risk (Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring) + Mustang first ragtop to ace NHTSA crash tests +
- 26 Sep 07 Australian Bus & Coach Editorial: Gympie [bus] crash a test case for ADR 59 - see also retrofit guidelines. Note that the article fails to mention the bus that crashed was subsidised 40 % of the purchase price
by Queensland Transport under the School Bus Subsidy Scheme. Had this not been the case,
the bus would likely have been much older and less crashworthy.
- 26 Sep 07 Transport Canada: Canadian Multidisciplinary Road Safety Conference - Call for papers. June 8-11, 2008 in Whistler BC.
- 22 Sep 07 AI: Chrysler recalls Jeep vehicles due to brake defects (2007-8 Jeep Commander and Grand Cherokee)
- 21 Sep 07 SMH Drive: Crash testing hits the wall (Stars on Cars) + New Lancer ups the safety ante.
- 21 Sep 07 FleetNews: Speed limiter plan to make roads safer.
- 21 Sep 07 Consumer Reports: Britax recalls [US] child safety seat for design defect.
- 19 Sep 07 SMH Drive: Chinese cars not too crash hot + Business Week: China's Brilliance: Back from Disaster? + Forbes: China's Brilliance Auto to boost export effort after car passes Spain crash test. (improved from 1 to 3 stars!)
- 19 Sep 07 News.com: School children injured in bus crash + (what timing) ABC: Howard to spend $40m on bus seatbelts (but no indication that it will be a requirement to meet new retrofit guidelines)
- 17 Sep 07 CNN: Chrysler recalls nearly 300,000 vehicles
- Braking problem affecting recent Grand Cherokees, Commanders, Jeep Wrangler SUVs and Dodge Nitros.
- 17 Sep 07 Accident Analysis & Prevention Volume 39, Issue 5:
- 12 Sep 07 AAA Foundation/USA Today: Study: 'Super' motorcycles step up risk. Se also the Australia stats in the paper DAYTIME
RUNNING LIGHTS FOR MOTORCYCLES (the compelling case for improved motorcycle conspicuity has been largely ignored by road safety authorities)
- 6 Sep 07 Queensland Govt: Queensland Parliament's Travelsafe Committee Makes Recommendations to Prevent Driveway Deaths and Injuries (PDF) + Inquiry webpage.
- 6 Sep 07 CNN: Government to require [side] head protection in new vehicles.
- 1 Sep 07 ANCAP: ANCAP awards 5 star safety rating to new Subaru Impreza + (top) 4 star pedestrian protection and ESC standard.
- 28 Aug 07 ABC: [NSW] Girl, eight, dragged by school bus.
- 22 Aug 07 WSJ: A Cause of Child Auto Deaths Draws Increased Attention - see also driveway safety. Thanks Automotive Digest.
- 16 Aug 07 Consumer Reports: Luxury sedan crash tests - High price doesn’t always buy safety. IIHS press release.
- 16 Aug 07 AAA: Electronic Logs Touted As Safety Solution; Rule Needed to Stop Truck Drivers from Cheating, Some Say.
- 15 Aug 07 Fleet News: Developing technology.
- 15 Aug 07 AI: Tire safety TV ads debut - Traffic safety office warns drivers about dangerous mix of heat and under inflation.
- 15 Aug 07 AAA: Foreign roads can be deadly for travelers
- The [bus] brakes failed on a steep mountain road, but he bus plowed
into a herd of yaks, slammed into a retaining wall and stopped!
- 10 Aug 07 Drive (SMH): Eye spy in the sky (speed control - actually there is no "spy" involved)
- 7 Aug 07 ABC 7:30 report: [Federal] Govt issues ultimatum to states on bus seat belts. See also SCHOOL BUS SEAT BELTS: THEIR
FITMENT, EFFECTIVENESS AND COST (updated to include a list of better ways to spend road safety dollars) + Draft
National Code of Practice and Engineering Certification Form for
Retrofitting Passenger Restraints to Buses + THREE
POINT SEAT BELTS ON COACHES - THE FIRST DECADE IN AUSTRALIA
- 6 Aug 07 Fleet News: Fleet alert over [UK] work death law.
- 6 Aug 07 AI: Texting on the road? R U crazy?!
- 5 Aug 07 Scientific American March 1993: Why America's Bridges are Crumbling - Every
year, on average, between 150 and 200 spans suffer partial or complete
collapse. Sometimes the collapse creates a spectacular disaster, such
as the 1983 fall of the Mianus River Bridge on Interstate 95 in
Connecticut + Star Tribune: Inspectors still rely on old techniques: Tap, look and listen
- 4 Aug 07 Goauto: Eco Civic scores four stars - ENCAP laments the four-star crash test safety rating by Civic Hybrid and Skoda Fabia + Euro NCAP: Hybrids: Environmentally concerned and safe?
- 27 Jul 07 Fleet News: [UK] Corporate manslaughter and homicide bill passed.
- 25 Jul 07 ATSB: Used car safety ratings 2007 + RACV: Survey identifies used car safety risk - Light
cars remain particularly problematic, with around two thirds in the
worst category. This includes two vehicles still on sale – the
Daewoo Kalos (2003-2004), which is now badged as a Holden Barina, and
the Hyundai Getz (2002-2005).
- 25 Jul 07 Euro NCAP: Hybrids: Environmentally concerned and safe? - Honda Civic Hybrid 4 stars
- 20 Jul 07 BBC: Look, no hands - driveless car
- 17 Jul 07 IIHS: Rear crash protection in SUVs, pickup trucks, & minivans: most of their seat/head restraints are marginal or poor + Ford [Taurus X] SUV earns TOP SAFETY PICK + Hyundai Santa Fe earns 2007 TOP SAFETY PICK award.
- 17 Jul 07 CNN: Crash test is pain in the neck for car makers.
- 17 Jul 07 (back from ESV07): Fleet News: High price of crash claims - Getting a company car back on the road after a non-fault accident is costing fleets tens of thousands of pounds each year.
- 14 Jun 07 Drive: Gizmos to limit speed.
- 13 Jun 07 The Age: Trucks to join trial of electronic speed limiter.
- 13 Jun 07 AAA Foundation: Highway checks sideline unsafe vehicles + Grant would help purchase more child safety seats + Stop Text Messaging, Drivers Urged
- 12 Jun 07 SMH: Commodore years behind on safety - ANCAP test of VE Commodore.
- 6 Jun 07 AAA Foundation: Insurer tattles on kids who speed.
- 3 Jun 07 IIHS: 1st time Institute tests [10] convertibles:
Saab & Volvo models are top performers; 3 are marginal in side impact test
- 1 Jun 07 NZ Herald: Car smash deaths can be eliminated.
- 1 Jun 07 Australian Conference: ITS Australia: SmartDemo 2007 - 13th to 15th August 2007 - Melbourne +ACRS: Infants, Children & Young People & Road Safety Conference - 2-3 August 2007 preceded by a half day seminar on Intelligent Speed Adaptation on 1 August (contact Ian Faulks for details)
- 30 May 07 CNN: Toyota reports [engine] problem with new Tundra.
- 30 May 07 AI: Feds push back roof regulation.
- 23 May 07 Euro NCAP: Best ever adult occupant score for Nissan Qashquai.
- 23 May 07 Drive: Toyota calls for stability.
- 17 May 07 NZ Dept of Labour: Joint government effort to address work-related road safety (thanks Will Murray)
- 17 May 07 The Age: Push to keep kids properly restrained for safety's sake + [Bus] Crash in India sees 22 killed.
- 17 May 07 SMH: Isabelle's legacy - nation on brink of car seat reform.
- 16 May 07 [Australian] National Transport Commission: Stronger laws for the safer restraint of children + Report out for public comment.
- 16 May 07 RTA brochure: Young Driver Safety - has tips about safer vehicles
- 16 May 07 ITSEurope: 6th European Congress on Intelligent
Transport Systems and Services - Aalborg, Denmark 18-20 June 2007 (Clashes with 20th ESV!)
- 15 May 07 TRL: Bus and Coach Safety Update (2004-2006) - PDF for 20 pounds.
- 15 May 07 Fleet News: Tyre management: get a grip on checks + Scientists prove hands-free risk. PDF of report "Conversations in cars: the relative hazards of mobile phones" available from TRL for 30 pounds!
- 15 May 07 AI: Chrysler recalls 270,000 minivans (airbag) + Lexus ups the ante with the most high-tech car ever built (fatigue detection system that may also be useful for distraction detection)
- 15 May 07 IIHS: New Acura and Ford models are top performers in crash tests.
- 12 May Euro NCAP: Disappointing results from Euro NCAP's ESC fitment survey + eSafety: "Choose ESC" Campaign + ChooseESC website. VDR paper on ESC available from ChooseESC website.
- 10 May 07 Business Week: Nissan Dials Into Traffic Safety - improved safety for pedestrians carrying mobile phones? (or less safety for those that don't?)
- 9 May 07 Fleet News: Behind the scenes at Thatcham’s centre.
- 9 May 07 Goauto: Kangoo, Trafic and Master ugraded for 2007 model year - [the Kangoo has a] a speed control feature designed to prevent drivers from inadvertently breaking the speed limit.
- 8 May 07 Presentation: What's hot in road safety - vehicles that obey the speed limits.
- 7 May 07 New Scientist ($): Interview: The human crash test dummy.
- 6 May 07 Consumer Reports: Multipoint seat-belt safety campaign.[normal seat belts - multiple targets]
- 6 May 07 Fleet News: Crash tragedy case a ‘wake-up call to all fleets’
- 30 Apr 07 Consumer Reports: Why Sweden rules in road safety
- 30 Apr 07 Fleet News: Airbag fault sparks Kia [Sorrento] recall.
- 28 Apr 07 AAA Foundation: Measure targets younger drivers: Bill would ban cell calls, text messages while behind wheel + Toddler vehicle death: a frequent tragedy + Biker safety is top priority: Festival officials ask drivers of both 2-wheel and 4-wheel vehicles to pay extra attention (but motorcycle DRLs not on the menu!)
- 26 Apr 07 Auto Express: Crash tests' hi-tech shake-up - compatibility crash tests [thanks Anne Logan]
- 25 Apr 07 Fleet News: Simulator shows dangers of speed, drink and phones + Simulator aims to curb speed + ROSPA: Stopping distance simulator.
- 25 Apr 07 AAA Founcation: Campaigning
in Alec's name: Family's efforts to make others aware of vehicle blind
zones, dangers to kids peaks with race, county law + Schoolkids, buckle up on buses -- or else: Violators should get referrals, district says.
- 22 Apr 07 New Scientist: If you're driving, stay off the phone - Those who were using a phone while driving with no passengers were 4.10 times as likely to crash. + AAP ($): The contribution of passengers versus mobile phone use to motor vehicle crashes resulting in hospital attendance by the driver.
- 22 AAP April 07 selection ($):
- 21 Apr 07 Australasian College of Road Safety: Daytime Running Lights - ACRS in one of its policy statements supports daytime running lights, and suggests that until they become standard on vehicles, drivers use their low beam during daylight.
- 21 Apr 07 CNN: Corzine crash spotlights SUV safety [speeding and seat belts?] + Crash death rates show progress in auto safety - SUVs, in particular, now much safer with addition of stability control. IIHS Status Report.
- 21 Apr 07 AAA Foundation: Focus shifting to avoiding crashes: But will drivers give up control? + Driver Death Rate Falls, Study Finds + SUVs 5-7 Percent Safer Than Passenger Cars-Fatalities in SUV-Passenger Car Crashes Trending Downward.
- 20 Apr 07 ACRS: 2007 Australasian Road Safety Research, Policing and Education Conference 2007 will be held in Melbourne, 17 - 19 October 2007.
- 20 Apr 07 WSJ ($): How Safe Is Your Child's School Bus? - School buses by far safest passenger vehicles on the road...(summary at AD) + Copy at AAA.
- 20 Apr 07 BBC: Camera-caught drivers not fined.
- 19 Apr 07 AI: Safety sells with auto buyers - but no mention of speed control:
" There is no single vehicle technology remaining to be
implemented - neither on the market nor in development - that offers
the same safety potential as ISA" (ETSC 2006)
- 17 Apr 07 The Age: 'Virtual humans' sought for crash tests.
- 11
Apr 07 Engineers Australia: The National Panel on the Biomechanics of
Impact Injury presents and afternoon seminar on Rear Seat Passenger
Safety.Friday 27th April, 12.30pm - 5pm. Sydney. For details phone Nina Lenz – 02 6270 6548
- 6 Apr 07 AI: NHTSA mandates anti-roll systems for all vehicles by 2012. [actually it is electronic stability control!]
- 6 Apr 07 IIHS: Rear crash protection in cars: seat/head restraints in two of every three models are marginal or poor.
- 6 Apr 07 New Scientist ($): How many things can you do at once? - Needless to say, there appear to be no researchers in the area of
multitasking who believe that you can safely drive a car and carry on a
phone conversation ... people using cellphones drive
no better than drunks... using a hands-free kit did not improve a
driver's response time... what distracts a driver so
badly is the very act of talking to someone who isn't present in the
car and therefore is unaware of the hazards facing the driver.
- 5 Apr 07 ABC: LPG automotive tanks recalled - There has been a national recall of more than 13,500 LPG automotive tanks that may leak liquid LPG.
- 3 Apr 07 CNN: Anger over new safety rules for cars
- Federal regulators are expected to announce new stability control
systems...the standard it was considering suffered from "a crippling
lack of ambition."
- 31 Mar 07 AI: NHTSA mulls commercial bus seat belt rule - about time! See THREE
POINT SEAT BELTS ON COACHES - THE FIRST DECADE IN AUSTRALIA
- 31 Mar 07 Livescience: Study Reveals Why We Get Distracted So Easily.
- 22 Mar 07 Goauto: Braking software glitch affects range of Chrysler Group vehicles in Australia.
- 22 Mar 07 Consumer Reports: What's next in auto safety - Innovative advances will soon make driving safer than ever. (but no mention of ISA) + How our [child] car seat tests went wrong - The missteps we made and some lessons we learned
- 22 Mar 07 AAAF: Bus Safety Rules Might Have Saved Lives, NTSB Chief Says [but not seat belts]
- 21 Mar 07 CNN: Consumer Reports adjusts after flawed car-seat tests.
- 20 Mar 07 AAA Foundation: Older Drivers in Crashes: The Mistakes They Make at Intersections + IIHS Status Report.
- 16 Mar 07 Green Flag: Drivers admit they succumb to deadly distractions.
- 15 Mar 07 Yahoo 7: Many men have driven at more than 150kmh. (see 13 Mar)
- 14 Mar 07 SMH Drive: Missing airbag danger
- 14 Mar 07 Fleet News: Vehicle technology: in-car intelligence + Gadgets don’t work for residual values.
- 13 Mar 07: In-vehicle Intelligent Speed Advisory Systems - pre-print of paper for the 20th International Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles.
- 13 Mar 07 AI: Call for highway speed limits meets little enthusiasm in Germany.
- 9 Mar 07 AI: Automakers back single crash rating + CNN: Govt. wants more crash tests for cars.
- 8 Mar 07 ABC Aust: Toyota recalls thousands of cars - Landcruiser and LX470 - front-disc brake rotor retaining bolts.
- 6 Mar 07 Sunday Age: Why seatbelt laws are failing our children.
- 3 Mar 07 AAA Foundation: Cameras in cars keep watch on teen driving + Child's height matters Officials say parents should know when to use booster seat.
- 26 Feb 07 AAAM:
Oct 15-16 - AAAM's 51st Annual Conference in Melbourne, Australia
- followed by Road Safety Conference Oct 17-18 -
VicRoads
- 24 Feb 07 AI: Crash tests rate 24 autos high -
2007 SUVs, passenger vehicles score well, but Transportation secretary
wants to revise testing...Some of the same vehicles have received
mediocre ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety + Tire firms fight pressure-monitor rule + Automotive Digest: New Research: Navigation Systems Improve Traffic Safety + AAA Foundation:
- 21 Feb 07 People Safe In Rollovers Foundation: EMERGENCY WORLD SUMMIT on ROOF CRUSH. Washington DC, 18-20 July 2007.
- 9 Feb 07 Fleet News: [UK] Minister gets tough on phone offenders - employers who cause drivers to use mobiles on the move could be prosecuted under the tough new laws
- 7 Feb 07 IIHS: Two Fords earn good crash test ratings; Edge wins Institute's highest award, TOP SAFETY PICK.
- 7 Feb 07 Fleet News: Voyager suffers NCAP test blow
- 6 Feb 07 Cambridge Uni (UK): MECHANICS OF HEAVY-DUTY TRUCK SYSTEMS
to be held at Cambridge University from 23-26 April 2007. The event
will be led by three 'gurus' of heavy vehicle dynamics: Chris Winkler
and Bob Ervin from UMTRI, and Dick Radlinski of LINK Radlinski Inc...
- 3 Feb 07 WSJ (copy): Do 'Five-Star' or 'Good' Ratings Really Mean It's a Safer Ride? (see also IIHS (PDF): Vehicles can be more fuel efficient without compromising safety)
- 3 Feb 07 ABRN: New Volvo braking system hopes to cut collisions in half.
- 3 Feb 07 CAS: ESC II - the first Electronic Stability Control with steering intervention.
- 3 Feb 07 AI: Custom parts might derail vehicle stability.
- 2 Feb 07 Goauto: Voyager slammed in latest EuroNCAP testing.
- 2 Feb 07 New Scientist: Tyres that know when they are wearing out (patent application).
- 1 Feb 07 Goauto: Holden's Korean-sourced SUV hits its first hump - recall for brake pedal
- 31 Jan 07 Euro NCAP: MPVs - some manufactuers still lazy about safety - the
Chrysler Voyager has again been awarded a poor safety score of two
stars with the last star struck through, seven years after it
originally received a two-star result.
- 31 Jan 07 BBC: 'Bottleneck' slows brain activity - The findings, published in Neuron, support the case for a complete ban on the use of mobile phones when driving
- 30 Jan 07 IIHS Status Report (PDF)
- Red light cameras in Philadelphia all but eliminate violations
- Cameras in US communities
- Why beginners crash and the kinds of crashes they get into
- Vehicle size in relation to safety and fuel economy
- Airbags: What you might not know (or don't remember)
- 30 Jan 07 Fleet News: Stay in control of vehicle safety + Warning over drivers who keep on phoning + Survey shows danger of defective tyres.
- 30 Jan 07 VDR: Question: Half of all fatal car accidents occur at or below what impact speed?
- 20 Jan 07 AI: Child seat test faulty - Consumer Reports Magazine retracts results because some test crashes were conducted at speeds higher than it reported.
- 19 Jan 07 ABC 7.30: Young drivers' voices 'ignored' in P-plate debate
- 12 Jan 07 SF Gate: Safety data a trade secret?
- 12 Jan 07 AI: Feds seek tougher [NCAP] car safety testing
- 11 Jan 07 SMH: Night bans, tougher tests for P-platers - no mention of choosing safer vehicles!
- 6 Jan 07 Fleet News: Crash aftermath costs £1bn a year - lost
working hours resulting from car accidents are costing UK companies at
least £1 billion a year...company car drivers have approximately
50% more crashes than ordinary drivers, even taking their higher
mileage into account + Auris score highly in crash tests - two other vehicles 'appalling' [in pedestrian protection]
- 5 Jan 07 New Scientist ($): SUV owners need a hand to drive better - "It lulls drivers into a false sense of security that they will survive an impact..."
- 5 Jan 07 Washington Post: That Eye in the Sky? It Sees You Speeding (used to be known as "Pigs in Space" when trialled in New South Wales decades ago - remember the Muppets?)
- 4 Jan 07 AI: Toyota developing system that detects drunken drivers, says report.
- 4 Jan 07 Washington Post: Traffic deaths should top news
- 30 Dec 06 ABC: Young motorists banned from driving V8s [in Queensland] - no mention of choosing safer vehicles! It appears that some 5 star rated vehicles will no longer be able to be driven by provisional drivers.
- 27 Dec 06 SMH Drive: Motorists switch satnav on, brain off.
- 26 Dec 06 AAP: Neck injury tolerance under inertial loads in side impacts.
- 20 Dec 06 European Commission: Public consultation on daytime running lights.
- 20 Dec 06 IIHS: First crash tests of minicars: Nissan Versa earns the highest overall rating; three minicars earn poor ratings in side tests.
- 20 Dec 06 AI: Big risk seen in smaller autos.
- 20 Dec 06 Fleet News: Driver training and risk management: Are you responsible for road accidents?
- So when we talk of ‘someone who established or condoned the
working practices that contributed to a fatal accident’, could
that someone be you?
- 11 Dec 06 Medical Journal of Australia: Preventing traffic accidents by mobile phone users + Phone use and crashes while driving: a representative survey of drivers in two Australian states.
- 8 Dec 06 DFP: GM to offer standard side air bags by 2012.
- 7 Dec 06 SMH Drive: Buy your P-plater a car for life - A safe car is their best chance of coming out alive (I agree) + Suzuki recalls Ignis cars due to airbags.
- 7 Dec 06 RACV: Toyota Aurion biggest winner at australia’s best cars
- Base model buyers especially, would benefit from life-saving
technology, such as Electronic Stability Control, anti-lock brakes and
six airbags.
- 6 Dec 06 Fleet News: Drivers call for total mobile ban.
- 6 Dec 06 FEMA (PDF): Response to EU consultation paper on DRLs. Comment: several myths are perpetuated in this document. See DAYTIME
RUNNING LIGHTS FOR MOTORCYCLES. In particular:
- DRLs do not "distract" other motorists - they instantly
make the vehicle more conspicuous. This is an advantage because
other road users can devote more time to detecting less conspicuous
objects.
- DRLs do not create disabling glare. In any case, they
have only a fraction of the luminous intensity of sunlight reflected
off glass and polished surfaces.
- I have suggested that yellow turn-signal DRLs be used on motorcycles so they stand out from white DRLs on cars.
The best DRL solution is
low-powered (LED?) dedicated DRLs with a light sensor to switch to
headlights when ambient light levels drop.
- 5 Dec 06 New Scientist: Wing-mirror cameras (transmitting video to following vehicles) + Seat Belt airbags (further down page)
- 4 Dec 06 The Times: What a teenage girl should worry about most: her boyfriend's driving
- 4 Dec 06 Reuters: Moroccan bus crash kills 12 - see also THREE
POINT SEAT BELTS ON COACHES - THE FIRST DECADE IN AUSTRALIA
- 30 Nov 06 Euro NCAP: Euro NCAP continues to provide consumers with the latest information about the safety of new cars with its most recent releases - four more 5 star performers.
- 30 Nov 06 ABC: Labor calls for national summit on youth road toll - still no mention of choosing safer vehicles!
- 30 Nov 06 Livescience: Paths to self-destruction #5
- So hit the road, forget the speed limit, yak on your cell
phone—or worse, eat—and don't buckle up if you're anxious
to become part of this popular statistic.
- 29 Nov 06 NRMA: Growth in airbags makes new cars safer - The Subaru Tribeca, a large 4WD, scored 5 stars in the latest ANCAP crash test result
- 25 Nov 06 AI: Industry adds input on [alcohol] ignition locks - Automakers
will discuss how to stop drunk drivers, but say technology won't hit
the roads for years. "If we can't stop drunks from driving, we'll stop
vehicles from driving drunks..." - MADD's president
- 24 Nov 06 Fleet News: New laws give fleets more clout - fleets are not getting enough executive support to run safe, efficient cars and vans...
- 22 Nov 06 Fleet News: Fleet management: Young drivers - but no mention of choosing safer vehicles! On a positive note: "Centrica has reprogrammed 3,000 new vans so they cannot exceed 70mph,
with the aim of reducing high-speed motorway collisions and improving
fuel efficiency. All the firm’s vans should be reprogrammed
within the next four years."
- 22 Nov 06 IIHS: 2007 TOP SAFETY PICK award winners: award criteria are tougher; SUVs eligible for first time.
- 16 Nov 06 Forbes Magazine: Least-Safe Cars 2007.
- 16 Nov 06 NZ Herald: Large vehicles top security survey but drivers urged to consider crash tests too.
- 16 Nov 06 ABC: Fatal crash prompts call for truck 'black boxes' - A
Victorian coroner wants recording equipment, similar to the "black
boxes" used in aeroplanes, to be installed in all large trucks.
- 15 Nov 06 NHTSA: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator Calls
for a Collaborative Effort to Solve the Tragic
Issue of Motor Vehicle Backovers + PDF: Vehicle Backover Avoidance Technology Study.
- 14 Nov 06 European Commission: Do other road users suffer from the presence of cars that have their daytime running lights on? "no
evidence that the conspicuity of road users in the vicinity of a
DRL-vehicle, as measured by the speed with which their presence was
detected, suffered from a car having its Daytime Running Lights on." + SAVING LIVES WITH DAYTIME RUNNNG LIGHTS (DRL) - A Consultation Paper (closes 17 Nov)
- 14 Nov 06 European Agency for Safety and Health at Work: Young people are especially vulnerable in the workplace - thanks Will Murray. But no mention of choosing safer vehicles!
- 11 Nov 06 ABC: Holden hit with second Commodore recall - rear seatbelt buckles + NSW school zones to get warning systems. See also Flashing lights on school buses.
- 8 Nov 06 Drive/SMH: Unlimited speeds in NT axed + Rude awakening for drowsy drivers + New Scientist: Clever cars shine at intelligent transport conference.
- 8 Nov 06 Fleet News: Accident management: The aftermath.
- 8 Nov 06 Euro NCAP: Latest rsults - Honda Civic, Lexus IS and Kia Carnival
- 31 Oct 06 Fleet News: Prepare now for new [UK] minibus rules [speed limiters]
- 26 Oct 06 TAC: Subaru Tribeca earns 5 stars from ANCAP.
- 26 Oct 06 Drive SMH: Road safety drive to set limits on speed-loving Territorians - Territorians are at greater risk of being killed in a road crash than people in the rest of the developed world + Cars to automatically detect speed limit (there is already a device that does this - SpeedAlert)
- 18 Oct 06 Goauto: Some digs at Holden: Ford Oz spruiks European-ness as it takes a swipe at Holden's Korean-sourced models "[Holden have gone for a strategy of low-cost, bottom-end with their Korean line-up" + A host of standard safety features see Aurion go one step further than Commodore + Holden recalls more than 1500 examples of its V8-powered VE Commodore sedan (fuel leak)
- 13 Oct 06 New Scientist: Clever cars shine at intelligent transport conference - but no mention of speed control.
- 13 Oct 06 Fleet News: Driver safety top of [UK] sat-nav review. DoT: In-Vehicle Information Systems (IVIS) Consultation Document.
- 11 Oct 06 Drive (the Age): P-platers put on right road - but (once again) no mention of choosing safer vehicles!
- 11 Oct 06 Fleet News: Cameras target the tailgaters.
- 6 Oct 06 Consumer Affairs: Study: Aggressive Driving Negates Benefits of Safety Devices.
- 6 Oct 06 Fleet News: Call for at-work crash statistics + Five-star awards in NCAP tests.
- 5 Oct 06 AI: Study: Side air bags save lives
"Consumers shouldn't buy cars without side air bags, says Adrian Lund,
president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety." (see also the
graph above) + IIHS: Side airbags substantially reduce death risk in cars & SUVs; those that protect people's heads are especially effective. Oct Status Report has details.
- 3 Oct 06 ABC: Govt defends roads policy amid damning report.
- 3 Oct 06 Accident Analysis & Prevention
Volume 38, Issue 6 (Nov 2006) abstracts:
- 27 Sep 06 Drive SMH: Brock car: 'as good and as safe as you could get' - but see Side Impacts and Improved Occupant Protection.
- 23 Sep 06 BBC: Deadly crash on German monorail - comment: technology has difficulty with one dimension. Add another and the challenge for automated highways becomes evident.
- 15 Sep 06 NZ Autocar: Will Barina get back on Corsa? - "I am worried about selling cars and brand image, and there is no doubt the two-star rating impacted on that." Also Drive.
- 15 Sep 06 AI: Feds: Put anti-rollover controls in all autos + Ex-chief calls for NHTSA action - Runge says agency must complete new standards for roof strength, side crashes + Ford to roll out stability controls -
Automaker will make anti-rollover feature, which could save 10,600 lives, standard by 2009.
- 15 Sep 05 IIHS: New side crash tests: performance of two Fords improves with side airbags
- 13 Sep 06 Australian: Speed limit alert software unveiled
- 13 Sep 06 UK Think Safety: Child Restraints - New Law - New regulations governing the use of child car seats will come into force on 18 September 2006.
- 7 Sep 06 AI: NHTSA won't test Explorer roof.
- 6 Sep 06 Fleet News: Distraction major cause of accidents.
- 2 Sep 06 AI: Ford tests new seat belt ideas - Carmaker developing four-point, inflatable designs to improve safety.
- 1 Sep 06 SMH: Safe as cars, 4WDs escape green slip rise
- Stuart Newstead, senior research fellow at Monash University's
Accident Research Centre, yesterday cautioned against interpreting the
study's results as a safety tick for 4WDs... + New Opel Corsa stars in crash test.
- 31 Aug 06 Goauto: Hyundai continues to back safety technology despite disappointing [ESC] take-up in Getz + Five stars for less than one per cent of 270 cars tested in the RACV's car reversing index
+ Toyota's Corolla targeted in latest vehicle parts theft scam, this time aimed at airbags + Lexus fits knee airbags and other safety extras to its SC430 coupe-convertible + Benz says almost a third of new S-class buyers have opted for night-vision technology
- 31 Aug 06 DoTaRS: Australian Design Rules now online!
- 29 Aug 06 Euro NCAP: Seat axes safety feature while Ford raises the stakes for MPV's.
- 25 Aug 06 Consumer Reports: Blind spots + [IIHS] Crash tests
- 24 Aug 06 NHTSA: Rise in Motorcycle and Pedestrian Deaths Led to Increase in Overall Highway Fatality Rate in 2005. [SUV fatalities down]
- 24 Aug 06 AI: Carmakers stall roof rules -
Safety activists say federal standards are too lax.
- 24 Aug 06 SMH: Speeding fines may come to sudden halt -
to be given weight as evidence the digital cameras that took the
photos had to be calibrated every day. The authority calibrated its
cameras once a year...! Sounds like a misunderstandng over the purpose calibration of instrumentation.
- 12 Aug 06 AI: Vehicles, not drivers, safer - IIHS: Declining death rates due to safer vehicles, not better drivers or improved roadways + New crash tests: Toyota Camry and RAV4 earn top ratings in front and side tests; Dodge Caliber improves over Neon.
- 10 Aug 06 AI: Nothing like tragic stories to stop cell phone chat on road
- 9 Aug 06 Fleet News BREAKTHROUGH?: British Gas opts for speed limiters
- BRITISH Gas is demanding manufacturers fit speed limiters to its
fleet of more than 10,000 vans in a bid to ensure its drivers remain
safe on the road.
- 9 Aug 06 Fleet News (caution: annoying ads): Call for action over A-pillar blindspots - see also the NRMA Insurance vision ratings.
- 8 Aug 06 Australian: Seat belt call after school bus crash + Courier Mail: Eight school children hurt in bus crash. See also this report on retrofitting seat belts to buses (in particular, page 18)
- 5 Aug 06 SMH: What's big in small cars - The
Barina is the only new car in Australia with such a poor NCAP rating...
we won't recommend it at any price... the Yaris... has achieved five
stars out of five (with side airbags) in Euro NCAP tests. In a small
car, you need all the crash protection you can get, so this is decisive.
- 5 Aug 06 AI: Ford cruise control recall widens.
- 5 Aug 06 Carsguide: How safe is your car? (NCAP)
- 2 Aug 06 Saferoads 2006 conference - Melbourne, 7-8 Sept 2006.
- 28 Jul 06 EuroNCAP: Euro NCAP spots weaknesses in two best-selling cars - Latest results.
- 27 Jul 06 NRMA: NRMA and RTA help protect your precious cargo - Parents trying to pick the safest car restraints for their children now have access to the latest testing results...
- 27 Jul 06 NRMA Insurance: Are you driving blind? - rear vision assessments for driveway safety. Vehicles that scored zero stars: RAV4, Prado, 380, CLK500, Odydssey & Viva!
- 27 Jul 06 Goauto: Both active and passive safety play big roles in Holden's billion-dollar Commodore.
- 26 Jul 06 Drive: Big Brother watches Commodore drivers - Drivers of Holden’s new VE Commodore could have their every move monitored and recorded by their boss - but needs speed limit advice.
- 21 Jul 06: USA Today: How to prevent backover deaths of kids? (thanks Automotive Digest)
- 21 Jul 06 Fleet Owner: Flatbed fleet cuts accidents with safety [ Lane Departure Warning ] system. (thanks Automotive Digest)
- 21 Jul 06 ABRN: Mercedes Autonomous Braking Can Reduce Crash Severity. (thanks Automotive Digest)
- 21 Jul 06 Todays Trucking: Complete truck crash study now available. (thanks Automotive Digest)
- 21 Jul 06 Fleet News: [UK] Roads safer but more is needed.
- 21 Jul 06 Goauto: Holden admits that the VE Commodore can only be a 'good four-star car' .
- 17 Jul 06 SpaceDaily: Smart Cars To Rule The Roads.
- 16 Jul 06 AI: A female voice men will actually listen to for directions.
- 14 Jul 06 AI: Toyota, Nissan recall tops 500,000 (Altima and Sentra engine cut-out, Highlander and Lexus RX 330 console panel)
- 13 Jul 06 SMH: 4WD drivers really as bad we thought
- A person behind the wheel of one is far more likely to be wielding a
mobile phone while driving, and less likely to wear a seatbelt...
- 11 Jul 06 Accident Analysis & Prevention
Volume 38, Issue 5(September 2006) abstracts:
- 6 Jul 06: Speed Alert now taking orders online - PDA or
mobile phone displays speed zones and alerts driver to speeding and
school zones (see example of program running on a PDA)
- 5 Jul 06 Drive: Smaller cars not so big on safety - note that recent small cars that perform very well in NCAP tests are not included in the Used Car Safety Rating.
- 3 Jul 06 Yahoo: Restricting teen drivers may reduce deaths - no mention of safer vehicles for teen drivers.
- 27 Jun 06 Goauto: Plea for standard ESP as Holden obliges
- 22 Jun 06 DFP: Side safety: Impala and Avalon best - IIHS Press Release.
- 22 Jun 06 Goauto: Mitsubishi 380 the ‘safest’ local large car, along with Ford’s big Territory SUV.
- 17 Jun 06 Goauto: Honda Odyssey recall (94-97 models - ignition switch)
- 17 Jun 06 ABC: Toddler killed in driveway accident.
- 16 Jun 06 ABC: Road accidents cut 2pc from GDP: study - the medical, property and emergency costs from serious accidents are about $17 billion each year...
- 16 Jun 06 Consumer.org New Zealand: What price safety? "In our view...the Holden Barina should be withdrawn from sale until it's improved..."
- 15 Jun 06 IIHS: Electronic
stability control could prevent nearly one-third of all fatal crashes
and reduce rollover risk by as much as 80%; effect is found on single-
and multiple-vehicle crashes + Status Report (PDF) + GM news release: New Study Confirms GM Commitment to StabiliTrak. (thanks Adrian Lund)
- 15 Jun 06 LiveScience: New In-Car Device Warns Speeding Drivers.
- 14 Jun 06 Goauto: Dismal crash test result hurts sales and forces Holden to reconsider its Barina plan + SMH Drive: Sales crash causes Holden to rethink safety. See also Choosing
safer vehicles for young drivers - "... about half
of the young drivers who died in a vehicle that is in the least safe
group would be alive today if they had been driving a vehicle from the
safest group" [like
the latest Barina, most of the vehicles in the "least-safe" group had a
2 star NCAP rating or equivalent - they cannot be called "unsafe"
because they meet safety regulations but decide for yourself whether
the improved safety of a 4 star vehicle is worth having - see this NZ article]
- 10 Jun 06 Fleet News: EU sponsors safety project - car sensor equipment to help motorists avoid accidents at junctions and intersections...
- 9 Jun 06 AI: Car seats safer for kids than seat belts - CHOP study: Effectiveness of Child Safety Seats vs Seat Belts in Reducing Risk for Death in Children in Passenger Vehicle Crashes (abs)
- 31 May 06 SMH: Steering defect triggers Prius recall - produced in Japan from July 2003 to November 2005
- 27 May 06 Carsguide: Barina that could've been
- [the Holden Barina] scored only two stars in two separate New Car
Assessment Program tests, a dismal result for a new car. The new Corsa
has not yet been tested by NCAP, but it has a good chance of scoring
five stars
- 27 May 06 Consumer Reports: Surprise! Parents and youth see eye to eye on used cars
- buy the newest, most reliable model with the most safety equipment
you can afford... If your budget can handle a newer car with
multistage advanced front air bags, side and head-protection air bags,
antilock brakes, and electronic stability control, so much the better
(See also Choosing
safer vehicles for young drivers) + Do-it-yourself car-monitoring devices.
- 26 May 06 WhatCar: £200 to save your life - electronic stability control (thanks Bill Bridgens)
- 24 May 06 Fleet News: Safety checks toll is getting worse - 18% were unroadworthy
- 23 May 06 IIHS Status Report: Bad statistics leads to misinformation + Vehicle design improvements are main reasons for declining death rates in recent years.
- 23 May 06 CNN: The future of car safety - All [most US] new cars do well in front crash tests, but wrecks still kill many thousands. How can we be better protected?
- 22 May 06 SMH: School safety plan: lights, cameras, ads. Research on flashing warning lights - a prototype 40 sign with flashing LEDs was trialled in 1994. Speed Alert product.
- 20 May 06 Accident Analysis & Prevention (abs):
- Misconceptions regarding case-control studies of bicycle helmets and head injury
- Crash costs in the United States by crash geometry
- Motorists’ use of hand held cell phones in New Zealand: An observational study
- Predicting severe head injury after light motor vehicle crashes: Implications for automatic crash notification systems
- Injury potential of a three-year-old Hybrid III dummy in
forward and rearward facing positions under CMVSS 208 testing
conditions (note there appears to be an assumption that the dummy neck
is biofidelic - Australian research suggests this is not the case)
- 19 May 06 Fleet News: Road death inquiry can be harrowing [for corporations].
- 18 May 06 ABC: Ghana bus collision kills 35
Thirty-five people were killed in a collision involving two buses in central Ghana, police said on Wednesday
- 17 May 06 AI: Toyota recalls 210,000 Prado SUVs worldwide for axle problem + When speed and wealth collide.
- 15 May 06 AI: [Ford lawsuit] 'Roof crush' data may go public
- 12 May 06 Carsguide: Barina crunched on safety
Comment: NHTSA may have given the Aveo 5 stars in the (relatively easy)
full frontal test but it got 3 stars in the side impact and NHTSA
listed it as a "safety concern"!
- 11 May 06 NewSci (subs): Shape-shifting car will brace for impact.
- 11 May 06 Consumer Reports (Subs): New air bags safer than earlier [US] models - Air-bag related injuries have declined
- 10 May 06 Goauto: Barina gets another "poor" crash test rating
- "If you have a choice between what is rated as a two-star NCAP
vehicle and a four-star of the same size, the risk of injury is roughly
25 to 30 percent lower in the four-star vehicle compared to the
two-star. That’s an enormous difference..."
- 9 May 06 RACV: New Holden Barina slips to 2 stars in crash tests.
- 9 May 06 NRMA: Revolutionary technology fights fatigue behind the wheel.
- 8 May 06 AI: Chrysler recalls [300, Charger & Magnum] sedans, Jeeps - brake leaks
- 30 Apr 06 SAE Australasia:
COMMERCIAL BRAKE ENGINEERING Air Brake Systems & Design Rules
TECHNICAL PRESENTATION. 15 May in Sydney. Contact RICHARD GRDUSIAK for details.
- 30 Apr 06 Euro NCAP: FIAT IDEA & NISSAN PATHFINDER: Euro NCAP awards four stars.
- 26 Apr 06 Fleet News: Top ten safety devices revealed - a poll of 1,100 motorists. Vehicle stability control has been overlooked!
- 30 Apr 06 Goauto: Ford boss casts doubt over the credibility of Australia's crash-test program. BUT the picture says it all...
- 24 Apr 06 News.com.au: Top cop wants car speed limiters. Comment: top speed limiting
set at 120km/h was recommended to the NSW RTA in a report that I wrote
in 1996. I considered the pros and cons of a range of top speeds and
120km/h came out best. This would also be a stong deterrent to car-jacking and joyriding.
- 24 Apr 06 AI: 80% of accidents caused by distracted motorists + Safety advances don't put brakes on traffic deaths + How Shanghai will compete
- 24 Apr 06 IIHS:
Crash tests of small cars & minivans: 2 earn the Institute's Top
Safety Pick award (Sedona and Impreza); 1st Institute test results for
Prius hybrid.
- 24 Apr 06 SMH: Data hides the real numbers - Australia
does not count those injured and killed in the workplace accurately and
the true death toll is probably two to three times the count of 500
aged under 25 who have died in the past decade, it has been claimed. Comment: And the data does not count deaths travelling to or from work.
- 5 Apr 06 SMH: Crash test: Ford Courier and Mazda Bravo - This is the video - or more correctly, the crash test - that has Ford Australia fuming + Adelaide Advertiser: Utilities fall short on safety features + RACV: ANCAP crash test results - April 2006 + Latest ANCAP results downgrade [4x4] Ford Courier crash rating
(not correct since the 4x4 model has never been tested. The 4x2
Courier/Bravo was tested in 2001. The scoring system has changed since
then)
- 2 Apr 06 IIHS: Major
change in crashworthiness evaluations for consumer information, based
on 10+ years of success of the frontal crash test program + AI: Front crash test procedure is revised.
- 31 Mar 06 SeattlePI: Nader returns to auto safety watchdog role - More than 40 years after "Unsafe at Any Speed" shook up the auto industry, Ralph Nader is returning to his roots + FTS: Whites more likely to die in car crashes (thanks Automotive Digest)
- 29 Mar 06 Goauto: Latest ANCAP results downgrade Ford Courier crash rating - speculation
- 24 Mar 06 New Scientist (subs): How to tell a fender bender from a pile-up - Systems
that send an alert when a car crashes risk swamping emergency services
with trivial calls over scraped fenders - telling the difference is key
- 23 Mar 06 Florida Today: Kids and Cars aims to curb backover accidents. Comment: Technology will assist but there is no substitute for close adult supervision of children near vehicles.
- 23 Mar 06 SMH: Speedcam slip may cost $100m -
RTA loses a Supreme Court appeal over speed camera photos.
- 22 Mar 06 Drive: Holden hits safety barrier .
- 22 Mar 06 WP (revised): Bush Names Choice To Head Traffic Safety - Nicole Nason to be administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 20 Mar 06 CNN: Safety of Chrysler vehicles probed.
- 20 Mar 06 AI: 7 SUVs get top safety score (NHTSA)
- 14 Mar 06 Goauto: Holden announces one of its biggest ever safety recalls to fix 124,000 side airbags
- 6 Mar 06 IIHS: New crash tests of midsize cars: BMW 3 series & Lexus IS earn 'Top Safety Pick,' but new Ford Fusion disappoints.
- 1 Mar 06 Goauto: NITSC to save lives, reduce traffic (National Intelligent Transport Systems Centre - Victoria , Australia) - speed control?
- 1 Mar 06 CNN: $25 million initiative to boost child safety seats + Ford recalls 211,000 pickups for warning lights
- 27 Feb 06 Goauto: Holden defends two-star Barina sedan crash rating.[Euro NCAP rating for Aveo - see below]
- 25 Feb 06 Euro NCAP: A
wake-up call for the motor industry as Euro NCAP awards two star
strike-through for the new Chevrolet Aveo. Latest
ratings.
- 21 Feb 06 ABC 7.30 Report: Hit-run
kills six - calls for electronic
stability control on vehicles - weak argument from Holden, which
has none on "base" models! Opinion: manufacturers should be required to
make
key
safety equipment available for all models, at least as an option.
- 17 Feb 05 DFP: Belted
in back seat best for tweens.
- 16 Feb 06 Engineers Australia NCBII:
Seminar on VEHICLE INCOMPATIBILITY - Keynote Speaker: Dr Adrian
Lund IIHS. MELBOURNE—Wednesday 1st March
EA VIC Division Office, 21 Bedford St Nth Melbourne
SYDNEY—Thursday 2nd March
Carlton Crest Hotel, Thomas St Haymarket
12noon—5pm
- 11 Feb 06 Detroit News: Bush
highway safety nominee to push safety programs
- 7 Feb 06 Euro NCAP: Euro
NCAP 10th Anniversary Conference.
- 7 Feb 06 ADVEA: [Australasian] MADYMO User's
Meeting 2005 - conference papers.
- 3 Feb 06 Fleet News:
High-tech safety for new Volvo S80 saloon +
Speed awareness +
Fleets help reduce noxious emissions
- 2 Feb 06 NHTSA: Occupant
Fatality Rates by Vehicle Type & Size (1Mb PDF) + CNN: Larger
cars still safer, according to Gov't report
- 2 Feb 06 RACV: P-plate
car ban lifts - NSW RTA backs down over banned cars for novice
drivers – but the battle continues... (related
discussion paper) + Road
safety groups call for compulsory stability control in new vehicles (related
presentation)
- 2 Feb 06 IIHS: ANOTHER LARGE
LUXURY CAR EARNS TOP RATING IN DEMANDING SIDE IMPACT TEST.
- 1 Feb 06 SMH/Drive: Citroen
C6 tops inside and out - several other items of safety news.
- 30 Jan 06 AI: Ford
ordered to pay $29 million in rollover crash
- 28 Jan 06 SMH: Road
safety funds slashed
- 27 Jan 06 Daily Telegraph: Quick
justice for speeders - MOTORISTS caught speeding more than 45km/h
over the limit could have their cars impounded.
- 27 Jan 06 Fleet News:
Urban bike safety campaign launched +
Plea for clearer advice on van speed limiters
- 25 Jan 06 Fleet News:
Drivers don’t buckle up, according to survey +
Safety technology ‘leads to crashes’ +
Alfa 159 joins five-star NCAP club for occupant safety (Euro
NCAP rating) +
Call for action on sat-nav 'dangers'
- 24 Jan 06 ABC: 33
killed in Brazil bus crash
At least 33 people have been killed and 21 injured after two buses
collided in Brazil's Sao Paulo state.
- 10 Jan 06 Autonews: Safety
ratings ready to expand - Scores for whiplash, crash compatibility,
avoiding accidents? Euro NCAP is considering adding vehicle-to-vehicle
compatibility and active safety to its test ratings. The European
crash-testing organization also will soon assess how well seats protect
occupants from whiplash injury in a collision.[speculation]
- 8 Jan 06 Toyota (USA): US
version of Yaris to get side curtains as standard.
- 8 Jan 06 FleetNews:
New crash findings reveal risk factors - new research reveals that
one out of every five motorists has been involved in an accident while
driving on company business over the past five years +
Campaigners push for 80mph speed limit on motorways (but see Would
relaxing speed limits aggravate safety?: A case study of Hong Kong
- The relaxation of the speed limit
from 70 to 80 km/h (not mph)
increased the Fatal+Serious accident counts by 36%.)
- 5 Jan 05 FleetNews (regn): Renault
uses its F1 technology for new child safety device
- 3 Jan 06 AI: High-tech
will win car wars - The battle for buyers depends on smarter
gadgets that offer safety, comfort, entertainment + Study
shows children no safer in SUVs than cars -
Findings dispel myth that has helped fuel the growing popularity of
SUVs among families...largely because the doubled risk of rollovers in
SUVs
- 3 Jan 06 SMH: Mission
impossible: how we [NSW] lost the fight to cut road toll - for some
neglected countermeasures see above!
- 1 Jan 06 Accident Reconstruction: 'Real
World' Safety Research vs. One Crash Test (Volvo press release)
- 31 Dec 05 Auto Eng International (SAE): Added
rollover protection from Autoliv (page 4 of this PDF)
- 31 Dec 05 KidsAndCars: SENATOR CLINTON,
CHILD SAFETY ADVOCATES JOIN TO HELP FAMILIES PROTECT CHILDREN IN
AND AROUND VEHICLES DURING THE HOLIDAYS (press release
pending).
- 29 Dec 05 CNN: GM expands SUV, truck recall (ABS braking
problem)
- 29 Dec 05 New Kerala: 30
die in Indian bus crash inferno. Update:
this now appears to have been a low severity impact but nearly all
occupants were killed in a post-crash fire.
- 22 Dec 05 NHTSA: New
Data Show Rising Safety Belt Use Rates in Most [US] States
- 22 Dec 05 FreePress: [US]
Regulators won't alter frontal crash test specs.
- 22 Dec 05 Consumer Reports recall list (US): '06
AUDI A8, A8L, AND A8 LW12 - front-passenger-side air bag might not
deploy in crash + '05
VOLVO S80 AND XC90 - battery may have been improperly
connected to the starter motor +
'05 FORD FIVE HUNDRED, FORD FREESTYLE, AND MERCURY MONTEGO -
straps that secure fuel
tank to vehicle body could break + 05
FORD CROWN VICTORIA, LINCOLN TOWN CAR, AND MERCURY GRAND MARQUIS -
battery-cable fusible link could be damaged
- 18 Dec 05 ABC: [Victorian] Bus
crash victims flown to hospital
- 16 Dec 05 Landline Trucking News: Research
on traffic enforcement cameras remains mixed + Stricter
ban on cell phones advances in New Jersey
- 16 Dec 05 Chicago Sun Times: Making
sense of safety ratings.
- 16 Dec 05 Fleet Safety (regn):
Sprinter van brakes: fleet fears allayed +
Cameras damage our trust in police
- 15 Dec 05 UWA: The Relationship
Between Vehicle Power to Weight Ratio and Young Driver Crash Involvement
- young driver serious injury crashes are not characterised by ‘high’
vehicle Power to Weight Ratio, nor is vehicle PWR statistically
associated with an increase in the odds of being involved in a serious
injury crash...(see also Choosing
safer vehicles for young drivers)
- 14 Dec 05 Daily Telegraph: RTA
blamed over road deaths. Opinion - I suspect irresponsible
mobile phone use is the main culprit.
- 10 Dec 05 SMH Drive: P76
awards include - Bronze -
For keeping P-platers safe ... not: the NSW Government - An old
six-cylinder Ford or Holden with no airbags and no anti-lock brakes is
OK for a novice driver but a car with five-star safety and less power
than most other cars is not. Nice one. Silver: For identifying who is
buying four-wheel-drives: Toyota - The new Toyota HiLux's catchcry "Get
in or get out of the way" is another illumination of the real target
market for 4WDs. The brochures promised "intimidating styling", an
"aggressive bonnet scoop", "dominating moulded front bumpers" and
various other things...Dishonourable
mentions: The only car in
Subaru's Australian range not to benefit from side airbags is the
fastest, most sports-oriented model: the WRX STi + The JiangLing
Landwind, displayed at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show and slated to be
the first Chinese vehicle on sale in Europe, underwent European crash
tests and recorded a score of zero.
- 9 Dec 05 Series VDR reports now available online: Encouraging the Purchase of Safer
Vehicles
- 9 Dec 05 Daily Telegraph: Editor's
illegal monster truck
- 9 Dec 05 CNN: Device
stops speeders from inside car - "discovered" by North America some
8 years after Europe and Australia!
- 7 Dec 05 SMH: Mercedes
crash test scandal (crash avoidance test).
- 7 Dec 05 Fleet News (regn); Fleet
safety: A-pillars – how safety advances can backfire (see also NRMA
Insurance driver
vision rating) +
Fleet safety: Decade of destruction proves a lifesaver
- 6 Dec 05 ANCAP/RACV: ANCAP
lobbies for all cars to be fitted with side head protection. Also NRMA/RTA.
- 6 Dec 05 IIHS: FIRST SELECTION OF
TOP SAFETY PICKS: INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES 10 CAR DESIGNS THAT WIN -
Audi A6, Saab 9-3, Subaru Legacy/Liberty and Honda Civic achieve "gold".
- 5 Dec 05 NewSci (subs): Taking
on the drugged and drunk drivers - Roadside devices to test
people's motor skills and detect drugs might help police make
travelling safer
- 29 Nov 05 Stuff.co.nz: Upgrades
lift Ford's four-cylinder game (curtains standard)
- 26 Nov 05 Euro NCAP: CELEBRATING
10 YEARS IN CAR SAFETY WITH NEW INFORMATION ON CONSUMER CHOICE
- As Euro NCAP has long suspected
car buyers are also showing a growing concern and interest in
protecting pedestrians as well as vehicle occupants.
- 24 Nov 05 ABC: School
bus crash injures 13 children [in South Australia]
- 24 Nov 05 ACEM: Powered
Two Wheelers are part of the society -
It is high time that European policy makers take positive measures to
encourage the use of PTWs...
- 23 Nov 05 Euro NCAP: Euro
NCAP announces first four-star award for pedestrian-protection - "Phase
17" test results.
- 18 Nov 05 University of Iowa: Driving
Assessment 2005 - conference papers (thanks Marilyn Di Stefano)
- 18 Nov 05 CNN: $61M
rollover verdict against Ford + Teen drivers: Keeping your kid alive (but no mention of putting
them in safer vehicles!)
- 18 Nov 05 DFP: Carmakers
OK [compatibility] crash standards + Trucking Info: ATA
Outlines Truck Safety Initiatives [seat belts] + Landline: DOT
pitches ‘wireless highways’ as possible safety system (thanks Automotive Digest)
- 16 Nov 05 Fleet News (regn): Never-ending
battle to keep death off the roads
- 14 Nov 05 Daily Telegraph: Runaway
bus may have lost brakes
- 11 Nov 05 Fleet News:
Camera reforms set to aid other safety areas +
Tyre shocker +
New call for ban on iPod use on the move
- 10 Nov 05 BC Science: WHEELCHAIR
SAFETY STANDARDS.
- 8 Nov 05 CNN: SUV
backover deaths: What can be done? (see also Driveway safety) + Minivans tested for side-crash safety
- 8 Nov 05 IIHS: 1ST SIDE IMPACT
CRASH TESTS OF MINIVANS:
TOYOTA, HONDA, NISSAN MODELS PERFORM BEST; SIENNA EARNS THE 'DOUBLE
BEST PICK' DESIGNATION
- 7 Nov 05 ABC: Simulated
truck crash highlights IR concerns
- 6 Nov 05 Sunday Times: VICTORY:
WA SCHOOL BUSES TO GET SEAT BELTS
- The [West Australian] State Government has bowed to public
pressure by agreeing to install seat belts in all school buses. Premier
Geoff Gallop will announce today that WA will be the first state in the
nation to make seat belts compulsory for all school buses. The existing
fleet will be retrofitted
on a priority basis...the policy would apply to all dedicated school
buses, but not public transport buses + 23 Oct THE
MANDURAH CRASH MIRACLE: Proof school buses need seat belts . Comment: There are clearly more cost-effective ways to spend $50 million
to save child road fatalities in WA but the reality is that this
much money would not be allocated for this purpose if there hadn't been
a public outcry/media campaign (the campaign was because seat
belts worked well in a serious crash - see the second article). ESV
paper on bus seat belts. Draft
national code for retrofitting seat belts to buses.
- 4 Nov 05 RTA: Technical
Specification No 149 Devices to assist in reducing the risk to young
pedestrians from reversing motor vehicles (PDF)
- 4 Nov 05 SMMT: Active
safety is a mystery to most (consumer survey)
- 4 Nov 05 NYT: Illuminating
Road Hazards That Lurk Beyond Lights
- 3 Nov 05 Euro NCAP: Croma
(5 stars), Sirion (4 stars) and Yaris (5 Stars) results published
- 3 Nov 05 IIHS: AUDI, FORD, SUBARU,
AND VW CARS EARN GOOD
RATINGS IN BOTH FRONT AND SIDE CRASH TESTS.
- 3 Nov 05 VFRM: Driving At Work Our
Biggest Risk [in New Zealand] + Airbags Put Off-Roaders
Poles Apart For Safety + Only A Little Bit
Distracted, TAC Hopes.
- 3 Nov 05 Which Car: Huge
success for UK's longest speed trap
- 3 Nov 05 CNN: GM
recalls 106,000 SUVs to fix door - Trailblazer
- 3 Nov 05 AI: Government
investigating Dodge truck and SUV -Durango and Dakota -
possible loss in steering control.
- 31 Oct 05 KidsAndCars: SENATOR
CLINTON, CONGRESSMAN KING, CONSUMERS UNION, AND KIDS AND CARS TO
HIGHLIGHT NEED TO PROTECT CHILDREN IN AND AROUND VEHICLES.
- 29 Oct 05 TUV: 3rd international conference "Protection
of children in cars", December 1 - 2, 2005,Munich, Germany. Email for details
- 28 Oct 05 Daimler-Chrysler (regn): Viano:
as safe as the best passenger cars + 25
years of the airbag
- 28 Oct 05 Aftermarket Business: 'Black
box' information driving convictions (slow to load)
- 26 Oct 05 Australian: One in five Aussies 'don't belt up'
- 25 Oct 05 ACEM Info (PDF): The
Motorcycle Industry debuts Airbag system
- 24 Oct 05 SMH: Accident
sparks call for 4WD cameras - Pressure is growing for rear-vision
cameras to be made mandatory in all four-wheel-drives after Phil
Kearns's daughter was accidentally run over. Comment: a camera
would reduce the risk but there is no substitute for adult supervision of
children near vehicles.
- 24 Oct 05 Fleet News:
Call for law change after phone crash death case
- 23 Oct 05 ABC: Colleagues
back Kearns after driveway accident - driveway
safety
- 20 Oct 05 St LouisToday: Seat belting school buses could cost $80 million
- 19 Oct 05 SMH: Damage
control - pedestrian protection (from New
Scientist)
- 19 Oct 05 Consumer Reports: Are
consumers sacrificing safety for comfort?
- 7 Oct 05 New Scientist: [Invention] Personal
crash alarm
- 7 Oct 05 USA Today: New
cars help drivers avoid crashes.
- 7 Oct 05 CNN: Mazda5
recalled for fire hazard
- 7 Oct 05 AI: Ford
ordered to pay $30.4 million - Attorneys said girl died when F-150's
roof crushed +
- 7 Oct 05 NHTSA: Transportation
Secretary Mineta Announces Record Safety Belt Usage in the U.S. + NHTSA
Releases List of Model Year 2006 Vehicles For Crash and Rollover Testing
- 5 Oct 05 SMH: 4WD
tests stress value of side airbags.
- 25 Sep 05 IIHS has
revamped its website. Most links to offset
crssh tests have now been updated.
- 25 Sep 05 SMH: Technology
advancing road safety The latest advances in intelligent traffic
systems will go on
display at a special forum in Adelaide this week.
- 22 Sep 05 Times: Chinese
4x4 gets zero in safety test.
- 21 Sep 05 AI: Child
car seat safety pushed
- The National Transportation Safety Board plans to call today for
greater protection for kids in cars as part of a renewed effort to
nudge states and safety advocates to clear hurdles that remain in
making sure children are safer as passengers + Government
investigating Nissan Murano fuel tanks + Several
minivans fare poorly in insurance industry tests of head restraints
+ Fire
departments teach safety during hybrid car rescues
- 21 Sep 05 Space.com: Moon-to-Mars
Plans Emerge: New Agenda or Apollo Retread? - On the list: A
re-usable vehicle that's safer than the shuttle; technology for
extracting fuel from the destination; and an airbag landing upon return to Earth.
- 20 Sep 05 IIHS: Tests of seat/head
restraints in minivans: Fords are only models to earn top rating; most
seat/head restraints provide inadequate protection against neck
injuries in rear crashes.
- 19 Sep 05 AI: Chrysler
recalling [2005] Jeep Grand Cherokees because of water contamination
+ Hyundai
recalls Elantra over air bag system
- 17 Sep 05 NHTSA: Analysis of
Speeding-Related Fatal Traffic Crashes + U.S. DOT Speed
Management Strategic Initiative
- 15 Sep 05 NTC: Seat
and Belt Configurations for Heavy Vehicles
September 2005 - Discussion Document on Options for Improved Design
Requirements
- 10 Sep 05 CNN: Honda motorcycles to sport airbags
- 9 Sep 05 UniMel: Beating
the Road Toll: Governance, Management and the Improvement of Community
Safety Melbourne Uni, 17 Oct 05.
- 9 [Australian] National Transport Commission: Draft
National Code of Practice and Engineering Certification Form for
Retrofitting Passenger Restraints to Buses.
- 8 Sep 05 CNN: Auto
roof rules draw criticism + Vibrating
seatbelts could warn drivers
- 8 Sep 05 AI: New
roof rules limit carmaker liability + Ford
recalls 3.8 million pickups, SUVs [cruise control switch a fire
hazard] + Toyota
recalling nearly 1 million vehicles [pick-ups and SUVs - power
steering]
- 6 Sep 05 SMH: Two
killed, 22 hurt as tourist bus plunges off road [south of Sydney]
- 5 Sep 05 NHTSA: NHTSA Proposes New
Child Booster Seat Rules + NHTSA Announces Tire
Safety Ratings
- 5 Sep 05 Fleet News: Fleet
drivers are ‘most dangerous’
- 5 Sep 05 SAE: Smart Demo 2005
(ITS) Adelaide 29-30 Sep + 2005
Emerging Transport Technology Conference Adelaide 4-5 Oct.
- 2 Sep 05 NYT: WHAT
MAKES YOU SAFER IN A CRASH MAY POSE RISKS IN THE RESCUE + DOES
LIGHTER EQUAL DEADLIER? + GM
IS RECALLING 800,000 PICKUPS, AND SPORTS UTILITIES
- 2 Sep 05 Boston Chronicle: A
BAD MIX--TEENS AND OLDER SUVS - see also Choosing
safer vehicles for young drivers
- 28 Aug 05 NewSci (subs): Stopping
the slaughter of innocent pedestrians + Lighting the way
- 28 Aug 05 AI: Nader
wants government to issue advisory on Ford investigation
- 28 Aug 05 CNN: Fewer
helmets leads to surge in deaths
- 4 Aug 05 AI: Roof
rule pre-empts lawsuits
- 23 Aug 05 AI: [US] Government
ends plans for new crash test, concerned about further injuries.
NHTSA: NHTSA
Ends Offset Test Rulemaking. Opinion: this seems misguided -
improvements to vehicles to meet the
offset crash test requirements have clearly reduced life threatening
injuries. The claim about increased risk of lower leg injuries seems
tenuous. See Offset
crash tests - observations
about vehicle design and structural performance
(1998 ESV paper) and Injury and
deformation trends
with offset crash tests (the strongest improvement since the
introduction of consumer crash tests has been reduced risk of tibia
injury)
- 19 Aug 05 AI: Feds
to toughen rules for car roofs + Government
investigating air bag light on Honda Accord
- 19 Aug 05 USAToday:
Putting kids in back seats saves lives
- 17 Aug 05 Fleet News: ESP
set for a third of all fleet cars (stability control - not
extrasensory perception!)
- 17 Aug 05 CNN: Safe
cars that save on gas
- 17 Aug 05 SpaceDaily: Intelligent
System Offers Safer Tunnel Traffic For Europe
- 13 Aug 05: Virtual
Fleet Risk Management News - Will Murray. One to bookmark.
- 11 Aug 05 USA Today: Ohio senator makes his mark on highway safety
- 9 Aug 05 SMH: Driven
to distraction.
- 5 Aug 05 New Scientist (subs): Turned
off by daytime driving lights - opinions on daytime running lights.
Interesting that one of the main antagonists is suggesting the LEDs
would make better DRLs - a conclusion reached in my
research.
- 5 Aug 05 CNN: Honda
recalls Odyssey minivans - airbag
- 4 Aug 05 IIHS Status Report (PDF): Occupant deaths from
inflating airbags have been all but eliminated + More than 300,000 lives
have been saved, thanks to vehicle safety technologies - Federal
motor vehicle safety standards and various safety technologies saved a
reported 328,551 lives from 1960 to 2002. Full
NHTSA report.
- 3 Aug 05 List
of Australian cars under $30K with
curtain airbags - new list.
- 3 Aug 05 SMH: RTA
road toll reduction effort? Pathetic - The NSW Roads and Traffic
Authority's controversial new ban on P-platers driving [powerful] cars,
which came into effect on July 11, has been introduced despite clear
evidence that it is unlikely to have any effect on young driver crash
rates, injuries or deaths. Opinion: see also Choosing
safer vehicles for young drivers - it seems likely that young
drivers will be denied access to some of the safest vehicles on the
road. The policy may encourage them into some of the least safe small
cars.
- 3 Aug 05 AAP (abs) Jul issue: Are
speed enforcement cameras more effective than other speed management
measures? An evaluation of the relationship between speed and accident
reductions + Effects
of vehicle bumper height and impact velocity on type of lower extremity
injury in vehicle–pedestrian accidents + more
- 3 Aug 05 ARN: Car
computer systems at risk as viruses go mobile
- 3 Aug 05 SAE Aust: Road Safety Seminar,
Melbourne, Wednesday 24th August, 2005
- 1 Aug 05 Fleet News: Speed
camera link to [UK] fatal crash rise? [big question mark! - see
also Evaluation
of the crash effects of the Queensland speed camera program for a
peer-reviewed scientific study]
- 1 Aug 05 SMH: [NSW] Watchdog investigates high-speed car chases
- 30 Jul 05 Consumer Reports Vehicle Recalls: '04
TO '05 MAZDA RX8 (fire hazard from exhaust pipe) + '05
KIA SPORTAGE AND HYUNDAI TUCSON (faulty parking brake) +
'05 BUICK TERRAZA, CHEVROLET UPLANDER, PONTIAC MONTANA, AND SATURN
RELAY (parking brake might engage while driving)
- 29 Jul 05 AI: Bill
mandates car safety rules -
Congressional panel agrees on proposal that would strengthen vehicle roofs, rollover
safeguards...putting crash-test results on
new car window stickers, redesigning power-window switches to protect
children, studying ways to prevent back-over
deaths in driveways, doing research on tire aging and testing
15-passenger vans for safety.
- 29 Jul 05 NewSci: The
real reason cars and cellphones do not mix - poor sound quality
makes listening more demanding + (subs) Interview
with Claes Tingvell: Zero tolerance for road slaughter
- 23 Jul 05 Parent's Magazine: Take Action!:
Improving Car Safety - US Congress debating a bill that will make
safer cars with higher standards.
- 19 Jul 05 Quicktime video presentation "When
it comes to the crunch" updated (6Mb MOV). Targeted at young
drivers.
- 19 Jul 05 IIHS: Front and
side crash test results: 2 good performers; automakers are acting
quickly to improve side impact protection.
- 19 Jul 05 Fleet news: Call
for crash reporting law + Call
to ban young recruits from powerful cars
- 19 Jul 05 AI: Nissan
to recall Murano SUVs (alternator wiring) + Audi
A6 and Infiniti M35 earn top scores in crash tests + Safety
agency widens investigation (Ford cruise control) + A
little girl dies; attention turns to a faulty Ford part(Ford
cruise control).
- 13 Jul 05 IIHS: 1st
evidence of effects of cell phone use on injury crashes: crash risk is
four times higher when driver is using a hand-held cell phone.
- 13 Jul 05 SMH: Hands-free,
but not crash-free - mobile phone study.
- 6 Jul 05 SMH Drive: Accident
stats show 4WDs the deadliest - A 16-year study of Australian
road accidents shows four wheel drives are far more likely than
conventional vehicles to kill or maim other road users "Australia's road
safety lemons are the Daihatsu Charade and Ford Festiva..."
+ Stability
technology a smashing idea
- 5 Jul 05 Fleet News: Legal
warning as garages fail test + Telematic
systems all set to save firm thousands + Fleets
face lethal risk combination
- 5 Jul 05 ETSC fact sheet: Alcohol
interlocks.
- 5 Jul 05 AI: Mitsubishi
recalls thousands of faulty station wagons [Libro hatchback hinge]
- 2 Jul 05 CarsGuide (Australia): New
Hyundai Sonata comes with curtains and ESC standard on V6.
- 2 Jul 05 AI: Mitsubishi
recalls thousands of faulty station wagons +
Honda
to put crash ratings on stickers
- 1 Jul 05 AAP (abs): Intelligent
speed adaptation: accident savings and cost–benefit analysis.
- 30 Jun 05: Consolidated list
of offset crash tests updated.
- 28 Jun 05 Euro NCAP: Euro
NCAP announces ‘Highest Scoring Car’ - Euro NCAP, Europe ’s leading
independent crash test organisation, has
confirmed that the Peugeot’s 1007 becomes the highest scoring car ever
in all classes for adult occupant protection. Latest
results.
- 28 Jun 05 BBC:
File-sharing suffers major court defeat -
file-sharing firms liable for the piracy on their networks. ... the majority of people using a video
recorder for legal uses outweighed any illegal use of the technology.
But in this latest
ruling the judges set aside this precedent and the lower court
decisions and means the makers of a
technology have to answer for what people do with it if they use
it to break the law. Comment: so if a car is capable of 250km/h
and has a speedo that displays up to this speed...? It is interesting
that the ruling does not appear to be confined to music and video
technology.
- 27 Jun 05 ABC: Four
killed in NSW collision [with a bus]
- 27 Jun 05 CNN: System
reads speed limits for drivers
- 27 Jun 05 Fleet News: Corporate
killing law a step nearer
- 26 Jun 05 AI: Feds
push for safer back seats
- 24 Jun 05 AI: Feds:
SUVs now safer, less prone to roll over
- 23 Jun 05 RTT: 9th
International Symposium on Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions
(ISHVWD) to be held at the Pennsylvania State University, USA, June
18-22, 2006. The deadline for submitting abstracts is August 31, 2005.
- 22 Jun 05 Consumer Reports: Midsized-sedan
Crash Tests - The little known safety feature that could save your
life. (see IIHS on 6 June!)
- 21 Jun 05 IIHS: New frontal
offset crash test results for 8 cars: large family and luxury cars are
good; most earn 'best pick'.
- 20 Jun 05: I am sad to report that Andrew Justice
died on the weekend. Andrew was the New Zealand government
representative for ANCAP. "Andrew's professional and personal
contribution to this organisation - and to vehicle
safety in New
Zealand - has been huge." - Simon Whiteley, Land Transport New Zealand.
- 20 Jun 05 CNN: Ford
document: Millions of vehicles have fire risk part - big list of
models (built 1992-2003) with suspect cruise control switch.
- 19 Jun 05 ABC: Mitsubishi
reaches 'make or break' point
- The chief executive of Mitsubishi Australia
has admitted the upcoming launch of its new model car is make or break
for the company.
- 13 Jun 05 NHTSA: NHTSA
Administrator Presents Safety Awards to World’s Top Auto Engineers and
Advocates At Global Conference - congratulations to Maurice
Eaton from Euro NCAP who also received the OBE
from Her Majesty over the weekend "For services to Vehicle
Safety" (page 13 of this PDF)
- 10 Jun 05 AI: Feds:
Car cell phone fix fails
- 9 Jun 05 Yahoo: Boost car safety:
[Australian] motoring group (see also 2 June)
- 9 Jun 05 Uni Technology Sydney (UTS): Engineering
students take safety designs to the world - [at ESV05] Ryan Kirk,
Vatche Krikorian and George Vrionis will demonstrate their vehicle
braking system for hazardous reversing
situations while Mohamed Allam, Arnold Bundoc, James Hourn and Ben
Nolan will demonstrate their GPS system for speeding
awareness. ESV
awards.
- 9 Jun 05 NHTSA: Abstracts
for ESV conference (PDF). Bus
seat belts paper.
- 9 Jun 05 AI: Feds
hesitant to alter roof test
- 9 Jun 05 Euro NCAP:
Next crash test launch on 28 June.
- 8 Jun 05 Fleet News: Fleet
management: dealing with serious accidents.
- 8 Jun 05 AI: Chrysler
minivans face safety probe on lights (Voyager headlight failures) +
Automakers
step up side-impact safety
- 6 Jun 05 AI: Study:
Air bags endanger young teens in front car seat - note that more
information is needed about seat belt wearing amongst the injured. Pediatrics: Effects
of Child Age and Body Size on Serious Injury From Passenger Air-Bag
Presence in Motor Vehicle Crashes - "values did not reach
statistical significance..."
- 6 Jun 05 AI: Blame
drivers, not SUVs, for deadly accidents - IIHS: Status Report
special issue: latest information on crash incompatibilities + New
side impact crash test results for five midsize cars.
- 4 Jun 05 CNN: GM recalls over 291,000 Saturns (tail lights)
- 4 Jun 05 Fleet News: High
price of tyre advice (replacing worn tyres) + Low-speed
shunts are biggest threat (whiplash)
- 2 Jun 05 Australian Govt: CURTAIN
AIRBAGS SHOULD BE USED FOR HEAD PROTECTION IN VEHICLE SIDE IMPACTS
- see also this Video clip
from ANCAP pole tests with a split screen showing the benefit of a curtain. (15Mb
Quicktime movie)
- 2 Jun 05 AI: [US]
Government releases 2005 ratings for child safety seats + Government
investigating engine stalling in Toyota Prius [hope they
realise the engine is meant to cut-out when the car is stationary!] + Toyota
to recall 173,000 vehicles in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia (Crown, Majesta and Mark X brakes)
- 30 May 05 AI: Smart
recalls 58,000 forTwo models for possible axle defect + GM
truck [pick-up] owners insist brakes are a problem
- 30 May 05 Fleet News: UK
‘Kill Bill’ moves a step closer for fleets
- 28 May 05 Euro NCAP: Crash
test results for Passat, C1 and Zafira. Master
list updated - Congratulations to GM for a big improvement in the
Zafira - now 5 stars with curtains standard.
- 27 May 05 NHTSA
Restates Rollover Warning For Users of 15-Passenger Vans [minibuses
have 3 times the risk of rollover when fully laden].
- 27 May 05 AI: GM
truck owners insist brakes are a problem + Chrysler:
Change tires after 6 years + Feds
urge van caution + Smart
recalls 58,000 forTwo models for possible axle defect + Tires
improperly inflated in large passenger vans, says government + Kia
announces recall of Sedona minivans + Toyota
recalling Kentucky-made Avalons
- 26 May 05 NRMA Insurance - update
to reversing visibility assessment.
- 26 May 05 KidsNCars (USA): Three Children Killed Each Week in
Preventable Auto-Related Deaths
- 24 May 05 BBC: Five girls
killed in bus crash (Ireland)
- 21 May 05 Fleet News: Road
safety takes centre stage in [UK] legal programme
- 21 May 05 NHTSA: Dorel
Juvenile Group, Inc. To Conduct a [US] Safety Recall for Designer 22
Rear-Facing Infant Child Safety Seats
- 21 May 05 Engineers Australia: Engineers Australia is
inviting nominations for its most prestigious awards in biomedical and
mechanical engineering Award criteria and nomination forms can be found
on each of the colleges' websites – Biomechanical
(1 Jul 05) and Mechanical
(31 Oct 05).
- 20 May 05 CNN: Toyota
recalls 880,000 SUVs, pickups - front ball joint of Tacoma and
Tundra pickup trucks and Sequoia, Landcruiser and 4Runner SUVs built
between May 2001 and December 2003. Incudes 12,000 Australian vehicles.
- 20 May 05; 2005 Australasian Road Safety
Research Policing Education Conference - 14-16 Nov, Wellington NZ.
- 17 May 05 CNN: Memos
tell of Ford-Volvo safety dispute + Prius
hybrids dogged by software
- 17 May 05 AI: Watchdog
may post Ford roof documents + Bright
headlights under review + Seat
belt use lower, deaths higher among those in pickups
- 17 May 05 SMH: Ban
4WDs within 200m of schoolyards: coroner. Opinion: a "ban" seems
excessive. Maybe there should be extra demerit points for some driving
offences where the vehicle has a high risk of causing injury to others.
Hopefully this would make drivers think more about risky practices.
- 16 May 05 ABC: Girl's
death sparks push for 4WD ban
- 16 May 05 SMH: Death
crash inquest told of 4WD design flaw - see also driveway safety.
- 14 May 05 AI: Stickers
may get crash data
- New car shoppers may soon be able to look at the sticker on a
vehicle's window to find out how well it avoids a rollover or holds up
in a collision
- 12 May 05 BBC: Cars
safe from computer viruses - Attempts to make computer viruses leap
from phones to cars have failed [for now].
- 11 May 05 SMH: Child's
play - first cars for teens - this article ignores NCAP ratings
that show several of the reviewed vehicles perform poorly despite
having desirable safety features. See Choosing
safer vehicles for young drivers.
- 10 May 05 AI: Ford
pushes to seal memos on vehicle roof strength
- 9 May 05 Fleet News: Speed
cameras fail to cut road deaths - more correctly the road toll has
not changed much (but other factors like mobile phone use confound the
issue).
- 9 May 05 AI: NHTSA
denies request to install fire extinguishers in pickups, SUVs
- 7 May 05 ABC: [Australian] Car
makers urged to install extra safety features
- 7 May 05 ETSC: Talk
on 2 June - Europe and its road safety vision - How far to zero? + hardcopy report: The Safety of Vulnerable Road Users
in the Southern, Eastern and Central European Countries - recommends
mandatory DRLs and expediting intelligent speed adaptation.
- 6 May 05 ABC: Corporate
Psychopaths - Is your boss manipulative? Intimidating? Totally
lacking in remorse?
Yet superficially charming? Then you could be working with a workplace
psychopath. The latest figures suggest one in ten managers are
psychopaths...(what about road safety research?) - see also Space
Review: “We must
never fail”: Gene Kranz, Apollo 13, and the future - the role of
teamwork.
- 30 Apr 05 AI: Government
vehicle crash test needs SUV upgrade (GAO
report) + Vehicle
back-over deaths concern safety advocates
- 29 Apr 05 Washington Post: Safety
Belt Usage
(Donna Glassbrenner from NHTSA) + Back-Over
Deaths Decried
- 27 Apr 05 AI: GM
plans to recall 2 million vehicles - centre rear seat belt in
pickups and SUVs needs relocating + other defects
- 26 Apr 05 IIHS: New frontal
offset crash test results: Volkswagen New Jetta aces side impact test;
also earns good rating in frontal test.
- 25 Apr 05 NHTSA: Transportation
Secretary Mineta Calls Highway Fatalities an Epidemic, Nation Should
Prevent Traffic Deaths Like Any Other Disease
- 25 Apr 05 (back from vacation) AI: SUV
deaths rose in 2004
- 8 Apr 05: 9th
International
Symposium on Heavy Vehicle Weights
and Dimensions June 2006 -
call for papers
- 8 Apr 05 NHTSA: NHTSA
Releases Final Tire Pressure Monitoring Rule + Model
Year 2005 Vans Crash Test, Rollover Ratings available on Safercar.Gov + CNN: Dakota,
Tacoma safest pickups
- 8 Apr 05 Fleet News: Fleets
suffer [!] over focus on safety + Five-star
NCAP crash rating for new Lexus GS
- 7 Apr 05 Washington Post: School
Buses to Give Live [surveillance] Video a Test-Drive.
- 6 Apr 05 AI: Car
seat setup worries experts - possible problem with LATCH/ISOFIX + Texas
may require safety seats to age 8
- 6 Apr 05 New ESV05 paper DAYTIME
RUNNING LIGHTS FOR MOTORCYCLES
- 6 Apr 05 NYT: Child
Car Seat Safety System Sometimes Fails, Study Says + Consumer
Reports study.
- 6 Apr 05 AI: Risk
of serious injury [slightly] higher for children exposed to older air
bags + Source
document.
- 5 Apr 05 ABC: Retailers
deny pushing truckies
- 2 Apr 05 CNN: Hyundai,
Kia to recall 38,000 SUVs - Tucson & Sportage - problem with
their electronic stability
program.
- 2 Apr 05: Video clip
from ANCAP pole tests with a split screen showing the benefit of a curtain. (15Mb Quicktime movie)
- 1 Apr 05 Fleet News: Mercedes
recalls 1.3 million vehicles (no joke!) - regulator and brakes + Safety
directory available
- 1 Apr 05 AI: New
study ties deaths to crushed auto roofs - the roofs collapsed before injuries occurred to
crash-test dummies
- 1 Apr 05 ABC Science: Seat Belt
Trap - myths about seat belt wearing by Dr Karl.
- 30 Mar 05 NRMA Insurance: Driver
Vision Index - measures blind spots in Australia's top selling
cars. Media release with diagram: New
road safety study makes heads turn.
- 30 Mar 05 AI: Memos:
Ford made Explorer roof weaker (comprehensive report on roof crush issues) + Software
cuts out test dummy + Lawsuit
over Ford car door latches settled
- 30 Mar 05 Euro NCAP: The
new Lexus GS300 achieves best in class accolade for adult occupant
protection. Details.
- 28 Mar 05 Sydney 4 April: Lecture
about the Challenger disaster - Dr McDonald will speak on his
involvement in attempting to delay the
launch of the Challenger and the lessons learned from his experiences
with the media, the Presidential Commission and the US Congress
investigation. Something for Risk Engineers!
- 28 Mar 05 AI: States
debate privacy safeguards on vehicle black boxes
- 27 Mar 05 Fleet News: Fleets
face threat of action over crashes - the threat of companies being
prosecuted for accidents involving their drivers is edging closer as
official records will now be kept of work-related road crashes
- 27 Mar 05 ABC: Boy
killed in driveway accident
- 25 Mar 05 Wards Auto: LIGHT
WEIGHT IMPROVES SUV SAFETY - A new study [by Aluminum Assn. Inc.]
shows increasing the amount of aluminum and other lightweight
structural materials in vehicle design can reduce injuries in
SUV-related crashes up to 26%.(AD)
- 25 Mar 05 CNN: FORD
F-150S, EXPEDITIONS PROBED - A federal investigation into
cruise-control problems is underway in an estimated 3.7M Ford F-150s,
Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators.(AD)
- 25 Mar 05 Washington Post: GM
RECALLS NEARLY 113,000 VEHICLES - General Motors is
recalling 77,055 minivans because their rear brake lights or hazard
lights can stop working. (AD)
- 25 Mar 05 Consumer Reports: The
little known safety feature that could save your life - Consumer Reports’ auto experts believe
that ESC (Electronic Stability Control) may be one of the most
significant automotive lifesaving technologies.
- 21 Mar 05 AI: Ford
and Mazda ordered to pay $27 million in crash death + Chevy
Astro, GMC Safari get worst ratings in government crash tests of
minivans - NHTSA: Model
Year 2005 Vans Crash Test, Rollover Ratings
- 18 Mar 05 Consumer Reports: Top
Picks 2005 - "We've removed the Ford Focus as our Top Pick for
small sedans because it performed poorly in insurance-industry crash
tests...."
- 17 Mar 05 SMH: Crashed
school bus had no brakes + Speed
limit to hit 80kmh on main roads (opinion - 80km/h on busy Victoria
Road in Sydney seems crazy!)
- 16 Mar 05 IIHS: Risk of dying in one
vehicle versus another (PDF) — driver death rates by passenger
vehicle make/model + AI: Chevy
Blazer model had highest death rate, study finds + NYT: Is the
Car Unsafe, or the Driver?
- 16 Mar 05 USA Today:
'Pocket bikes' drive new debate. Australian
concerns.
- 15 Mar 05 NYT (regn): Can
a Virus Hitch a Ride in Your Car? - "not yet"
- 13 Mar 05 Benton Courier: School
bus safety bills introduced (Arkansas)
- 13 Mar 05 AI: Kia
SUV is big on safety.
- 13 Mar 05 940 News (Canada): Number of
drivers falling asleep at the wheel is startling: safety institute.
- 13 Mar 05 Novosti: ROAD
ACCIDENTS CHARGE 2.5 PERCENT OF RUSSIA'S GDP.
- 9 Mar 05 SMH: Review - Daihatsu
Sirion SX - "For $1980 you can have optional side and
curtain air bags and anti-lock brakes. Take it."
- 9 Mar 05 Queensland Minister for Transport: QUEENSLAND
LEADS AUSTRALIA WITH $12M SCHOOL BUS SAFETY CHANGES
- 8 Mar 05 CNN: Small
cars do badly in side crash test - Of 14 small cars tested by
insurance group, 12 are rated as "Poor." IIHS
press release.
- 4 Mar 05 AI: Explorer
suit costs Ford $31 million
- 4 Mar 05 USAToday: More
Americans than ever use cell phones while driving + NHTSA
Reports Cellular Phone Use by Motorists Is on the Rise
- 3 Mar 05 Euro NCAP: Peugeot
1007 achieves 5 stars and best ever test score accolade. List of 5 star performers and graph of
5 star performers updated
- 1 Mar 05 Boston Globe: Standard
system sought for vehicle backup safety - "a
child backed over by an SUV purchased to
keep the family safe on the road..."
- 1 Mar 05 Yahoo: Russia
Has World’s Worst Road Safety Record — World Bank ...in terms of
car accidents per 10,000 cars
- 1 Mar 05 SMH: High
but not so mighty - Four-wheel-drives with jacked-up suspension are
dangerous, safety experts say...
- 28 Feb 05 Fleet News: Fleets
finally take action over safety
- 26 Feb 05 Consumer Reports: Ford recalls Focus
and F150
- 25 Feb 05 Washington Post (regn): Pr.
George's Tracks School Buses - GPS Devices Being Installed to
Monitor Location, Speed
- 25 Feb 05 IIHS: Fewer 16
year-olds are getting involved in crashes.
- 24 Feb 05 Fleet News; Gadgets
are blamed for half a million accidents
- 21 Feb 05 AAP Mar 05 edition
- 21 Feb 05 AAP Jan 05 edition:
- 21 Feb 05 AI: Samuel
Alderson, inventor of crash test dummies, dead at 90
- 18 Feb 05 AI: Feds
investigate Lexus [RX3330] SUV brake complaints
- 17 Feb 05 ABC: Brain
Injury in Children: A Neglected Epidemic?
- 17 Feb 05 SMH: Cut
in speed camera fines but increase in demerit points - NSW
- 17 Feb 05 ABC (Aust): PM
urged to make school bus seatbelts compulsory
- 17 Feb 05 Engineers Australia: National
Panel on the Biomechanics of Impact Injury presents an afternoon
seminar on the latest International Vehicle Safety Research Date:
Friday 25th February 05, 12.30pm – 4.15pm. Location: Engineers
Australia Victoria Division Auditorium 21 Bedford Street, Nth
Melbourne. RSVP Nina Lenz Phone 02 6270 6548 or email.
- 11 Feb 05 AFAS: Road and Vehicle
Safety Seminar - Tue 8 Mar, NSW Parliament.
- 11 Feb 05 AI: GM
recalls 155,465 pickups, vans and SUVs for brake problem
- 11 Feb 05 Autochannel: Inadvertent
Airbag Deployments - 117 complaints involving 2001-2003 Volkswagen
GOLFS, GTIS, and JETTAS have been filed with NHTSA.
- 10 Feb 05 AI: Government
investigates DaimlerChrysler vehicles for possible defects - seat
warmer in Mercedes M-Class.
- 10 Feb 05 NHTSA: Dorel
Juvenile Group, Inc. To Conduct A Safety Recall For The Dreamride Child
Restraint System
- 10 Feb 05 CNN: Ford
in Focus recall (rear door latch) + Honda
recalls 486,000 cars (Accord, Prelude & TL ignition switch)
- 6 Feb 05 ABC: Luxury
cars in more accidents: study -
A new study conducted in New South Wales
has shown that people who drive luxury cars are more likely to have an
accident than those who drive more common brands.[ Should the headline
be "Luxury car drivers in more
accidents"?]
- 4 Feb 05 NewSci: Dyslexia slows
drivers' reactions.
- 3 Feb 05 Washington Post (regn): Cell
Phone Use Ups Accident Risk - "If
you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, his
reaction times are the same as a 70-year-old driver,"
- 3 Feb 05 BBC: Clever cars
taking to the road - Parents,
says Mr Illsley, might be interested in a vehicle that they can set the upper speed for, especially if they have
teenage sons who are eager to get behind the wheel.
- 1 Feb 05 AI: 2
GM safety features will be standard (ESC and OnStar) + Ad
campaign urges driver safety in SUVs
- 31 Jan 05 Fleet News:
Safety seminars - [UK] Royal Society for the Prevention of
Accidents (ROSPA) is staging two seminars in February on occupational
road risk + Driving
guide
- 29 Jan 05 AI: Ford
recalls 800,000 pickups, sport-utes - fire hazard in F-150 pickups,
Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators from the 2000 model year. Also
affected are 2001 F-Series + Automakers
struggle to cut costly recalls
- 28 Jan 05 Product Recalls Australia (issued 18 Oct
04): Kia
Sportage (Campaign No 041029R0). Model years 1998-2000. Produced
from 1 June 1998 to 31 May 2000. The
front seatbelts may not latch correctly.
- 26 Jan 05 ARSREC
2004 Conference proceedings
online (small selection below):
- 22 Jan 05 Consumer Reports: Tribute/Escape
recall - sticky throttle.
- 21 Jan 05 AI: Safety
features pay off, federal report says
- 20 Jan 05 Auto Digest (regn): Sensor,
Camera Devices Can Prevent Backup Accidents + Delphi
Launches Next Generation Forewarn Back-Up Aid + 'Black
Box' Data Backs Up Trucker in Vehicular Homicide Case + 'Breakthrough
Time' for Run-Flat Tires, Says Bridgestone; Tiremaker Eyes New Europe
Plant + Study:
Women Say Safety is Huge Factor When Vehicle Shopping
- 19 Jan 05 SMH: Safe as
houses - With young children on board, you need space and protection
- 15 Jan 05 AI: Automakers
find safety means sales
- 12 Jan 05 AI: Kia
to put side airbags on all its [US] models + Honda
pushes safety and tech initiatives + Feds
weigh rollover rules
- 11 Jan 05 Consumer Reports: Britax
[US] recalls top-line safety seats for faulty harness.
- 10 Jan 05 ABC: 57
killed in bus crash in India
- 9 Jan 05 News.com: States
set road safety guidelines
- 31 Dec 04 ABC: Bus
crash kills 31 in Pakistan
- 31 Dec 04 AI: Carmakers
pay $10 million in civil fines - Automakers
paid more than $10 million in civil fines for violating safety rules
and fuel economy standards in 200
- 31 Dec 04 SMH: NSW records lowest road toll in 55 years - good news at last!
- 31 Dec 04 AI: Porsche
recalls convertible 911s - roof mechanism
- 24 Dec 04 LAT: What
to do when you hit the skids
- 24 Dec 04 AI: GM
recalling more than 700,000 minivans to fix sliding door handle
- 23 Dec 04 SAE seminar: The
Role of the Seat in Rear Crash Safety - Michigan, 3-4 Feb 05.
- 22 Dec 04 ABC: Peru
bus crash kills 50
- 21 Dec 04 IIHS: New frontal
offset crash test results: only 2 of 5 small cars earn good
ratings; 1 is poor.
- 21 Dec 04 AI: Ford
recalls its $140,000 GT supercar for safety defect + Kia
Spectra gets worst rating in frontal crash test
- 20 Dec 04 AI: [Court]
Trial puts spotlight on safety of car seats + Hyundai
recalls 120,000 Elantra sedans for air-bag fix + Oregon
paraplegic sues Chrysler over heated seat
- 16 Dec 04 NHTSA: New
Crash Test and Rollover Ratings for Select Model Year 2005 Now
Available on SaferCar.Gov
- 16 Dec 04 Fleet News: Police
chief calls for speed review - hopefully the setting of speed
limits will be done on an objective
basis, and not on motorists perceived safe speeds.
- 15 Dec 04 ATSB Report: Development of
Novice Driver Education/Development Curriculum.
- 15 Dec 04 Daily Telegraph: Intensive
training test for P-platers - see also Choosing
safer vehicles for young drivers
- 13 Dec 04 AI: Auto
safety is paramount for future car buyers + DaimlerChrysler
recalling 600,000 Dodge Durango and Dakota trucks [road wheels]
+ Ford
recalls 474,000 Escape SUVs for accelerator problem + Ford
Escape, Honda CR-V rate well in side crash tests + More
vehicles have cameras, sensors to help make backing up safer
- 11 Dec 04 IIHS: New side
impact crash test results for small SUVs: Honda CR-V improves from
marginal to good with standard side airbags; Ford Escape with optional
side airbags also rated good.
- 9 Dec 04 AI: New
federal headrest standard takes aim at whiplash
- 9 Dec 04 NHTSA: NHTSA
Announces Upgraded Rule To Require Lap/Shoulder Safety Belts For Rear
Center Seats in Passenger Vehicles + NHTSA
Announces Upgraded Rule for Head Restraints in Vehicles + New
Data Show Rising Safety Belt Use Rates in Most States
- 8 Dec 04 ATSB: Cycle
Safety: A National Perspective.
- 8 Dec 04 SMH Drive: Toyota
flexes hybrid muscle.
- 8 Dec 04 AI: Government
investigating Hummer H2 for possible safety defect
- 7 Dec 04 AI: Automakers
lobby for limits on lawsuits
- 7 Dec 04 Washington Post (regn): Kids, at Risk and Neglected + Safety Isn't Optional ( see also SHOULD
SAFETY EQUIPMENT BE THE
CHOICE OF CONSUMERS RATHER THAN VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS?)
- 5 Dec 04 NRMA Open Road now online - the Jul/Aug 03
issue has a feature
article on the DRL
research.
- 4 Dec 04 Scientific American annual awards: L. Craig Davis
- Adaptive Crusie Control modelling +
Nissan
North
America - lane-keeping system
- 3 Dec 04 AI: Sport
Trac gets safety redesign + Toyota
recalls 92,577 Celicas to fix daytime lights + Automakers
have record year - for recalls
- 1 Dec 04 Ipswich Queensland Times: Slower speed carries risk, councillor says - "Cr Nardi said lowering the limit could
create safety [?] issues including speeding and unsafe overtaking." [risk of being booked!]
- 1 Dec 04 Telegraph (UK): Drivers
face tough penalties in road safety reform.
- 1 Dec 04 Fleet News: A
star is born: Focus tops NCAP + Drivers
willingly risk police action to make mobile calls
- 1 Dec 04 AI: GM
may add 1.42 million vehicles to tailgate recall + Stability
systems may boost suppliers
- 30 Nov 04 ABC: Car
manufacturers urged to install side impact airbags + NRMA: Airbags that protect
the head can make side-on crashes survivable
- 30 Nov 04 IRCOBI: Call
for papers - 2005 conference.
- 29 Nov 04 RTA: Improving
safety for young
drivers. See also these
tips about choosing safer vehicles.
- 29 Nov 04 AI: Complexity
of vehicles, more vigilance cited as reasons for record recalls + Despite
recall efforts, one in three vehicles fails to be repaired
- 26 Nov 04 Times: Small cars are getting safer, but not safe enough
- 25 Nov 04 Euro NCAP: Phase
15 launch - includes BMW
1 and 5
Series,
Citroen C4
& C5,
Ford Focus,
Audi A6
and VW Tourareg.
5 star performers list has
grown much larger!
- 25 Nov 04 ASME: "Advanced Vehicle Technologies" - International
Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition
November 6-11, 2005 — Orlando, FL USA
- 25 Nov 04 AI: DCX
ordered to pay $105 million in minivan crash death + Mitsubishi
Fuso again recalls trucks
- 24 Nov 04 Fleet News: Queen's
Speech: Corporate manslaughter bill announced
- 24 Nov 04 Independent (UK): Drivers
face tougher penalties in road safety crackdown
- 24 Nov 04 AI: Seat
belt use up in 37 states
- 23 Nov 04 AI: High
tech car safety devices standard.
- 23 Nov 04 Evening Standard (UK): Truckers
criticised after safety checks
- 23 Nov 04 ABC (Aust): Ministers
agree to national road safety plan Australia's transport
ministers have signed off on a new national road safety action
plan. The plan includes a large-scale trial for a compulsory driver
education scheme for P-plate motorists + Washington Post: Safety
Experts Doubt Benefits of Driver's Ed!
- 20
Nov 04 ATSB: AustralianNational
Road Safety Action Plan for 2005-6 - speed
control, DRLs and
advanced seat belt reminders are prominent under "Safer Vehicles".
- 20 Nov 04 Fleet News: Bosch
stresses the importance of ESP (ESC)
- 20 Nov 04 AI: Chrysler
to equip SUVs with anti-rollover systems + U.N.
adopts van safety rule
- 19 Nov 04 AI: Global
deal on car door safety protects passengers - improved latches and
hinges (a pity that power window switches were not included).
- 19 Nov 04 IIHS: MANY DEATHS
IN VEHICLE-ANIMAL COLLISIONS ARE AVOIDABLE - One method
that's proven not to work is
the use of deer whistles mounted on vehicles.
- 18 Nov 04 ARC: Seems to be two roads safety projects in
the latest
round of Australian government grants (PDF) - child restraints and
conspicuity of cyclists and pedestrians.
- 16 Nov 04 Consumer Reports: Guide
to safety features has a good summary of electronic stability
control
- 16 Nov 04: Australian
Road Safety Conference finishes today in Perth.
- 16 Nov 04 Global release of low-speed rear collision
tests:
- 13 Nov 04 AI: GM,
Ford target SUV rollovers - they
will make anti-rollover technology (Electronic Stability Control)
standard equipment on 1.8 million SUVs next year.
- 10 Nov 04 AI: Safety
group seeks tire expiration date
- 10 Nov 04 The Age: Bracks
has safety plan for 'slowometers'
- 9 Nov 04 Daily Telegraph: 130km/h
speedo limit sought +
Reversing truck kills baby (payment)
- 9 Nov 04 SMH: Car
chase dangers blamed on poor training
- 8 Nov 04 Drive.com.au: Stability
aids save lives, says expert
- 8 Nov 04 AI: GM
recalls nearly 1.5 million vehicles - rear lamps/sticky
throttle/brake fluid leak
- 6 Nov 04 AI: Consumers
eye cameras for SUVs (the problem is not
just with SUVs) + Vehicle
recalls hit record
- 5 Nov 04 Fleet News: Companies
called on to support Road Safety Week
- 3 Nov 04 SAE-Aust: Conference
on Intelligent
Vehicles and Road Infrastructure to be held at The University of
Melbourne during the period 16th and 17th of February 2005.
- 3 Nov 04 US Patents: Vehicular
system having a warning system to alert motorists that a mobile phone
is in use - other motorists beware!
- 2 Nov 04 Times: Sittt! Belt-uppp! Dogs get a new order
- 1 Nov 04 ABC: Man
accidentally runs over infant son - see Driveway
safety
- 30 Oct 04 SMH: Truckie's
fatal flaws exposed
- 28 Oct 04 IIHS: Electronic
stability control found effective; main effect is to reduce
single-vehicle crash risk [by 40%], including the risk of fatal
single-vehicle crashes [50%]. Traffic Injury Prevention: Effect
of Electronic Stability Control on Automobile Crash Risk
- 28 Oct 04 ABC: Nine
Britons among 12 dead in Jordan bus accident
- 27 Oct 04 ATSB: National
Road Safety Strategy 2001-2010: Progress Report for 2004 - Key
points:
- There has been substantial progress in implementing
action items from the Action Plan for 2003 and 2004.
- The rate of reduction in national road fatalities
improved in 2003: the fatality rate in 2003 was 8.2 deaths per 100,000
population, close to the rate required for pro-rata progress toward the
2010 target, which was 8.0.
- However, the fatality rate has not fallen
appreciably in 2004; for the 12 months to September it remained at 8.2,
while the pro-rata progress rate has fallen to 7.7.
- 27 Oct 04 AI: Ford
Focus, Ranger are worst in crash, rollover tests - The 2005 Subaru
Outback, which NHTSA
classifies as
an SUV, was the only vehicle that earned five stars on all front- and
side-impact tests. Side air bags are standard on the model...(it also did well
in ANCAP tests)
- 27 Oct 04 NHTSA:
NHTSA Illegal Lighting Crackdown Continues
- 27 Oct 04 BBC: Blind spot
- Are your eyes fit for the road? This is how some
drivers see life
- 26 Oct 04 AI: System
goes to work for busy drivers
- 26 Oct 04 ATSB:Mortality
and Morbidity in Australia Due to Transport Accidents.
- 26 Oct 04 Daily Telegraph: Another Volvo safety innovation - Blind spots
could be a thing of the
past...
- 25 Oct 04 AI: Feds
may add shoulder belt - Children
strapped in with a shoulder belt in the middle of the back
seat are dramatically safer from serious injury in car crashes than
kids who only have a lap belt, new [and old] research shows.
- 23 Oct 04 AI: Groups
advocate safer power windows + NHTSA
Announces New Measure To Enhance the Safety of Power Window Switches
For the Protection of Children in Passenger Vehicles
- 23 Oct 04 ABC (Aust): One
killed in Sydney freeway crash -
Up to 36 cars are now believed to have been
involved in an accident on the F3 freeway
north of Sydney. "A semi-trailer has apparently lost its brakes..."
- 22 Oct 04 Australian Institute of Traffic Planning and
Management: 2004
AITPM NSW Technical Conference - 4th November, Parramatta.
- 22 Oct 04 SMH: Boss
blamed for truck driver's death.
- 22 Oct 04 AI: Industry
looks at managing road distractions + Safety
is No. 1 priority, Mitsubishi says
- 21 Oct 04 Market & Research (pay to view) : Automotive
sensors: Market Shares, Trends, Companies and Forecasts to 2010 + Australian
Automotive Intelligence Report
- 20 Oct 04 NHTSA: Study
Finds Electronic Stability Control Benefits (with link to research
paper)
- 20 Oct 04 AI: High-tech
auto gadgets could reduce accidents - so could low-tech
ones!
- 19 Oct 04 AI: Jury
rules Crown Victoria police cruisers are safe
- 19 Oct 04 Nature: Mobile
phone [tumour] risk revealed (using a mobile phone while driving is
probably a much greater health risk than this) - AI: Distracted
driver fixes don't work - Growing
body of evidence suggests hands-free cellular phones are not safer
- 18 Oct 04 AAP Nov04 selected abstracts: Comparison
of reporting of seat belt use by police and crash investigators:
variation in agreement by injury severity + Some
consequences of different older driver licensing procedures in Australia
- 18 Oct 04 Daily Telegraph: 4WDs:
Fuel safety
- 18 Oct 04 USA Today: Experts
push for improved tour bus safety
- 15 Oct 04 NHTSA:[Review of] Frontal
New Car Assessment Program - notice and request for comments (PDF).
- 12 Oct 04 AI: DCX
recalls 1.2M minivans for glitch [side airbag on Caravan/Voyager]
- 11 Oct 04 Yahoo: WHO
calls on China to lower 680-a-day road accident death toll
+ Newest
recreational bikes causing safety concerns
- 11 Oct 04 ABC: 20
killed as bus plunges into Chinese river
- 10 Oct 04 Yahoo: Tour Bus Crash in Ark. Kills at Least 15
- 9 Oct 04 AI: Feds
push for safer seat belts
- 8 Oct 04 Transport Canada: Canada had adopted a new
requirement for Rear
Impact [under-run] Protection (CMVSS 223) for trailers with a GVW
rating over 4,536 kg.
- 6 Oct 04 SMH: Why
are male drivers at risk? A factor that has been overlooked is the
high proportion of young male drivers in certain small cars that have a
serious
injury risk several times greater than average.
- 6 Oct 04 Scientific American: 2004 web awards: ENGINEERING
& TECHNOLOGY
- 5 Oct 04 AI: Automakers
improve side-impact protection - IIHS
Press release.
- 3 Oct 04 SMH: 4WD
bullies are driving us nuts.
- 3 Oct 04 New Scientist: READING
THE SIGNS
Drivers may soon have to come up with a better excuse than “Sorry
officer, I didn’t know I was speeding” thanks
to a new electronic
device that can recognise passing road signs, such as speed limits, and
warn drivers not to ignore them. The Australian invention...
- 3 Oct 04 AI: NTSB
urges lawmakers to have older children restrained in booster seats
- 27 Sep 04 AI: Government
backs off plan to release vehicle safety data, pending court ruling
- 25 Sep 04 ABC: Weekend
road toll one of the worst
- 24 Sep 04 Euro NCAP: ‘EURO
NCAP DRIVES SAFER CARS’ SAYS RENAULT CHIEF
- 24 Sep 04 AI: [Electronic] Stability
units cut crashes
- 24 Sep 04 AI: Hyundai
to recall Santa Fe for defect [electrical fault]
- 24 Sep 04 NewSci: Traffic
deaths rise [in Israel] after terror attacks.
- 22 Sep 04 AI: Pressure
mounts for Ford latch recall + New
cars to warn of low tire [pressures]
- 13 Sep 04 SMH: Road
horror prompts curfew call
- 13 Sep 04 AI: Feds
to tighten window rules
- 13 Sep 04 AI: Ford
recalling 234,208 Econoline vans + Honda
to recall 158,000 vehicles to fix light problems + Kentucky
case to use automotive 'black box' technology
- 13 Sep 04 Engineers Australia magazine (not online):
Changing driver behaviour through [vehicle] technology - description of
technology asssociated with the TAC
Safecar project.
- 1 Sep 04 SMH Drive: Remote
control - there are numerous errors in this article -see ISA speed control
- 31 Aug 04 Euro NCAP: [Renault]
MODUS BREAKS MOULD – NOT PASSENGERS! Details
pending (Superminis).
- 31 Aug 04 AI: More
drivers dump SUVs for other vehicles + Automakers
don't plan rollover standards in 2004
- 30 Aug 04 ATSB: Deaths
and serious injuries among female motorcyclists.
- 30 Aug 04: International
Conference "Protection of Children in Cars"(in German), taking
place on 14 - 15 September 2004 in Cologne/Germany.
- 30 Aug 04 Consumer Reports: Britax recalls
355,000 top-line [USA] safety seats.
- 29 Aug 04 AI: GM
pulls ad of boy on fantasy ride + Ad
campaign says abandoning SUVs could cost drivers their lives
- 29 Aug 04 ABC: Moroccan
bus crash kills 29 +
Spanish
bus crash kills 2, injures 30
- 21 Aug 04 AI: Ford
settles Florida rollover lawsuit
- 19 Aug 04 AAP (in press, abstracts): Community-based
programs to promote car seat restraints in children 0–16 years – a
systematic review + Factors
influencing the use of cellular (mobile) phone during driving and
hazards while using it
- 19 Aug 04 Times: Padded cars hail crunch-free future (pedestrian protection)
- 19 Aug 04 NewSci: Crash victims' head injuries spotted by
'pupilometer'
The hand-held device, which measures the contraction of the pupils in
an accident victim, may help identify head injuries faster
- 19 Aug 04 AI: GM
not liable in Thomas crash + Ford
sued again over door latches on trucks, SUVs
- 17 Aug 04 AI: Feds
link injuries to weak roofs (see rollover
page) NHTSA
rollover page (no sign of the new report on the NHTSA website).
- 16 Aug 04 SMH: The
expert who can save lives
One of the world's leading authorities on road safety, Anders Lie,
visits Melbourne to outline Sweden's goal of a zero road toll...The next big gains, he argues, will be
from intelligent
speed adaptation (ISA), a system
that enables the car to know the speed at which it should be legally
travelling + Testing
times for teens + What
women want
- 13 Aug 04 NRMA: Seventy
Three Older Car Models Receive Good Crash Ratings. RACV latest
Used Car Safety Ratings.
- 13 Aug 04 ATSB: Fatal
road crashes involving articulated trucks.
- 12 Aug 04 ABC: Family
of crash victim backs call for slower cars
- 12 Aug 04 AI: GM
begins lawsuit defense + SUVs
rank lowest in rollover ratings + New
air bag adjusts protection
- 8 Aug 04 AI: Kids'
auto crash safety lags
- 6 Aug 04 AI: Safety
agency pushes 'black boxes' for cars + Saturn
recalls more than 246,000 VUE sport utility vehicles
- 4 Aug 04 Engadet: A
step-closer to automated-cars, a step further from traffic
- 3 Aug 04 AAP selected abstracts Sep 04: Effects
of an active accelerator pedal on driver behaviour and traffic safety
after long-term use in urban areas + Vehicle
mismatch: injury patterns and severity + Costs
of large truck-involved crashes in the United States + Vehicle
speed affects both pre-skid braking kinematics and average tire/roadway
friction + Work-related
road fatalities in Australia + Bivariate
ordered-response probit model of driver’s and passenger’s injury
severities in collisions with fixed objects + Perceptual
and attentional effects on drivers’ speed selection at curves + Environmental
factors associated with crash-related mortality and injury among taxi
drivers in New South Wales, Australia +
- 2 Aug 04 SpaceDaily: Enhanced
LEDs Promise To Transform Lighting
- 29 Jul 04 MAA: The
Potential for Improved Side Impact Protection in Australian Child
Restraints
- 27 Jul 04 IIHS: New crash
test results: small SUV from Toyota (RAV4) is 1st to earn 'double best
pick' designation for both front and side crashworthiness.
- 24 Jul 04 AI: Ford
to add anti-rollover system to '05 Explorer + Blind-spot
auto safety advocated
- 19 Jul 04 NYT: As
Safety Standards Rise, So Will the Air Bag Count
- 19 Jul 04 Public Citizen: Court
Ruling to Block Truckers’ “Hours of Service” Rule is Sweeping Victory
for Highway Safety
- 19 Jul 04 AI: Feds
aim to curb auto crashes + Self-driving
vehicles take first steps toward reality + Ford
recalls 899,060 Taurus and Sable vehicles
- 14 Jul 04 AI: Stronger
auto roofs pushed + Danger
overhead: Crushed roofs + Army
targets driver training, safety upgrades for truck fleet.
- 13 Jul 04 AI: Air
bags have saved lives but also claimed victims + Honda
investigating reports of CR-Vs catching fire
- 9 Jul 04 BBC: Call for
mobile tracking controls
- 9 Jul 04 AI: Consumers
Union, Suzuki settle eight-year-old lawsuit + Rising
auto recalls eat profits
- 8 Jul 04 NHTSA: The 19th ESV Conference, which will be
held in Washington, DC, June 6 - 9, 2005. Abstracts can be
submitted at the 19th ESV
website by clicking on the Call for Technical Papers link
(from 9 Jul).
- 7 Jul 04 Yahoo: Automotive
black boxes getting more use [in court]
- 6 Jul 04 AI: Power
car windows cost lives + By
dashboard's light, auto icons often symbols of confusion
- 1 Jul 04 AI: Honda
expands U.S. auto recall for transmission flaw - Accord and Acura cars.
- 30 Jun 04 AI: Anti-skid
technology is heralded
- 25 Jun 04 SMH: Short life in the fast lane
+ How
the mighty mite falls (Barina safety feature removed)
- 24 Jun 04: Euro NCAP
Phase 14 results: FIAT
DOBLO, PEUGEOT
407, TOYOTA
COROLLA VERSO, TOYOTA
PRIUS, VOLVO
S40, HONDA
JAZZ, VAUXHALL
ASTRA, VW
GOLF, BMW
Z4, RENAULT
MEGANE CC, SAAB
9-3 CONV, VAUXHALL
TIGRA. 5 star list updated.
- 23 Jun 04 SMH: $10m
recall for 230,000 Fords (AU Falcons with steering problem) + Mother
should know - choosing a car for teenagers (pity the authors did
not consult the NCAP results)
- 23 Jun 04 'Bus safety day?' BBC: Pakistan, Nepal [bus] crashes kill 49 + Passengers
injured in [UK] bus crash + Yahoo: 38
Dead After Bus Plunges in Bolivia + Jakarta Post: Baby
among 14 killed in Lampung [Indonesia] bus crash
- 19 Jun 04 AAP Abstracts: Effects
of an active accelerator pedal on driver behaviour and traffic safety
after long-term use in urban areas - compliance with the speed
limits improved considerably. Reduction in average speeds and less
speed variation by the test vehicles indicate a great traffic-safety
potential. Travel times were unaffected, while emission volumes
decreased significantly. + Vehicle
mismatch: injury patterns and severity+ Vehicle
speed affects both pre-skid braking kinematics and average tire/roadway
friction + Work-related
road fatalities in Australia
- 19 Jun 04 AI: Recalled
Mitsubishi trucks catch fire on Japanese roads
- 19 Jun 04 BBC: Europe's
five worst child killers - includes motor vehicle accidents and air
pollution - "There should be
legislation about driving with no alcohol, about slowing the speed in
urban areas and planning settlements so that children can play, walk
and go to school safely,"
- 16 Jun 04 Yahoo/NYT:
As Risks Make a Helmet More Vital, Fewer Motorcyclists Wear One
+
Scientists seek to protect drivers from their own mistakes
(including speed control at last!)
- 14 Jun 04 AI: Mitsubishi
truck company announces recall of 450,000 vehicles + Ford
Escape improves crash test rating IIHS: June
13, 2004 news release
- 10 Jun 04 SMH: Texting
while driving the latest risk on road.
- 7 Jun 04 AI: Mazda
is tops in test for rollover
- 7 Jun 04 Yahoo:
New Restraints Could Cushion Crash Impact (A vest and harness
safety system for cars may help protect people with osteoporosis and
other brittle bone disorders) +
Ford to Pay $369M in Rollover Accident +
U.S. Issues New Warning on Van Rollover Risks -
NHTSA Repeats Rollover Warning to Users of 15-Passenger Vans
- 7 Jun 04 AI: Indiana
appeals court says cell phone makers are not liable for auto crashes
+ DaimlerChrysler
recalls more than 430,000 PT Cruisers - fire risk
- 2 Jun 04 Yahoo:
Kids' Use of Bike Helmets, Seatbelts Less Than Parents Think
- 31 May 04 ABC: Call for
brakes to be put on speeding truckies + Six children
injured in Sydney bus crash
- 30 May 04 Newhouse: Costs Crimp
Buyers' Interest in Car Safety Options - increasing
the uptake of safety features.
- 27 May 04 AI: Porsche,
VW recall cars for seat belts - Cayenne and Touareg rear seat belt
anchorages.
- 27 May 04 SMH: Them's
the brakes ... - possible
recall of Renault Megane due to braking problem with right-hand-drive
vehicles.
- 26 May 04 SMH: Safest
seat in car is kept for the little ones.
- 24 May 04 ATSB: Benefits of
Retrofitting Seat Belt Reminder Systems to Australian Passenger Vehicles.
- 24 May 04
ReviewJournal: ROAD
WARRIOR: Dangers of backing up underestimated.
- 19 May 04 [Sydney] Daily Telegraph: Merc
bends to Monaro + The Age: Monaro tops crash test results
- 18 May 04 RACV: ANCAP
crash test results - Sports cars May 2004. Holden
Monaro.
- 17 May 04 AAP (abstracts): The
impact of speed and other variables on pedestrian safety in Maine +
Bicycle-related
head injury: a study of 86 cases + An
evaluation of the effectiveness of forward facing child restraint
systems + The
influence of seatback characteristics on cervical injury risk in severe
rear impacts +
The actual threat posed [to front occupants] by unrestrained rear seat
car passengers
- 14 May 04 AI: New
rules would protect side-crash victims
- 12 May 04 AI: Sweeping
roof rule changes in doubt + Chrysler
recalls more than 320,000 pickups, SUVs (Durango and Dakota wiper
defect) + [US]
Government set to release side-impact safety proposal + Mercedes
recalls 680,000 E-, SL-class models (brakes)
- 12 May 04 ABC: British
courts say women are better drivers
- 11 May 04 Yahoo:
Safety Proposal May Lead to Side Air Bags - proposed NHTSA
rulemaking
- 7 May 04 AI: GM
[SUVs] safer for side crashes
- 7 May 04 SMH: Power
to the people [movers] + How
safe are your space-saver tyres?
- 6 May 04 AI: Rescue
workers prepare for challenges of hybrid car accidents (electrical
hazard)
- 5 May 04 NHTSA Publishes
Report on Non-traffic Motor Vehicle Injuries and fatalities - CO
poisoning, reversing, power window strangulation...(2Mb
PDF) - (thanks www.kidsandcars.org)
- 30 Apr 04 Volvo: VOLVO
(Australia) GUIDE TO IN-CAR CHILDCARE.
- 29 Apr 04 AI: [US]
Highway death toll increases - driven in part by a spike in SUV
rollover deaths
- 28 Apr 04 Engineers Australia: Seminar: International
Perspective's on Vehicle Safety Factors - Sydney,
12 May 04
- 27 Apr 04 AAP (abstracts): The
impact of speed and other variables on pedestrian safety in Maine -
A strong relationship
was also found between crash severity and speed + Bicycle-related
head injury: a study of 86 cases + An
evaluation of the effectiveness of forward facing child restraint
systems.
- 24 Apr 04 Yahoo:
Avant-garde approach to saving lives on Sweden's roads - Vision
Zero: under development is a
geographic signalling system that tells the driver he is exceeding the speed limit.
- 22 Apr 04 SMH: [Sydney] Taxi
airbags a safety sticking point - Opinion: these days there is
absolutely no excuse for taxi drivers in Sydney to not wear seat belts.
Australian airbags are designed to work with seat belts. There are
suggestions that unscrupulous operators are disabling airbags (a
fatality resulted from such action several years ago). The taxi
industry seems to regard exmption from seat belt wearing as a win over
the government. The exemption dates from the late 1960s when fixed
seatbelts were a nuisance to wear and adjust and the huge benefits of
seatbelts were unproven. Since then the industry has raised concerns
about security. These were tenuous and are no longer relevant (with
screens and cameras). I am surprised that the insurance (workers
compensation) industry has not insisted that all taxi drivers wear seat
belts.
- 21 Apr 04 AI: Watchdog
calls for improved seat belts (also Yahoo:
Group: Seat Belts Inadequate in Rollovers)
- 21 Apr 04 USA Today:
12 of 15 midsize cars fail new side-impact test - NOTE THAT
CURRENTLY AUSTRALIANS CANNOT BUY THE TOP-PERFORMING TOYOTA CAMRY WITH A
SIDE CURTAIN. Without the curtain "serious
skull fracture and/or brain injuries would be likely".
- 19 Apr 04 FIA Foundation:
Crash tests down under -
The FIA Foundation has become a funding member of the Australian New
Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP).
- 19 Apr 04 IIHS: Side
impact crash test results: Camry and Accord with side airbags rated
good, Malibu acceptable; 10 other midsize cars rated poor in tests
simulating crash with SUV.
- 19 Apr 04: Presentation
on speed control and DRLs at WHO road safety day now online (700K
PDF).
- 19 Apr 04 BBC:
McCartney's wife backs safety ads
- 19 Apr 04 Yahoo:
New Technology to Help Drowsy Drivers
- 19 Apr 04 AI: Modified
trucks pose road risk + GM
recalls surpass 2003 levels (seat belts on SUVs) + Honda
recalls 600,000 vehicles (Odyssey, Pilot, MDX) for transmission defect
+ Mazda,
GM to recall sport utility vehicles (Tribute/Escape stalling)
- 10 Apr 04 ConsumersUnion: House
Transportation Bill Doesn't Include Key Child-Car Safety Measures (power
window hazard)
- 10 Apr 04 AI: Crown
Vic cleared in fiery crash
- 6 Apr 04 ABC: New car
helmet in final testing phase - CASR Headband
- 5 Apr 04 WHO: World
Health Day 2004: Road Safety is NO Accident - Sydney
forum on Wed 7 April, 9.30 to 3.30 at Parliament House, Macquarie
St. Contact details at ACRS.
- 5 Apr 04 Yahoo:
WHO Campaign Meant to Cut Traffic Deaths (Traffic accidents kill
1.2 million people worldwide every year and the number is expected to
nearly double in the next 15 years...WHO)
+
Seat belt use down in state, survey finds
- 2 Apr 04 AI: Infiniti
to use lane-departure warnings in upcoming vehicles - see ITS links.
- 1 Apr 04: Accident Analysis & Prevention - Volume
36, Issue 3 (May 2004) - abstracts online
- 1 Apr 04 Yahoo:
Side Air Bags Keep Drivers Safe +
Ford Ordered to Do Cop Car Crash Tests + LAT:
Automakers Seek Numbers in Safety
- 25 Mar 04 AI: Groups
push bill on auto safety
- 24 Mar 04 AutoNews (subs): Subaru
Liberty & Outback Rate Highest Ever for Crash Safety.
- 24 Mar 04 SMH: The
bustle-backed Megane turns heads but its outstanding trait is the
five-star crash-test rating.
- 22 Mar 04 IIHS: Results
of new high-speed crash tests: five midsize cars are rated good and one
is acceptable; structural designs improve compared with old models.
- 22 Mar 04 AI: Trendy
oversize wheels tread on driver safety + Midsize
cars score higher in high-speed [IIHS] crash tests. +Jury
awards family $52 million in suit over Ford truck brakes + Chrysler
car in St. Patrick's parade crash was recalled for throttle problem
- 22 Mar 04 Austroads: A
Review of Literature and Trials of Intelligent Speed Adaptation Devices
for Light and Heavy Vehicles (PDF)
- 20 Mar 04 Engineers Australia: Robots fail desert
challenge - Not one of the
15 entrants came even close to finishing the 230km Grand Challenge race
for robots in California last Saturday...
- 20 Mar 04 AI: Auto
safety rules battle brews + GM
announces recall of 4 million 2000-04 full-size pickups (tailgate
strap)
- 19 Mar 04 NewSci: Vibrating
pedal says 'ease off gas'.
- 17 Mar 04 AI: GM
to boost safety of large vans + Judge
OKs $149 million tire settlement + Sedans
to stand taller hoping to draw SUV owners + GM
halts sales of some '04 models (transmission fault)
- 16 Mar 04 SpaceDaily: Mobile Tracking
System Features Start/Stop Motion-Monitoring.
- 15 Mar 04 AI: Ford
to make big vans safer + GM
recalling Oldsmobile Aurora because fuel leak can cause fire
- 12 Mar 04 ATSB: Working
Paper: Heavy Truck Crashes at 500 to 1499 Kilometres Outward Distance
from Base 1998 to 2002.
- 12 Mar 04 AI: Ford
recalls 1.3 million vehicles - brake lights on Taurus + Consumer
groups sue traffic safety agency over recall policy
- 10 Mar 04 AI: High-tech
gadgets could boost safety (side obstacle detection - a big
challenge for ITS)+ High-tech
braking gives drivers more control
- 9 Mar 04 ABC TV (Australia): Catalyst
8pm Thu 11 Mar - Safety of roadside barriers.(late program change?)
- 8 Mar 04 AI: '03
vehicle recalls hit 19.5 million - teething troubles with onboard
computers?
- 8 Mar 04 Yahoo:
Cell-phone ban urged for drivers under 18 +
Cell-phone ban urged for drivers under 18
- 6 Mar 04 AI: Nissan
recalls Quest minivan for failing air bag standards + New
Audi A8 features LED day lights (DRLs)
- 2 Mar 04 Yahoo:
Toddlers Face Injury Risk in Shield-Type Car Seats. AAP news
release. Pediatrics
article.
- 28 Feb 04 ABC: Ministers vow
to ease indemnity insurance burden - ...should see ultimately in the long-term some downward pressure on
their premiums...
- 26 Feb 04 Crossecom People
Tagging - for "Anyone whose whereabouts is necessary to monitor for
safety, security or audit monitoring." (Orwellian - but a possibility
for improving driveway and swimming pool
safety for kids)
- 26 Feb 04 West Australian: Police warn on
carjacking threat (a top speed limiter may be a good deterrent)
- 21 Feb 04 UKDoT: Many
of us are scared and angry when our partners speed (thanks DriveandstayAlive] From Think! magazine,
- 19 Feb 04 World Health Day
2004: road safety. 7 April 2004. Watch for a seminar in Sydney.
- 16 Feb 04 ABC: Up to 40
killed in Uganda [mini] bus crash
- 13 Feb 04 Yahoo:
Senate Rejects Boost for Seat Belt Laws +
Studies: Kids Still Riding in Front Seats (73 percent of the 5,527
child passengers it surveyed were in seats that were improperly used.)
+
More big trucks mixing with cars worries officials
- 9 Feb 04 AI: GM
recalls 1.8 millions cars - ignition switch on some 97-01
Cavaliers, Sunfires, Grand Am and Skylark.
- 6 Feb 04 Engineers Australia: The National
Panel on the Biomechanics of Impact Injury, Seminar &
Discussion Forum on Side Impact Injury. Friday 27th Feb 2004,
1.30PM –
5.00PM, Engineers Australia Sydney Division Auditorium, 118 Alfred
Street, Milson’s Point, Sydney. Contact Nina Lenz via phone 02 6270
6548 or email.
- 6 Feb 04 IIHS: Status Report (PDF): Test performance
predicts vehicle crashworthiness in real-world crashes
- 6 Feb 04 USA Today: Ford
Explorer Sport Trac gets worst rollover rating + SUVs:
Rollovers unlikely [? not by the accident records] + Value
of crash test questioned [it is the quality of reporting that
should be questioned!]
- 5 Feb 04 AI: Crash
tests could mislead [but drivers of cars rated "poor" by IIHS are 3
times more likely to die in relevant crashes (highway head-ons between
similar vehicles) than those in "good"
vehicles - IIHS
press
release ] + [some]
SUVs
do well in rollovers
- 5 Feb 04 Yahoo:
Study: Drivers Ignore N.Y. Cell Phone Ban +
Ford to Pay $23.7 Million in Calif. Rollover Lawsuit +
Study questions value of driver-ed
- 4 Feb 04 AI: Army
learns lesson from Ford [driving simulator] - Dialing a cellular phone while
driving is not advisable...teens were unaware 54
percent of the time when other vehicles swerved erratically. + DaimlerChrysler
minivans investigated for possible defect - failing air bags,
horns and
cruise control systems + GM
reskins '05 minivans with more [aggressive?] sport, utility
- 29 Jan 04 (Oz) ABC: Minister to
probe
four-wheel-drive safety + The Bulletin: 4WDs: FATAL IMPACT
- 29 Jan 04 ABCNews: Big
Vehicle Blind Spots Leaving Kids Dead - not just big vehicles! KidAndCars.org.
- 28 Jan 04 AI: Crown
Victoria axles probed
- 27 Jan 04 ETSC: latest
issue of Safety Monitor
- 27 Jan 04 AI:
'Star
on Cars' bill would put safety ratings on new vehicles. + Explorer
verdicts go Ford's way
- 24 Jan 04 ECE: DRAFT
PROPOSAL FOR AMENDMENTS TO [ECE] REGULATION No. 87
(Daytime running lights) - PDF (thanks Julian
Del Beato)
- 23 Jan 04 Yahoo:
Britons Feud Over Speed Cameras
- 22 Jan 04 IDS: New reports by Dr Will
Murray on work-related road safety launched.
- 22 Jan 04 AAP:
Effect
of repeal of the national maximum speed limit law on occurrence
of crashes, injury crashes, and fatal crashes on Utah highways.
(note confounding factors: Trends
of behavioral risk factors in motor vehicle crashes in Utah, 1992–1997)
- 21 Jan 04 SMH: Four
killed in 4WD highway crash - single vehicle rollover?
- 20 Jan 04 Monash Uni: Crashworthiness
& Road Safety - IEAust Warren Medal award winning papers by
Raphael Grzebieta and George Rechnitzer
- 19 Jan 04 CARSP: 14th
Canadian Multidisciplinary
Road Safety Conference will be held in
Ottawa, Ontario during the period June 27-30, 2004
- 17 Jan 04 Cambridge Uni: Mechanics
of Heavy-Duty Truck Systems - course in UK.
- 17 Jan 04 NHTSA:
Vans Take Top Scores in Government Crash Ratings
- 16 Jan 04 ECE: Technical
Prescriptions concerning test provisions for pedestrian protection (PDF)
- 16 Jan -4 NewSci: Crashed
cars to text message for help - The Europe-wide system
automatically senses a crash and then contacts the emergency services
in the local language
- 16 Jan 04 AI: Sales
of redesigned Durango halted because of throttle problem
- 14 Jan 04 AI: General
Motors Corp. recalls more than 800,000 cars for power steering repairs
- several models made in 1996/97.
- 12 Jan 04 NewSci (magazine only): TRENDS: BLACK BOXES
FOR CARS - If your car doesn't record the way you drive, it
will do soon (p.24 10 Jan 04 issue)
- 12 Jan 04 AI: DaimlerChrysler
recalls 33,000 Mercedes-Benz cars (seat belt buckles) + U-Haul
rejects Explorers
- 12 Jan 04 SMH: Grossest of motor skills + Bloody
Volvo drivers clear the blindspot (video assistance).
Tony Davis and the Drive Team present the fifth annual P76
awards for mediocrity.
- 23 Dec 03: DRL
web page added.
- 23 Dec 03 NZH: New Zealand's most dangerous roads
- 22 Dec 03 ATSB: Review of the
literature on daytime running lights - new report
- 22 Dec 03 AI: GM
makes new police Tahoe speedy, versatile + Drivers
of silver cars least likely to [be seriously injured in] crash, study
reports (BMJ
PDF) + Redesigned
Fords earn top marks in high-speed crash tests. (IIHS
Press Release)
- 18 Dec 03 BBC: Bendy
lampposts may save lives.
- 16 Dec 03 AI: High-tech
auto lights go mainstream
- 15 Dec 03 AI: Container
chassis unsafe, union says (brakes on semi-trailers)
- 12 Dec 03 NewSci: SUVs
double pedestrians’ risk of death. From AA&P:
The fatality and injury risk of light truck impacts with pedestrians in
the United States. + Pedestrian
injuries and vehicle type in Maryland, 1995–1999.
- 12 Dec 03 AA&P: Passenger
seating position and the risk of passenger death or injury in traffic
crashes. We estimated that the
rear seat passenger position may reduce the risk
of death in a motor vehicle crash by about 39% and reduce the risk of
death or serious injury in a crash by 33%, compared with the front seat
passenger position.
- 12 Dec 03 AI: Ford
offers anti-rollover device for SUVs in 2005.
- 11 Dec 03 Action Imports: Carminder System
- uses GPS and mobile phone system to give vehicle location and speed to a caller.
- 11 Dec 03 AI: Truckers
shun seat belts
- 10 Dec 03 SMH: Small
cars safer: report. Latest ANCAP
release.
- 7 Dec 03 AI: SUV
safety fix to cost Big 3
- 5 Dec 03 NYT: Honda
announced Wednesday that it plans to stake out a leadership position in
vehicle safety.- curtains
to be
standard by 2007 (Drive and
Stay Alive)
- 4 Dec 03 AI: Carmakers
strive to stem car-SUV crash injuries -
Safety equipment to be installed to protect passengers. Head-level
airbags will be
available on half of all models by the 2008 model year, and will be
universal by 2010.
- 3 Dec 03 SMH: Crunch
time - pedestrian protection
- 2 Dec 03 AI: Pacifica,
Caddy SRX earn top safety rating - IIHS
press release
- 28 Nov 03 Euro NCAP: Latest
release and new
protocol for assessing child restraints (but see also PROTECTING
CHILDREN IN CAR CRASHES: THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE
- ESV03 1Mb PDF)
- 28 Nov 03 AI:
Tougher
fuel tanks ordered + Court
slashes Bronco damage award to $23.7 million
- 25 Nov 03 NYT: Study
Links Higher Speed Limits to Deaths (regn) - IIHS Status Report "Faster Travel"
(PDF).
- 25 Nov 03 AI: Ford
recalls Focus cars for fuel filter
- 25 Nov 03 IRCOBI: The
2004 International IRCOBI Conference on The Biomechanics of Impact
will be held in Graz, Austria 22 – 24 September 2004.
- 21 Nov 03 NewSci: Hand-held
device detects impaired drivers. A
hand-held device designed to identify drivers impaired by drugs,
alcohol or excessive tiredness, is being evaluated by the British
police.
- 21 Nov 03 GCN: Car data
recorders debated +
Mitsubishi, Honda to recall combined 570,000 cars (Galant &
Legnum suspension, Grandis wipers, Stream, CR-V, Integra & Civic
steering) (regn required)
- 21 Nov 03 AI: Auto
'black boxes' defended
- 18 Nov 03 USA Today:
Study supports tougher state seat belt laws
- 18 Nov 03 SFC:
Top court lets Suzuki sue Consumer Reports.
- 15 Nov 03 Times Colonist, Canada:Taken
for granted in Canada, daytime running lights still contentious in U.S.
- 15 Nov 03 SMH: Ministers
put brakes on car ads.
- 15 Nov 03 AI: Florida
jury finds Ford negligent in woman's air bag death.
- 13 Nov 03 Yahoo: Aussie cars test as
safe. ANCAP results for the Mitsubishi
Magna.
- 10 Nov 03 AI: Chrysler
recalling Jeep Liberty for ball joint failure + Ford
recalling Windstar minivans for safety problem (rear seat
anchorage)
- 10 Nov 03 GCN: Rushing
home on Fridays? Watch out for crunch times.
- 5 Nov 03 AI: Hella
seeks growth with new technologies + Honda
recalling nearly 652,000 vehicles due to defect (rolls when parked)
- 4 Nov 03 NewSci (next issue): Now who's in the driving
seat? Computers and
cars have one thing in common: they crash. Put them together and the
results are impossible for the car industry to ignore + Smart
software helps robots dodge collisions
- 1 Nov 03 EA: Europe invests in
Australian driver fatigue monitor.
- 1 Nov 03 AI: Honda
to make side air bags standard
- 29 Oct 03 GCN: Lotus
seeks U.S. safety rule exemption; Insight tops in fuel economy
- 29 Oct 03 AI: Feds'
inquiry targets Chevrolet Silverado
- 29 Oct 03 ABC: Syria fuel
truck collides with bus, 13 dead
- 26 Oct 03 Carsguide: New Odyssey lifts the bar on peoplemovers -
adaptive cruise control, electronic stability control, cornering
headlights, pre-emptive seat belt pretensioners...sounds like a top of
the line Lexus! (I drive a 1997 Odyssey)
- 26 Oct 03 ABC: WA toddler in
intensive care after driveway accident
- 25 Oct 03 Letter about
speed cameras and speed control.
- 23 Oct 03 IIHS: Crash
test protocols revised - includes injury rating for side impact
test.
- 23 Oct 03 AI: Honda
improves crash safety
- 22 Oct 03 NewSci: Crunch
time for Sports Utility Vehicles.
- 21 Oct 03 : Presentation
to Staysafe on Speed Control - 13 Oct 03 (800K pdf)
- 19 Oct 03 Motor Trends: Government
Should Rethink Seat Belt Regs (US should look at Euro NCAP
requirements)
- 17 Oct 03 AI: Dodge
recalling [Dakota] pickups for wiring problem
- 17 Oct 023 AI: Feds
note lighter cars raise deaths. The 3Mb
NHTSA report can be downloaded here.
- 14 Oct 03: The late John
Stapp receives an Ignobel
award, together with Edward Murphy ("Murphy's Law")
- 14 Oct 03 IIHS: HEAD
RESTRAINTS ARE MUCH BETTER THAN THEY USED TO BE; MOST OF THEM STILL
NEED TO BE ADJUSTED TO PROTECT THE NECK.
- 14 Oct 03 Yahoo:
Police Cracking Down On School Zone Speeding +
GOP Lawmakers Seek Safety-Rule Exemption for Trailers
- 14 Oct 03: Smart
Demo 2003
- demonstration of latest ITS technology - postponed until 2004.
- 12 Oct 03 AI: Road
test beefs up rollover ratings
- 12 Oct 03 SMH: Deflating
feeling if your bag is past use-by date (airbag durability) + Stop
right there -- immobilisers vs carjacking.
- 25 Sep 03 Yahoo:
Vehicles Perform Well in New Crash Tests - IIHS
News Release.
- 24 Sep 03: Daytime
Running Light Presentation at Sydney Road Safety Conference (500K
PDF)
- 22 Sep 03 Yahoo:
Nader Chides N.M. Gov. on Driving Fast +
Ohio Bus Company Recalls 177 School Buses
- 22 Sep 03 NYT:
Scooters, Long a Nuisance, Draw Anger as a Safety Risk - scooter safety.
- 21 Sep 03 ABC: Pakistan rail
crossing crash kills at least 40
- 19 Sep 03 Folksam: Effective
whiplash protection systems
can reduce the risk of a neck injury by 50% (1.2Mb PDF - tip from
Ines LEVALLOIS)
- 17 Sep 03 Yahoo: Safer,
More Fuel-Efficient SUV Developed.
- 17 Sep 03 AI: Delphi
touts safer brake technology + Computer
devices aim to make vehicles safer
- 15 Sep 03 AI: Auto
firms rush to share crash [defect] data
- 12 Sep 03 NewSci: Smart
fender recognises pedestrian impact
- 12 Sep 03 EuroNCAP: New
Renault Scenic achieves five stars - Details.
- 11 Sep 03 NewSci: Downpour
after drought raises road deaths
- 8 Sep 03 SMH: Death
traps that can't be banned around kids - A magistrate has blasted
parents who drive
large four-wheel-drive
vehicles around
children...
- 8 Sep 03 AI: GM
recalls 783,000 cars to replace hazard-warning switch (turn signals
might not work).
- 7 Sep 03 NZ Herald:
'Remuera tractors' in the gun
- They plan to
distribute thousands of car stickers reading: "One Less 4WD."
- 2 Sep 03 AI: Toyota
enhances safety of SUVs
- 2 Sep 03 DT: Unroadworthy
car exploded, inquest told.[LPG explosion]
- 2 Sep 03 BBC: Digital cam
translates in a snap
- 30 Aug 03 AI: F-150
ads tout rugged side (reckless?)
- 28 Aug 03 NYT: Fear of
Air Bag Sends Children to Back Seat, Saving Many
- 27 Aug 03 SciAm: NEXT-GENERATION
GPS - new, more sophisticated applications, such as intelligent
highway and traffic-safety systems.
- 26 Aug 03 IIHS: IN
REAL-WORLD CRASHES, SIDE AIRBAGS WITH HEAD PROTECTION ARE SAVING LIVES
- a stunning
45%
reduction in fatalities in side impacts. See the Status Report
download for details. More on curtain airbags. AutoInsider
report.
- 26 Aug 03 Engineers Australia: Annual Impact
Biomechanics Conference - Tuesday 23rd September 03 in Sydney.
This will be a combined event with SAE Australia.
The Seminar topics are New Car Assessment Program & Vehicle
Occupant Vunerability due to Incompatible Vehicles A Draft Program
& Registration Details can be downloaded HERE
The Panel will also host a Workshop on Current Vehicle Safety
Factor Issues - Threats and Opportunities.
This Workshop will be on Wednesday 24th September during the Road
Safety Research, Policing & Education Conference in Sydney at the
Sydney Convention Centre, Darling Harbour. It will be facilitated by Dr
Robert Anderson from the Centre for Automotive Safety Research,
Adelaide. Program details will be posted shortly. Registration for this
workshop is via the RSRPE Conference website: http://www.iceaustralia.com/rta/
- 26 Aug 03 SAE-A:
Technical Accident Investigation & Reconstruction Course - Monday
22 to Friday 26 September 2003, North Melbourne. Also NCAP seminar in
Sydney on Tue 23 Sept.
- 25 Aug 03 Economist: Feeling
the danger (smart materials)
- 25 Aug 03 Telegraph: Space robot (parking aid)
- 25 Aug 03 AI: More
drivers are using seat belts (in the USA)
- 21 Aug 03 AI: Activists
target power windows (at least 23 deaths in the last decade) + New
headlights may cut glare (but be skeptical about the term
"glare-producing yellow light" - see Daniel Stern's report
on glare!)
- 17 Aug 03 AI: Toyota
recalling 2004 Sienna minivans - fuel tank.
- 13 Aug 03: Smart
Demo 2003 -
demonstration of latest ITS technology - Sydney Oct 28-29.
- 13 Aug 03 Yahoo:
Van Operators to Have New Safety Rules
- 10 Aug 03 AI: Autos'
blind spots put kids in danger - see Driveways
- 10 Aug 03 SMH:
Eat breakfast, comb hair, write a cheque, watch out for the car ahead
- 10 Aug 03 Sunday Tele: Speed
blamed for our road toll
- 10 Aug 03 Yahoo:
Drivers Distracted by Phones, Eating, Grooming
- 10 Aug 03 AI: Ford
recalling 1.6 million sport utes, also Crown Vics (wheel defect) + Runge
brings medical experience to nation's top auto safety job + Cops:
Ford fix not enough
- 9 Aug 03 Engineers Australia Biomechanics Committee:
Vehicle safety seminar in Sydney on 24th Sept.
- 9 Aug 03 Staysafe: Speed
and motor vehicles - inquiry by NSW parliament road safety
committee - submissions sought. get some ideas here.
- 7 Aug 03 AI: Ford
to upgrade Crown Vic + Tire
pressure rule tossed
- 6 Aug 03 BBC: [double] Accident
risk for fat drivers.
- 6 Aug 03 SMH: Corner
by ESP.
- 6 Aug 03 Yahoo: Young
Americans Still Shunning Seat Belts.
- 6 Aug 03 AI: Opposites
attract for car safety - proposed auto safety regs.
- 3 Aug 03 Drive/SMH: Why
survival is in the bag... side-impact
head protection
should be a priority for new-car purchasers...
- 3 Aug 03 ABC: Vic Govt
reviews reckless driving laws.
- 28 Jul 03 Today Tonight has an item about 4WD
safety tonight at 6.30 on Channel 9.
- 28 Jul 03 Denver Post:
More elderly dying behind the wheel, study says
- 28 Jul 03 Auto Insider: Emerging
crash-avoidance systems: Will drivers want them? + GM
sending 1.7 million child seat instructions as part of recall
- 23 Jul 03 Yahoo:
Safety Regulators Probe Chrysler Vehicles ( +
High-Tech Vehicle Control Not Catching On
- 23 Jul 03 AutoInsider: Feds
put spotlight on glare (from HID headlights) + Ford
won't sell patrol cars to police agencies suing it
- 19 Jul 03 Cambridge Consultants: Innovative
radar technology brings smart anti-collision systems within range of
automobile makers.
- 18 Jul 03 SMH: NRMA
says "Lights out? Never!"
- 17 Jul 03 Auto Insider: Feds
call for safer big vans.
- 17 Jul 03 DFP: Ford
device fails crash tests -
It could worsen police car fuel leaks, officials say.
- 17 Jul 03 Yahoo: Toyota
Tacoma Gets Worst Rollover Rating. Latest
NHTSA ratings.
- 14 Jul 03 NRMA: The magazine Open
Road has a feature article on Daytime Running Lights.
- 14 Jul 03 Auto Insider: Minivan
safety is first big task.
- 3 Jul 03 ATSB: Articulated
Truck Fatalities.
- 3 Jul 03 Guardian:
Raise m-way limit to 80mph, say Tories +
Why drivers need a one-track mind
- 3 Jul 03 NYT: Planned
Auto Safety Rules Focus on Rollovers and S.U.V.'s
- EuroNCAP: Latest Test
Results from Euro NCAP launched in London - Renault
Espace, BMW X5, Saab 9-5, and the Volvo XC90 added to 5 Star list.
- 27 Jun 03 Yahoo:
GM Recalls Buick SUV to Fix Liftgate
- 26 Jun 03 EuroNCAP results released later today - check this page.
- 25 Jun 03 Autoinsider: Federal
standards for tires tightened + GM
recalls about 254,000 Saturn L-Series for engine (fire) problem
- 25 Jun 03 Yahoo:
Britain to Ban Use of Hand-Held Phones at Wheel
- 20 Jun 03 SMH: Crash
course in danger for terrors on two wheels (recreational
scooters).
- 18 Jun 03 SMH: Big
Brother on board - [the
driver] had no idea his vehicle contained an electronic data box
recording what he did just before the crash. But the
information will almost certainly help send him to prison.
- 18 Jun 03 IIHS: FIRST
RESULTS OF SIDE IMPACT CRASH TESTS:TWO
SMALL SUVs EARN GOOD RATINGS; ONLY ONE (FORESTER) IS RATED
GOOD IN BOTH FRONT AND SIDE CRASH TESTS. Yahoo: Most
SUVs Flunk New Crash Test
- 17 Jun 03: Latest
JNCAP release
added to Offset
Test List.
- 17 Jun 03 DFP: Air
bags on
sides of cars pushed
- 17 Jun 03 Yahoo:
Programs Focus on Older Drivers, Safety
- 16 Jun 03 Auto Insider: Side-impact
crashes continue to challenge automakers, regulators. + SUV
safety rules proposed
- 12 Jun 03 IIHS: LATCH
SYSTEMS FOR CHILD RESTRAINTS AREN'T ALWA YS A SNAP; NOT EVERY CHILD
RESTRAINT WILL WORK IN EVERY
VEHICLE.
- 12 Jun 03 NHTSA: NHTSA
Announces "Ease of Use" Child Safety Seat Ratings
+ Child Safety
Seat Ease of Use Ratings + 18th
Enhanced Safety of Vehicles (ESV) Proceedings now online.
- 8 Jun 03 ABC: At
least six killed, 38 injured in bus crash in Italy + 26
killed when bus overturned into a river in southern China + Bus
crash kills 27 in Turkey. (yes - posted on ABC
on one day) Note that Australian coaches built from July 1994
have had 3-point seat belts built into all passenger seats.
This followed two severe
crashes in 1989. It is now more than a decade since the
technology has was developed to make high speed bus travel
much safer but other countries seem reluctant to mandate
them.
- 5 Jun 03 UMTRI: Functional
Requirements for Daytime Running Lights.(abstract of new report)
- 4 Jun 03 Yahoo:
NTSB Backs Limited Car Cell-Phone Ban +
Car safety experts push for new stability device
- 31 May 03 NASA: Wheels In
The Sky (actually on Mars) - "mobility engineers" (!) and the
design of a Mars rover.
- 31 May 03 RTA Library: Vehicle
compatibility in car-to-car collisions + Review of Ireland's
road safety strategy.
- 31 May 03 Yahoo:
Mazda to Recall Over 174,000 Vehicles - Atenzas, MPVs and Roadster
- fire hazard due to front fog light fault.
- 29 May 03: ICRASH 2004
- San Fransico, July 2004. Call for papers.
- 29 May 03 UMTRI: Lateral-Acceleration
Experience of Six Commercial Vehicles (exec summ - PDF).
- 28 May 03 Guardian: MP
urges 4x4 ban in urban jungle + Cycle
groups attack road safety 'skull' campaign to shock youngsters
- 28 May 03 BG: U.S.
pushes for wider seat belt use Buckling up could save about 9,200 lives
a year
- 27 May 03 2003 NRMA: May 03 issue of Hub
and Spoke magazine has a summary of my research on Daytime Running
Lights - new technology makes them
far more effective and efficient than low beam headlights.
- 27 May 03 Yahoo:
Ford to Recall 185,000 Trucks - Steering fault in 1997 model
year F-150 and F-250 pickups and Ford Expedition SUVs.
- 27 May 03 DFP: Regulators
to give SUVs actual rollover tests + SUVs
perform poorly on tests
- 16 May 03 DFP: GM
promises stabilizers for its 15-passenger vans
- 14 May 03 RACV: ANCAP large
car crash test results - 4 stars for Commodore, Camry and Falcon.
- 14 May 03 NYT: Revamped
S.U.V. Found to Cause Worse Injuries.
- 11 May 03: Australian NCAP release of large car results on
Wed 14th. Commodore Vs Falcon Vs Camry.
- 11 May 03 NYT: Free
Air or Not, Your Tires Need It.
- 4 May 03 NYT: Head
Injuries Are Noted in [NHTSA] Crash Tests of 3 S.U.V.'s
- 1 May 03 EuroNCAP: New
Toyota Avensis achieves highest Euro NCAP score to date
- 1 May 03 Yahoo:
Subaru Recalls 170,000 Vehicles in U.S. (rust due to salted roads)
+
Nissan, GM, Ford, Others Hit with Recalls (engine fires,
windscreens
and steering faults)
- 29 Apr 03: Preprint
copies of ESV 2003 papers by VDR available - Child restraints and
reversing safety.
- 27 Apr 03 DFP: High-tech
cars
soften the blow to pedestrians + Biggest
SUV
risk: Drivers + SUV
SAFETY: Stability control is gaining favor + SPORT-UTILITY
VEHICLE SAFETY TIPS
- 27 Apr 03 Yahoo:
Nissan to Replace Air Bags in Altimas: NHTSA
- 27 Apr 03 ATSB: Survey on
Speeding and Enforcement (2003).
- 27 Apr 03 NYT: Fraud
Charged in Rollover Case.
- 18 Apr 03 Yahoo:
Newly Designed Cars Do Better in Crashes +
Car's Electric Window Kills Boy
- 17 Apr 03 ATSB: Evaluating
and
improving fleet safety in Australia.
- 17 Apr 03 IIHS: Crash
test results: 5 of 6 vehicles earn good overall ratings, demonstrate
automakers' commitment to improving designs.
- 14 Apr 03 ATSB: Where are your
kids? Child safety in your driveway.
- 14 Apr 03 ABC: Greek
school bus plunges into ravine, killing 20.
- 12 Apr 03 NYT: On
a Straight and Narrow (lane departure ITS).
- 12 Apr 03 CBC:
SUVs, trucks more prone to roll over: Transport Canada
- 12 Apr 03 Yahoo:
Road Work-Zone Crashes Kill More Drivers
- 9 Apr 03 DFP: Air bag
injuries, deaths fall but then Front
air bags hurting children (Auto Insider)
- 9 Apr 03 Yahoo: GM
Recalls 1997 Blazer, Jimmy, Bravada. Seat belt recall.
- 7 Apr 03 NYT: [F1] Drivers
Try to Avoid Wearing Neck Ring.
- 5 Apr 03 NYT: Cooling
Film for Windows - Previous attempts to screen out the bright sun
relied on metal-based coatings that reduced visibility...[the new
product is clear!]
- 5 Apr 03 DFP: [NHTSA] Safety
data peril [!] seen.
- 5 Apr 03 NewSci: Head injuries' double whammy explained
A high school student helps solve the long-standing mystery of why
damage to the brain is often worse at the point opposite the impact.
(server may be
down)
- 20 Mar 03 USA Today: Laws
to buckle down on seat belts face resistance.
- 20 Mar 03 Times-Picayune: Buckle
in the back.
- 17 Mar 03 NYT: Rollover
Safety Moves to Center Stage.
- 14 Mar 03 DFP: Top
family haulers listed - Convenience, safety features highlighted.
- 12 Mar 03 Yahoo: Group
Questions Safety of Ford SUV.
- 11 Mar 03: Ergonomics
Society of
- 6 Mar 03 NewSci: Crunch
time for Sports Utility Vehicles.
- 6 Mar 03 Auto.com: New dummy
simulates a 10-year-old.
- 6 Mar 03 Yahoo: Installing
a Safety Seat? It's Not Child's Play.
- 6 Mar 03 NBS: Workshops
on improving work-related road safety - [UK] Nottingham Business
School’s Centre for Automotive Industries Management, the New Zealand
AA Driver Education Foundation and the Centre
for Accident Research and Road Safety - Queensland (CARRS-Q) . (thanks
Will Murray)
- 5 Mar 03 NYT (regn): Protection:
Safer Travels, After the Car Seat - Few children from 4 to 8 years
old are strapped into booster seats in cars, despite the documented
risk.
- 4 Mar 03 SMH: The
real impact of 4WDs. Latest Used
Car Safety Ratings.
- 28 Feb 03 ANCAP: Subaru
Forester XS-LP (PDF) earns 5 stars.
First ANCAP vehicle, first Japanese vehicle and
first 4WD/SUV to do so. Subaru press release.
RACV press release: ANCAP
Welcomes 5 Star Vehicles at the Melbourne Motor Show.
- 28 Feb 03 LAT: New
Safety Standards for SUVs Are Expected.
- 28 Feb 03 NYT: Commitment
of Automakers to Safety Is Under Fire .
- 28 Feb 03 1IIHS: The IIHS
Crashworthiness Evaluation Side Impact Crash Test Protocol
has the correct barrier c of g height (should be 630 +/- 25 mm
from the ground). Associated reports may have
had it wrong.
- 26 Feb 03 WP: Detroit
Tries to Tackle the Car-SUV Safety Issue Head On.
- 26 Feb 03 Autoinsider: Automakers
go to bat for SUVs.
- 26 Feb 03 Denver Post: Crash
survivor rethinks blame - Firefighter: Ford at fault, not driver
- 26 Feb 03 Courier Mail: Truck
company facing charges - A BRISBANE trucking company, its managing
director and eight drivers face 273 charges after an investigation
following a fatal accident involving an ex-employee two years ago.
- 25 Feb 03 CSM: Shades of
gray in SUV debate.
- 24 Feb 03 Yahoo: Child
Booster Seat Campaign Doubles Usage Rate.
- 15 Feb 03 Auto.com: Industry
pledges [!] to make SUVs safer.
- 14 Feb 03 Autoinsider: Automakers
explore ways to make car-SUV collisions safer
- 14 Feb 03 Auto.com: Death rate
lowest for
- 13 Feb 03 IIHS: The IIHS
Crashworthiness Evaluation Side Impact Crash Test Protocol (Version
I)
is now available for download from the Institute's website. The first
crash
test program for consumer information, which uses this protocol, has
already
begun and testing is scheduled to
- 12 Feb 03: Latest
EuroNCAP results added to Consolidated
list of offset crash tests
- 12 Feb 03 DFP: Seat
Belt Use Among Kids at Record High but (Auto Insider) Parents
jeopardize kids in front seats.
- 10 Feb 03 NYT: SUVs
Under Fire.
- 8 Feb 03: 5th International
Conference on
- 7 Feb 03 Detroit News: Children
in day care improperly transported - with tips. See also this Australian
report that analysed misuse.
- 4 Feb 03 ATSB: Road
fatalities among older pedestrians - new report.
- 4 Feb 03 Auto.com: BMW recalls
164,000 sport-utility vehicles for brake problem - X5s made between
August 1999 and April 2002.
- 1 Feb 02 SMH: Car
makers urge better road skills.
- 31 Jan 03 NYT: Regulators
Seek Ways to Make S.U.V.'s Safer. Concern about SUV occupants
and other road users.
- 31 Jan 03 Auto.com: SUVs are back
on hot seat.
- 29 Jan 03 SMH: Attention,
driver: you're about to crash.
- 28 Jan 03 EuroNCAP: Latest release - Skoda
Superb (4 stars), Opel/Vauxhall Meriva (4 stars), BMW X-5 (4 stars),
Mitsubishi Pajero Pinin (3 stars), Audi TT (4 stars) and MGTF (4 stars)
- 25 Jan 03 NYT: Lighting
Dark Corners.
- 23 Jan 03 Auto.com: Ford's Volvo
850 cars investigated gasoline leaks (1993-1996 year models) + Ford fined,
told to turn in van evidence.
- 19 Jan 03 Auto.com: SHATTER-PROOF:
Luxury cars move toward plastic-laminated side windows.
- 17 Jan 03 NYT: G.M.
Critical of Regulator Who Faulted S.U.V. Safety - Dr. Jeffrey
Runge, the administrator of N.H.T.S.A., reiterated in a speech on
Tuesday that the propensity of S.U.V.'s to roll over and the dangers
they pose to passenger cars are among his top priorities.
- 17 Jan 03 European Red Cross: One Life Road Safety Campaign.
- 14 Jan 03 Yahoo: More
Car [child] Seats Registered, More Recalls Repaired. + Crash-Scene
Research Eyes Hidden Injuries.
- 14 Jan 03 ATSB: CR213 - Community
Attitudes to Road Safety.
- 10 Jan 03 Auto.com: TV spots
heating up SUV fight - Local stations decline to run contentious
ads.
- 8 Jan 03 ABC: Australian
road toll one of lowest: report. ATSB report: Benchmarking road
safety.
- 8 Jan 03 ATSB: Benefits of
Seat Belt Reminder Systems.
- 6 Jan 03 SMH: Christmas
crackdown steers state to lowest road toll.
- 6 Jan 03 NYT: Police
Departments Scramble To Make [Crown Victoria] Patrol Cars Safer.
- 31 Dec 02 NYT: Automakers
Block Crash Data Recorders
- 31 Dec 02 Auto.com: Ford
settles suits over risk of SUVs.
- 30 Dec 02 Auto.com: SPORT -
UTILITIES - Pundits predicted the SUV
- 16 Dec 02 Ford US: 15-PASSENGER
ECONOLINE VANS ARE SAFE VEHICLES - advice about importance of
seat belts.
- 11 Dec 02 Auto.com: Honda, Toyota
cars among 5 named as 'Best Pick' in crash tests - Latest
IIHS results.
- 6 Dec 02 enews: Is
Bigger Safer? It Ain't Necessarily So + ACEEE: An
Analysis of Traffic Deaths by Vehicle Type and Model (source
document for sale, or there is a free PDF).
Note that the analysis makes no compensation for seat belt wearing.
- 6 Dec 02 Auto.com: Belt law will
give children greater shield in crashes - Rear middle seats must
get 3-point restraints
- 6 Dec 02 WP: D.C.
to Enforce Child Safety Law - requires children to ride
in a car safety seat until the age of 8.
- 6 Dec 02 BBC: Sleep
disorder risk for drivers.
- 5 Dec 02 AAA: Compact
four-wheel-drive crash test results from ANCAP.
- 2 Dec 02 Auto.com: CAMERAS IN
CARS: COVERING
ALL THE ANGLES. Nissan Motor Corp. offers an optional
rear-facing camera
on some Infiniti models that works when the transmission is in reverse.
Driveway
safety.
- 26 Nov 02 SMH: Assume
the position -- new technology pinpoints radar, cameras and more.
First step towards Intelligent
Speed Adaption. Blackspot.com.au.
- 26 Nov 02: EuroNCAP
launch later today. Update: The Renault Megane is
the first small car to earn 5 stars.
Summary
of Phase 11 results. Please note that the adverse comments
about some forward facing child seats in the detailed EuroNCAP pages
have not been substantiated - see the cautions about using dummies to
predict injuries in children in the Australian
Automobile Association report. In 25 years of infants using forward
facing child seats in Australia there has been no
case of serious neck injury from deceleration forces alone.
Many of these crashes were much more severe than the NCAP test.
Similarly all overseas cases that Australian researchers are aware of
have involved a head impact (sometimes this came to light after the
initial announcements were made). The
number one priority in child occupant protection is to limit forward
excursion
and so avoid dangerous head contacts. Australian child restraints
perform exceptionally well in this regard. It is unfortunate that the
wording of some EuroNCAP pages will raise doubts about Australian
practices
- doubts that are entirely unfounded.
- 26 Nov 02 Auto.com: Autoliv will
close two U.S. plants, save $20 million .
- 26 Nov 02 Yahoo: Saab
Recalling 55,000 Cars - airbag in 1995 Saab 900.
- 25 Nov 02 USA Today: Orlando
tops list of danger zones for pedestrians.
- 22 Nov 02 AAA: Three
reports on the effectiveness of Australian child restraints.
- 22 Nov 02: Unofficial
Tribute to Rodney Vaughan, who passed away in 2001.
- 22 Nov 02 LAT: Congress
OKs Auto Safety Rules for Older Children.:
- 18 Nov 02 Auto.com: New cruise
control does everything but steer + GM recalling
1.5 million vehicles for power steering problem (1997-98 models of
the Pontiac Grand Prix and 1996-98 models of the Chevrolet Cavalier,
Pontiac Sunfire, Chevrolet Lumina, Chevrolet Venture, Oldsmobile
Silhouette, and Pontiac Transport).
- 16 Nov 02 Institution of Engineers Australia: Warning of upcoming
PI crisis for consultants - the average increase in premiums
will be 400%, excesses will increase by 600%, and 15% of firms will
be struggling to get PI insurance.
- 14 Nov 02 EuroNCAP: Small
car achieves Euro NCAP five star rating (to be announced on 26 Nov)
- 14 Nov 02 Auto.com: School vans
need more wheels, consumer group says + NYT
+ WP.
- 12 Nov 02 SciAm: Moderate
Alcohol Consumption Clouds Brain's Ability to Detect Mistakes - interferes
with a person's ability to recognize when he has committed an
error...unlike their sober counterparts who slowed down after making a
mistake to try
to correct their actions, men who had imbibed alcohol showed no signs
of
such corrective behavior.
- 11 Nov 02 Auto.com: Subaru recalls
163,243 vehicles in U.S. for transmission flaw - some 2001
Legacy models; some 2003 Baja models; and all 2002 and some 2003
Legacy, Outback, Forester and Impreza vehicles. May slip out of
'park'.
- 11 Nov 02 Yahoo: Chrysler
Group Recalls Minivans - 1996-1998 models of Dodge
Caravan and Grand Caravan, Plymouth Voyager and Grand Voyager and
Chrysler Town
& Country. Fault may cause... air bag warning lamp will
illuminate and the driver's air bag, horn or cruise control may stop
working
- 7 Nov 02 SAE: Role
of the Seat in Rear Crash Safety. + New
restraint system for improved [aircraft] passenger safety. (watch
out for the abdomen loading and HIC without one of these!)
- 6 Nov 02 Auto.com: U.S. safety
board urges safer 15-passenger vans [small buses?].
- 6 Nov 02 Yahoo: Ford
Recalls 572,795 Troubled Focus Cars.
- 6 Nov 02 CBC: Kids
And SUVs: Preventing Accidents - [in the USA] at least 53
children have died and 28 have been seriously injured so far this year
by a car
running over them...
- 1 Nov 02 NRMA: Reversing
Visibility Index + MAA: Tips for
improving safety while reversing(PDF).
- 1 Nov 02 Auto.com: GM announces
[passenger] air bag shutoff system - sensor for child
restraints.
- 1 Nov 02 New Scientist: Alertness
pill could perk up shift workers.
- 28 Oct 02 Auto.com: Toyota begins
Los Angeles trial in suit over Paseo belt design + Chrysler
loses appeal
of $3.2 million accident award - supposed recklessness in
failing to
equip the truck with a door latch that would have spared Mr. Clark the inconvenience of buckling his seatbelt. !
- 28 Oct 02 BBC: Mobile car
ban drives
Bluetooth - Legislation banning the use of mobile phones in
cars is
spurring car manufactures to look for alternatives such as Bluetooth.
- 25 Oct 02 ABC (Australian TV): CATALYST - High speed
impact: The hidden Toll - Thursday October 31,
8pm.
There is a hidden toll on our roads the trauma of serious
brain injury. To understand why, we need to see what really happens in
a car
crash. This special report looks at the cutting edge science of crash
testing
and investigates one accident that changed a woman's life forever. The
latest computer modelling techniques reveal for the first time
what happens to the human brainat the moment of impact, and what can be
done about the way we design our vehicles. - 25 Oct 02 SMH: Four
die in [school bus] crash at 'worst level crossing'.
- 25 Oct 02 Auto.com: $290-million
verdict in Bronco deaths holds.
- 25 Oct 02 Dr Karl: Daylight
saving and accidents (Canadian research).
- 24 Oct 02 UK DoT: Code
of Practice for the Safety of Loads.
- 24 Oct 02 SpaceDaily: Hikers [and
motorists?] Get Same Satellite Protection As Pilots And Mariners.
- 24 Oct 02 Auto.com: Government
upgrades investigation into 1997 Grand Cherokee (bonnet opening).
- 24 Oct 02 Yahoo: Study: Restraints
Reduce Whiplash - IIHS
report.
- 16 Oct 02 ABC: Drivers
urged to don headbands for protection.
- 16 Oct 02 SMH: How
do we make our roads safer? (Victorian enquiry)
- 13 Oct 02 Nature: Model irons out
traffic jams - (variable) Speed limits and driver assistance
technology could keep cars moving.
- 8 Oct 02 BBC: Many cars offer
poor whiplash protection.
- 8 Oct 02 Yahoo: U.S.
Proposes Road Tests to Measure Auto Rollover. NHTSA
press release.
- 8 Oct 02 Yahoo: Parents
Surrender in Booster Seat Battle (to have children use boosters).
- 1 Oct 02 Auto.com: Auto
suppliers seek global rules on safety.
- 1 Oct 02 Yahoo: Auto
Show Reveals High-Tech Wizardry.
- 1 Oct LAT: Ford
to Retrofit Police Cruisers (fuel tank problem with Crown Victorias)
- 26 Sep 02 LAT: Car
Booster Seats Defective, Parents Allege in Recall Bid - concerns
about shield style child seats.
- 25 Sep 02 SMH: Total
recall + Wheels
within wheels: new book damns 4WDs ... and their owners - Commentators
in the US are comparing a new book that is highly critical of
four-wheel-drives,
big utes and their owners with Ralph Nader's landmark 1965
publication, Unsafe At Any Speed. - 20 Sep 02 Auto.com: Trucks
aren't as
mean as portrayed.
- 13 Sep 02 Auto.com: Study: Bigger
not better when it comes to SUVs - lightweight, fuel efficient
autos are safer for the driving public than the average sport utility
vehicle.
- 13 Sep 02 Yahoo: GM
to Recall 280,000 Cadillacs - DeVilles from model years 2000 to
2002 - faulty seat belts
- 12 Sep 02 SMH:
With knobs on...Buyers who play the automotive options game add
bells and whistles but frequently overlook safety gear.
- 10 Sep 02 BBC: Big Brother
watches you drive - fatigure detection.
- 3 Sep 02 NHTSA: NHTSA
Administrator Announces New Child Restraint System (LATCH -
from
1 Sep 02) + NHTSA's
rulemaking priorities - 2002-2005.
- 3 Sep 02 SFC: SUVs,
trucks and tots can be a fatal combination.
- 2 Sep 02: Teenagers Road
Accident Group - Victorian initiative.
- OnStar
- New technology determines severity of accidents, sends out calls
for help.
- 21 Aug 02 IIHS: New York’s ban on
hand-held phones convinces many motorists to give them up (Status
Report - PDF)
- 15 Aug 02 Yahoo: Group
Says Fake Airbags Installed in Some Used Cars. (Automotive Occupant Restraints Council)
- 14 Aug 02 Yahoo: 464,000
PT Cruisers Recalled - fuel pump leak.
- 9 Aug 02 Auto.com: Consumer group
asks for recall of air bags in 1994-95 Nissan Altimas.(potential
eye injuries) + Report says
U.S. car crashes killed fewest children since 1975.
- 7 Aug 02 SMH: Kids'
lives on the line (Holden initatives)
- 4 Aug 02 Ford: FORD
PILOTS AUTOMATIC CRASH NOTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY DESIGNED TO SAVE LIVES.
- 3 Aug 02 New Scientist: Emergency
vehicle alert cuts car stereos.
- 1 Aug 02 SMH: Take
them off road - forever (opinion about 4WDs) and a
response. More about 4WDs.
- 1 Aug 02 Mitsubishi-Electric: Car
Vision Vehicle Rear View System. See Driveway
safety.
- 1 Aug 02 Auto.com: CRASH
SENSITIVE: GM unveils new
- 31 Jul 02 SMH: Car
child-safety conference hits a bump (despite this report Holden deserve congratulations for its child
occupant
safety initatives, including the thorough testing of child restraints
in
Holden vehicles and making the best performing child restraints
available
from Holden dealers) + Law
may force 4WD owners to fit new bullbars.
- 27 Jul 02 Auto.com: Japanese
cars: Boring,
safe -- and selling.
- 27 Jul 02 Ford: FORD
TO ADDRESS SEAT BELT CONCERN ON THUNDERBIRD. (slight risk of seat
belt being partially cut - discovered during an NCAP test).
- 23 Jul 02 Auto.com: Cops consider
bladders for Crown Victoria fuel. Ford
Press Release.
- 18 Jul 02 Winterthur (Swiss Insurers): Mini-vans:
multi-purpose, spacious, safe? (thanks Lino Marques)
- 18 Jul 02 Volvo: Safety
Sells (Forbes - good review of technology) + Mothers-To-Be
Want More Information on Where Best to Place Seat Belt.(pending)
- 18 Jul 02 (back from holiday!) SMH: No
joke: Volvo to sell speed ... again.
- 28 Jun 02 Auto.com: Ford recalls
250,000 Windstars (brakes); Hyundai to fix 145,000 Sonatas (side
airbags)
- 28 Jun 02 Auto.com: Ford
recalls minivans and Volvo cars (brakes on Winstar &
colling
fan on Volvo S80) + Math gives
poor
marks to sport-utilities (latest NHTSA ratings)
- 28 Jun 02 Autoengineer: Productivity
Commission - A win for the auto industry (but apparently no
conditions on upgrading safety) + Mercedes-Benz
C-Class
goes
5-Star where it counts. - 27 Jun 02 ANCAP: Small car release - PDFS at AAA.
- 27 Jun 02 SMH: Safety
isn't music to young small-car buyers' ears - Small cars are
becoming safer but young buyers, who buy most of them, are still not
prepared to pay for improved protection.
- 25 Jun 02 EuroNCAP: latest
release. Mercedes
C-Class joins the Renault
Laguna on 5 stars (based on extra points for seat belt reminder).
- 25 Jun 02 LAT: Recall
Pressure Rises Against Ford - fire hazard with Crown Victoria.
- 24 Jun 02: 18th ESV
Conference - May 19-22, 2003, Nagoya, Japan. Abstracts due
15 Sept 2002.
- 19 Jun 02 SMH: Gongs
and whistles - electronics risk overkill.
- 16 Jun 02 Renault press release (PDF): Renault
continues to be innovative in the field of passive safety - frontal
airbag for the rear seats. Note the Renault Clio has side airbags
with head protection as standard in Australia. Also has pretensioners
on all outboard seat belts.
- 15 Jun 02 TrafficLinq
- transportation links - great search system
- 12 Jun 02 Auto.com: Government
probes Crown Victoria police cruisers in wake of fatal accidents
(fires in rear-enders)
- 7 Jun 02 EuroNCAP: Next
launch on 25th June - including the second 5 star rating.
- 7 Jun 02 Houston Chronicle: Fuel
plan may
take brake off 55 mph - State agency to use diesel in its
Houston fleet
to get speed limit back to 70.
- 6 Jun 02 Just-auto: GM’s US
executives fight over [test driving] Holden’s Monaro (not
safety-related but amusing!)
- 6 Jun 02 LANL: Pioneer
race car driver to give safety talk (driver distraction).
- 1 Jun 02: Consolidated list of
offset crash tests updated with latest IIHS and JNCAP results.
Now more than 400 vehicles listed.
- 30 May 02 Today Tonight (TV): Driveway Dangers.
(30 seconds of fame!)
- 30 May 02 Yahoo: BMW
to Recall 7-Series Cars Over Possible Motor Faults (stalling). Auto.com.
- 29 May 02 SMH: Crooks
get inflated returns in airbag scam.
- 29 May 02: USAToday: A
crash test
1st: All [mid size] cars 'good' Years of safety fixes pay off. IIHS
press release.
- 29 May 02 Today Tonight (TV): Mobile [phone]
danger.
- 25 May 02 Yahoo: Honda
Recalling 1.3M Vehicles (in US) - ignition switch in Accord, Civic,
Prelude, CR-V and Odyssey built 1997-2000 + some Acura models.
- 23 May 02 TAC: New website http://www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au/
+ The
Age.
- 21 May 02 ATSB: New report 'Driveway
deaths: fatalities of young children in Australia as a result of
low-speed motor vehicle impacts' - refers to MAA research.
- 18 May 02 Veh_tech: Automakers
focus on crash compatibility among different size vehicles.
- 18 May 02: 7th
International Symposium Heavy Vehicle Weights & Dimensions,
June 16 - 20, 2002, Delft The Netherlands. Includes: ADVANCES IN
CRASH PROTECTION INVOLVING
HEAVY GOOD VEHICLES, DYNAMIC STABILITY OF DOUBLE B-DOUBLE ROAD TRAINS
and
TANKER TRUCKS IN THE CURRENT ACCIDENT SCENE AND POTENTIALS FOR ENHANCED
SAFETY.
- 14 May 02 British Medical Journal: War on the Roads
(try a search for "seat belt")
- 14 May 02: Yahoo: Seat
Belts Save Lives, Air Bags Less Effective + Safety
Features Designed to Cut Pedestrian Deaths. + GM Recalls
Midsize SUVs for Fifth Time in a Year (Chev TrailBlazer fuel
filter).
- 14 May 02 BBC: What
your mechanic is really doing - has a feature that alerts the
driver [owner] via SMS when the car is going above the speed limit.
- 4 May 02 Auto.com: Detroit may
pay high
price for saving on [safety] features
- 24 Apr 02 Ford: FORD
STATEMENT ON INTEGRATED CHILD SEATS
- 24 Apr 02 Auto.com: NHTSA
investigates whether gas, brake pedals too close on Taurus, Sable.
- 22 Apr 02 Veh-tech: [Japanese]
Government reveals results from FY2001 [NCAP] assessment tests.
- 20 Apr 02 Ford: FORD
PROTECTS PEDESTRIANS WITH NEW POP-UP BONNET AND DEFORMABLE HEADLAMPS
+ FORD'S
BOOSTER SEAT PROGRAM HITS NEW HIGH.
- 20 Apr 02: Brakemate
- invention.
- 20 Apr 02 LAT: Jeep
Rocked by Fire, Rollover Concerns.
- 10 Apr 02 The Age: Ford
rejects govt. speed claim [that] one of its
advertisements glorified speed. Note that Ford's brochure for the
T-Series Falcon is titled "Own the Road"!
- 6 Apr 02 The Age: Inquiry
launched as [Victorian] toll escalates.
- 6 Apr 02 MSNBC: GM recalls 1.9
million vehicles - ignition switches that may cause a fire in
the steering column.
- 3 Apr 02 GoAuto: First
Oz drive: Laguna flies Renault flag. 5-star
NCAP rating causes a stir.
- 1 Apr 02 New Scientist: Obese
people more likely to die in car crashes - People weighing
between 100 and 119 kilograms are almost two-and-a-half times as likely
to die in a crash as people weighing less than 60 kilograms.
- 28 Mar 02 SpaceDaily: How to
Land Softly
on a Hard Planet (airbags of course!)
- 27 Mar 02 AutoNews: Renault's All-New
(well - one year old) Laguna Offers Stunning Style and Exceptional
Safety (5stars from EuroNCAP)
- 27 Mar 02: Consolidated list of
offset tests updated. More than 350 now listed.
- 27 Mar 02 SMH: Passengers
belt up for take-off on the M2 - A suburban bus company's
passengers will today become the first in Sydney to be able to use
seatbelts while
travelling into the
city on the M2 freeway. - 25 Mar 02 The Age: Nearly
80 per cent of cars unroadworthy because of tyres - an annual
survey conducted by [tyre dealer] Beaurepaires. [Note that contrary
to common belief, it is not just wet weather that is a concern with
"bald" tyres.
A tyre with thin tread is less able to deform to the road surface
irregularities and therefore has less grip in the dry than a new tyre.]
- 23 Mar 02 LAT: Drivers
Complain of a Glaring Problem (bright high-mounted headlights on
SUVs).
- 14 Mar 02 BBC: Fast
music - dangerous driving - Listening to fast music in the car
may make people drive too quickly as well - increasing their risk of
having an accident.
- 13 Mar 02 MUARC: [most] Papers
from Road Safety 2001 now available.
- 12 Mar 02 BBC: Drink-drive
'safety device' developed [be wary]. Also, not automotive but a
triumph of engineering: Longitude
clock comes alive.
- 12 Mar 02 Auto.com: Arizona AG
seeks big Ford car recall, citing fires - the state had already
made its own modifications to Crown Victorias to reduce the risk of
fuel tanks being punctured in collisions.
- 7 Mar 02 ABC: Renault
recalls [Scenic] cars with anti-roll bar defect.
- 7 Mar 02 NYT: Small
Pickups Seen to Pose Greater Risk to Children - side mounted
seats less safe.
- 5 Mar 02 Auto.com: Microsoft
pushes Windows for automobiles (the crash within the car?)
- 1 Mar 02 ANCAP: Utility
crash test results released - Commodore and Falcon utes earn 4
stars.
- 24 Feb 02 NASA: NASA
DEVELOPS CHILD CAR-SEAT SAFETY DEVICE - alerts parents who
inadvertently [?] leave their children strapped in car seats (Engineers Australia)
- 20 Feb 02 The Age: Free
immobilisers to be fitted in Impreza WRXs. Subaru Australia
will upgrade immobilisers in 1999, 2000 and 2001 Impreza WRXs after the
NRMA
warned there had been a dramatic increase in thefts of the cars
last
year.
- 19 Feb 02 SMH Drive: Secret
crash business. [opinion: there is
nothing sinister about keeping the results of ADR regulation testing
secret -
it has been the case since the ADRs were introduced in the early 1970s.
For example, the release of just injury measurements, without
intrepretation, could be confusing. Also, in general, NCAP tests raise
the bar by setting higher crash speeds than the regulations and so tend
to show up differences better]
- 18 Feb 02 LAT: 1.6
Million Cherokees Are Recalled - slips into reverse. Also Auto.com.
- 15 Feb 02 Recall week: Ford
Recalls Cars (1995 Mustang, Taurus, and Mercury Sable) With Fire Risk
+ Chrysler
Recalls 585,000 Jeeps, Pickups + Ford
recalls vehicles (KA, Fiesta and Courier) with defective braking systems
- 15 Feb 02 NYT (regd): Safety
Agency Rejects Request to Investigate Ford Explorer.
- 13 Feb 02 ETSC: ETSC urges MEPs to reject the
voluntary agreement on pedestrian protection. (12 page PDF)
13 Feb 02 Auto.com: Auto safety
innovation urged (see this suggestion)
+ SAFETY
CZAR: NHTSA leader puts science on the road. - 13 Feb 02 LAT: A
Lonely Quest for Safer Cars (roof strength).
- 5 Feb 02 Canberra Times: [School]Speed
zones in force [again]
- 4 Feb 02 Auto.com: NHSTA
announces recalls
of Hyundai, Nissan, BMW vehicles - Nissans engine problems,
Hyundais airbag
warning light + seat belts + engine problems, BMWs tyre fouling.
- 4 Feb 02 Yahoo: Ford
Loses Explorer Rollover Civil Suit.
- 29 Jan 02 ABC: Device
to battle driver fatigue - A Canberra firm has won a $3
million
Federal Government grant to develop a device to combat driver fatigue.
- 28 Jan 02 Auto.com: Chrysler
pulls ad
after complaints it encourages unsafe driving + Mercedes
recalls 65,000 vehicles; GM recalling 268,000. (Chevrolet Blazer,
GMC Jimmy and Oldsmobile Bravada - brake/hazard light failures,
Mercedes-Benz C Class - battery fault)
- 24 Jan 02 SMH: Concern
over bicycle helmets comes to a head - funding for a study.
- 22 Jan 02 NRTC: Draft
National Heavy Vehicle Inspection Manual.
- 19 Jan 02 Yahoo: Chrysler
to Recall 1.3 Million Minivans - after a year's delay - potential
fire hazard with Voyager style minivans built from 1996 to 2000.
- 18 Jan 02 Now online: Options
for crash tests four wheel drive (SUV) vehicles (400K PDF -
prepared for ANCAP last year). See also Consumer
crash tests: the elusive best practice.
- 17 Jan 02 American Academy of Pediatrics: National Child Passenger
Safety Week - Feb 10-16, 2002.
- 11 Jan 02 New Scientist: Combined
accelerator and brake pedal could save lives + (old item) Rear
seatbelt use slashes front seat deaths.
- 10 Jan 02 Auto.com: Car safety
returns as a major priority + Chrysler embraces
hands-free calling + Taurus
pushed aside
to make room for SUV (Taurus was the first car to score full marks
in
the IIHS offset crash tests)
- 7 Jan 02 NSF: Drunken
Driving Costs and Risk Measured More Accurately by
Economists
- Drunk drivers are at least 13 times more likely to
cause a fatal crash than sober drivers - 7 Jan 02 WP: Life
in the stalled lane - luxury imports bypassing safety and emissions
rules in the USA.
- 2 Jan 02 Auto.com: U. of
Pittsburgh center to study wheelchair safety in vehicles.
- 27 Dec 01 Auto.com: Ford chime
gets more drivers to buckle up.
- 22 Dec 01 Yahoo: Mazda
to Recall Cars (in Australia NZ) for Brake Woes - Mazda Tribute
/
Ford Escape 4WDs
- 22 Dec 01 Yahoo: GM
Asks US to Compel Daytime Lights + Auto.com.
- 20 Dec 01 SMH:
It could save your life ... but would you wear one? - Australian
motorists could soon be wearing protective headbands to guard against
brain injury under plans by the Federal Government to reduce deaths on
the road.
- 14 Dec 01 Guardian:
MG recalls best-selling (MGF) sportscar - check of seat belt
pretensioners.
- 12 Dec 01 Yahoo: Explorer
Improves in Crash Test - latest
IIHS crash test results.
- 11 Dec 01 New Scientist: Cause
for alarm Too many warning signals can be as dangerous as none at all
- about chemical plants but lessons here for ITS.
- 10 Dec 01 Yahoo: DaimlerChrysler
Recalls Jeep Liberty SUVs - airbag problem - the problem... was
first detected about three weeks ago in 40 mph crash tests conducted by
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
- 5 Dec 01: Safety of recreational
scooters - new web page.
- 2 Dec 01 Yahoo: Feds
Probe Toyota 2002 Minivan Fires - Sienna vans.
- 2 Dec 01 Carnet: Peugeot
307 released in Australia. From around $22,000 you can now buy a
small car with curtain airbags.
- 29 Nov 01: Latest Australasian NCAP and EuroNCAP results
incuded in Master List of Offset Crash Tests.
- 28 Nov 01 ABC: Tests
show small cars improving safety standards - latest Australasian
NCAP release - details at NRMA
(if you can access their website!)
- 28 Nov 01 EuroNCAP: LATEST
TEST RESULTS.
- 28 Nov 01 Yahoo: Ford
Recalls 2000, 2001 Focus Compact - rear wheel bearings.
- 24 Nov 01 SMH: FORD
AND HOLDEN HEAD FOR THE OFF-ROAD GOLDRUSH - being based on the
Falcon and Commodore sedans, hopefully these will be less aggressive
than most 4WDs.
- 22 Nov 01: Proceedings
of 24th Australasian Transport Research Forum avilable online.
Conference announcement: E-Safety,
Lyon, France, Sep 2002. (thanks RTA library)
- 15 Nov 01 ABC: 19
die in coach crash in southern Spain.
- 14 Nov 01: Next Euro NCAP launch to be held in Barcelona on
Tuesday, November 27th, 2001
- 13 Nov 01 SAE-Aust: Brochure on
International Crashworthiness Conference
2002
(300K PDF) now available. - 13 Nov 01 LAT: Safety
Probe of Jeep Grand Cherokees Widens. - 865 complaints of
"inadvertent rollaway in reverse"
- 13 Nov 01 Auto.com: GM recalls
more than 86,000 sport-utility vehicles - Chevrolet TrailBlazer
and GMC Envoy SUVs - gear shift lever suddenly moves out of "park."
- 9 Nov 01 SMH: Speed
curbs at every [NSW] school next year. 40km/h limit.
- 7 Nov 01 USA Today: Some
side air bags in '02 autos fall short
- 31 Oct 01 Yahoo: Ford
Issues Recall for Wiper Motor Defect - 2000-01 model year
vehicles included in the recall: certain Taurus, Expedition, Focus,
Excursion,
F150-F650 series pickups, Continental, Town Car, Navigator and Sable
models. Wipers might stop working.
- 27 Oct 01: Yahoo: Ford
Suffers Setback in Settlement - Taurus, Mustang, Escort and
Ranger, remain prone to stall without warning...
- 23 Oct 01 The Guardian: Back-seat
computer to beat road rage...a speaking car that avoids road
rage by telling drivers when they are overreacting and praises them for
good
road manners (?!) + Happy
the car that thinks it's your friend.
- 23 Oct 01 Auto.com: U.S.
considering tougher crush standards for car and truck roofs. See
also rollover crashes.
- 23 Oct 01 WP: Court
Upsets $259 Million Award in Van Crash.
- 17 Oct 01 Yahoo: Toyota
Recalls Highlanders for Brake Work.
- 15 Oct 01 Auto.com: Ford,
Explorer not
clear of NHTSA investigation (Firestone recall)
- 11 Oct 01: Sydney
Motor Show opens today.
- 11 Oct 01 Auto.com: Aztek aces
rollover tests - Four-star rating is the first for a SUV.
- 11 Oct 01: Leonid
meteor "storm" links. Around 18th to 20th November 2001 don't trust
your
life to systems that depend on satellites being operational!
- 9 Oct 01 Yahoo: Audi
Says Will Recall Over 40,000 Cars. TT and S3 models made
between September 1998 and March 2000, and A3 models made between
February
1999 and March 2000 - rust problems in the rear suspension
of
some four-wheel-drive models.
- 3 Oct 01 USAToday: Explorer
probe decision on hold.
- 3 Oct 01: Visited the 8th World ITS Congress
Exhibition in Sydney. Intelligent Speed Adaption
a clear safety development with succesful trials being run in several
countries. The Ford/TAC/MUARC
SaferCar vehicle was on display with its ISA features.
- 2 Oct 01 Auto.com: Saab recalls
7,000 (9-3) cars due to steering problems.
- 27 Sep 01 CNN: Ford
focuses on safety - Automaker plans to experiment with new
belts, other safety devices.
- 27 Sep 01 NYT: Chevy
Camaro and Pontiac Firebird Fall Victim to S.U.V.'s Popularity.
- 14 Sep 01 Yahoo: No
Jeep (gear ) Shifting Problems Found.
- 13 Sep 01 Yahoo: New
SUVs Better in Crash Tests. IIHS
release. Consolidated list updated.
- 12 Sep 01 Scientific American: Driving the
Info Highway - The Internet has hit the road. Drivers can now
access anything from custom traffic reports to spoken e-mail messages
to video games. But is it safe? ...the van's onboard GPS locator
indicated that he had exceeded the speed limit three times during his
travels. As noted in the rental
contract, the company charged Turner $150 for each alleged infraction...see
Speed Control.
- 11 Sep 01: 8th World Congress on
Intelligent Transport Systems - Sydney 30 Sep - 4 Oct.
- 8 Sep 01 Nature: No more fumbling
in the car.
- 7 Sep 01 :DaimlerChrysler
to Present Its Accident-free Driving Vision at the IAA (thanks Christian Schwarz)
- 7 Sep 01 Auto.com: Smarter and
safer: High-tech devices may help cars avoid accidents. (ITS review)
- 7 Sep 01 Yahoo: Ford
Recalls 1.6 Million Minivans, Cars - Windstar minivans, Mercury
Cougar coupes and Contour and Mystique small sedans due to possible
fire
hazards.
- 6 Sep 01 Auto.com: U.S. probes
possible suspension problem with Ford Expedition.
- 4 Sep 01 Veh-Tech:
Toyota to strengthen sales of ULEVs in the US + Installation of speed
limiters
to be imposed on trucks
- 4 Sep 01 BBC: BMW
recalls new Mini - Static electricity could cause a small spark
when a petrol pump nozzle is inserted which could in turn ignite fuel
vapour in a flash fire.
- 4 Sep 01 Auto.com: Seat belt use
increasing as safety messages sink in (73 percent offront-seat
motorists buckle up)+ Ford hides
defects, lawyers say.
- 28 Aug 01 SMH Drive: Car
phones send the wrong signal + Turn
it down! (loud music)
- 23 Aug 01 New Scientist: Hit and
stun - Car bonnets that pop up slightly if the car hits a
pedestrian could dramatically reduce deaths and head injuries. Also
from NS, via Engineers
Australia: Lighting the way for pedestrians - A
pedestrian crossing that automatically lights up before someone
crosses the road...
- 23 Aug 01 Auto.com: Ford recalls
about 28,000 Mondeos in Europe for cruise control. + Unanswered
questions in Earnhardt crash investigation.
- 16 Aug 01: Buying a
four-wheel-drive? Do your homework first.
- 15 Aug 01: DaimlerChrysler
Joins International Association of Chiefs of Police to Tackle (child)
Safety Seat Misuse.
- 14 Aug 01 Yahoo: Ford
Settles Ignition Lawsuit - ignition switch blamed for stalling.
- 9 Aug 01 IIHS: NEW
CRASH TEST RESULTS: DODGE GRAND CARAVAN AND HYUNDAI ELANTRA EARN POOR
RATINGS AFTER 3 TESTS EACH; FUEL LEAK IN GRANDCARAVAN FIXED.
(posted by IIHS on 17 Jul)
- 9 Aug 01 Auto.com: Explorer tops
rivals in tests (not crashworthiness)
- 7 Aug 01 Auto.com: Ford's
Explorer under
NHTSA probe for rear seat-belt design.
- 7 Aug 01: I have just learned that Rod Vaughan
passed away on the weekend (consulting engineer, Greenwich New South
Wales). Rod was a great boss, colleague and friend. He made an enormous
contribution
to road safety.
- 5 Aug 01 SMH/Drive:
European Commission to ban bull bars from next year (not online yet) as
part of its pedestrian safety package. More details to follow. ETSC Briefing.
- 4 Aug 01 LAT: U.S.
Expands Probe of Grand Cherokees. idling in "park" allegedly
lurched into reverse without warning...
- 4 Aug 01 SMH: Brain
puts the brakes on drivers using mobiles.
- 3 Aug 01 Yahoo: DaimlerChrysler
Recalling 216,100 Trucks - Dakota and Ram pickups and Durango
SUV - driver airbag.
- 31 Jul 01 Auto.com: Montero's
'not acceptable'
[rollover] rating leaves consumers wondering whom to trust. Consumer
Reports magazine did the tests.
- 27 Jul 01: Summary of VDR bus
safety
projects added to website.
- 26 Jul 01 SciAm: More Children Are
Seriously Injured on Playgrounds Than in Traffic.
- 25 Jul 01: ICrash 2002
- International
Crashworthiness Conference - Melbourne February 2002. Call for papers
(deadline
30 July) and registration. See also SAE-Australasia.
- 23 Jul 01 Auto.com: IBM robot
takes aim
at
sleepy drivers. - 23 Jul 01 Yahoo: Subaru
Recalls 180,000 Vehicles. - 1995-1998 and some 1999 Legacy vehicles
- corrosion on their front springs + Crash-test
fuel leaks lead to Caravan redesign.
- 16 Jun 01 CARRS-Q: Fleet
safety resources now online.
- 15 Jun 01 MAA:
Report
on Devices to Reduce the Risk to Young Pedestrians from Reversing Motor
Vehicles (pdf 1.2Mb)
- 15 Jun 01 Auto.com: Ford fires a
broadside in Firestone war.
- 11 Jun 01: Two new ESV papers online.
- 11 Jun 01 Sun-Sentinel: SUVs
weather the risks, negative press.
- 9 Jun 01 Discussion paper: SHOULD
SAFETY EQUIPMENT BE THE CHOICE OF CONSUMERS RATHER THAN VEHICLE
MANUFACTURERS?
- 8 Jun 01 Yahoo: Chrysler
to Offer SUV Side (Curtain) Air Bags. Also Auto.com
plus A look
at safety options to be offered on DaimlerChrysler SUVs.
- 6 Jun 01: Latest
EuroNCAP crash tests released. Honda Civic just misses out on four
stars for pedestrian protection.
- 5 Jun 01 Yahoo: Toyota
Pickup Bests Rivals in Crash Test. Latest
IIHS crash tests - the F-150 exhibited major collapse of the
occupant compartment in the offset test. Also CNN
and USA
Today.
- 4 Jun 01 Auto.com: Firestone on
the attack
- Tire maker's report calls Ford Explorer unsafe. Bridgestone/Firestone's
chief called on the U.S. Transportation Secretary to investigate the
Ford Explorer, charging that a substantial number of the country's
best-selling sport-utility vehicles are unsafe and "defectively
designed." AlsoLawyers ask
huge recall
of Explorers.
- 2 Jun 01: Information on curtain
airbags posted, with video.
- 2 Jun 01: Japanese NCAP
results available. MASTER LIST updated.
- 1 Jun 01 Yahoo: Chrysler
to Recall 136,000 Minivans. Chrysler Town & Country and
Voyager and Dodge Grand Caravan and Caravan , to replace locks on
sliding side
doors that flew open during federal crash tests. NHTSA
Press Release.
- 31 May 01 SMH: Falcon
tops safety tests - changed tune (see below) and ABC Australian
made cars shine in crash testing.
- 30 May 01 ANCAP: Large
car crash tests - Commodore, Falcon, Magna, Avalon and Camry all
got 3 stars. The Falcon nearly got to 4 stars. See Master List for links. SMH: Aussie
cars less safe than Europeans but the Telegraph headline is Australian
car safety improving
- 28 May 01 Yahoo: Chrysler
recalls 515,000
Neons for brake hose fix.
- 25 May 01: Australian Federal Budget - spending on
road safety in 2001-2. (compare with last
year). ATSB info on Black
Spot Programme.
- 25 May 01 ATSB: new report Motorcycle and
Safety Barrier Crash-Testing: Feasibility Study.
- 24 May 01 Auto.com: Feds upgrade
probe of Lincoln Continental air bags and U.S.
investigates defect reports on Ford cars, Volvo trucks - Lincoln
Continental airbags and Volvo Series VN truck suspensions.
- 24 May 01 Yahoo: Bigger
SUVs Score Low in Latest Rollover Rating.
- 23 May 01: 6th
International Symposium on Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions -
now online.
- 21 May 01 Yahoo: Ford
Recalls 50,000 New Explorers - possible tyre damage during assembly.
- 18 May 01 SMH: Road
toll plummets after speed crackdown.
- 17 May 01: FATAL ACCIDENTS
DOUBLE ON MONTANA’S INTERSTATES - Caution: this is not an
IIHS website (.com not .org)
- 17 May 01 Yahoo: Digital
Connection Hot in Autos - telematics review.
- 14 May 01 SMH: Mitsubishi
wagon recall to check possible wiring fault - Magna and Verada
station wagons built since 1997.
- 10 May 01 Nature: Floppy men more
at risk (of whiplash!)
- 10 May 01: Submission of abstracts for the 2001: Road Safety
Conference in Australia close next week. The conference is on from
18 to 20th November.
- 10 May 01 Yahoo: Official:
Too Early to Ban Phones While Driving.
- 9 May 01: Renault
Laguna due to be released in Australia in October. See 28 Mar - first 5 star car for EuroNCAP.
- 9 May 01 San Jose Mercury: U.S.
ignores auto device that's touted as life-saver - carbon-monoxide
detectors could eliminate most of the estimated 2,800 accidental deaths
and suicides a year from auto exhaust
- 9 May 01 Auto.com: Distracted
drivers pose safety hazard - US study (surprise surprise!)
- 7 May 01 Veh-tech: Car navigation
systems become more sophisticated as information
technology
develops. - 3 May 01 Veh-tech: (Japanese) Government
reveals results from the 2000 crash test evaluations.
- 3 May 01: Yahoo: Ford
to Give Away 1 Million Child Booster Seats.
- 30 Apr 01 LA Times: A History
of Fiery Deaths on the Road - Facing lawsuits, GM moved gas
tanks of its C/K pickups inside the frame. But it denies the design was
unsafe, and federal regulators retreated from a costly recall.
- 30 Apr 01 USA Today: GM
adds child-in-hot-car
sensor to host of reminders for drivers. (sounds like a microwave
oven
sensor!). Also Yahoo.
- 27 Apr 01 WP: Daimler
Recalls Minivans - "potentially dangerous steering defect - call a
tow truck". Vehicles built from March 22.
- 27 Apr 01 NYT: New
Doubts About Safety of Explorer (Sport).
- 26 Apr 01 Yahoo:
Ford Escape Gets Low Marks in Crash Test. Latest IIHS
release. WP: New
Setback for Ford Escape.
- 26 Apr 01 Auto.com: Study finds
red light cameras reduce collisions and injuries. IIHS
press release.
- 23 Apr 01 SMH: Watch
this pace - satellite tracking of teenagers in cars!
- 23 Apr 01 Veh-tech: Government
to set up safety standards for car navigation monitor systems The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will
soon start studying ways to establish safety standards for car
navigation monitor systems by year end. They have set up a group
consisting of engineers from automakers and specialists in
biotechnology. The ministry also intends to promote the new standards
as an international standard. They plan to examine: (1) the current
market conditions in Japan and overseas, (2) accident conditions
related to car navigation monitors and (3) test items. They are
scheduled to entrust tests (demonstration) to JARI.
- 22 Apr 01 Yahoo: GM
Recalls 550,000 Minivans - side door latches on Chevrolet Venture,
Pontiac Trans Sport/Montana and Oldsmobile Silhouette vans
- 13 Apr 01 NYT: What's
Next: Helping Drivers Keep Their Eyes on the Road.
- 13 Apr 01 Yahoo: DaimlerChrysler
Recalling 701,000 Pickups - Dodge Ram pickup trucks
because of a spring problem on the hood latch. - 12
Apr 01: New website Roadwatch.com.au
- helping drivers avoid fatigue (and speed cameras!).
- 9 Apr 01 Auto.com: Sorry, no answer:
Cell phones linked to accidents, but defenders cite other distractions.
- 6 Apr 01 Auto.com: Court allows
lawsuit claiming airbag death against Chrysler.
- 6 Apr 01 Yahoo: GM
Calls Its New SUVs Unsafe, Idles Plant - Chevrolet
TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada unsafe at any speed
because of a faulty suspension part.
- 5 Apr 01: Euromotor
Vehicle Dynamics in Simulation and Testing - course
- 4 Apr 01 SMH: Easter
crackdown means drink drivers are going nowhere - The
cars of repeat drink drivers will be fitted with devices that will
immobilise them unless the person at the wheel is under the legal
blood-alcohol limit.
- 3 Apr 01 NYT: Ads for
Ford's New Explorer Sidestep Safety Issue - [the ads] will not
mention the many changes that Ford has made to reduce the risks that
the Explorer will roll over or kill other motorists in crashes. Two
magazine ads will run
lists of features that will include optional side-curtain airbags — but
will not explain that the airbags are designed to protect occupants'
heads
and necks in the event of a rollover.
- 1 Apr 01: Crash test master list
updated with latest EuroNCAP results. 5 stars needed for the Laguna!
(see
28 Mar)
- 30 Apr 01 Yahoo: Subaru
Recalling Some 2001 Legacys - seat rail . USA Today: NHTSA
explores safety of air bags in older Altimas. Also auto.com.
- 29 Mar 01 Auto.com: Working the
bugs out: Recalls climb as automakers increase production - Automakers
sold a record 17.4 million vehicles in 2000 but recalled 22.8 million
for safety defects and parts that didn't meet federal requirements.
- 29 Mar 01 USA Today: GM's
new SUVs don't carry (rollover) warning (label).
- 28 Mar 01 EuroNCAP: First
five star performance - Renault
Laguna achieves Euro NCAP’s coveted fifth star.
- 23 Mar 01 New Scientist: Asleep
at the wheel - Software will stay awake and tell dozy drivers when
to pull off the road.
- 22 Mar 01 Auto.com: GM recalls
778,000 cars to fix potential fire hazard - Pontiac Grand Am,
Buick Skylark and Oldsmobile Achieva cars from 1994 and 1995.
- 21 Mar 01 Yahoo: New
Civic, Lexus Get High Marks in Crash Tests. New
IIHS results. See master list for
more. Also USA
Today, Auto.com.
Fastlane
(Mercedes
PR).
- 15 Mar 01 IIHS: AUTOMATED
ENFORCEMENT MYTHS.
- 14 Mar 01 Yahoo: Probe
of Hyundai Air Bag Deaths Ends. At least eight of the children
killed were not properly restrained in a seat belt or child
safety
seat and were probably very close to the air bag when it deployed...
- 12 Mar 01 Yahoo: Toyota
Recalls 53,061 Camrys - accelerator cable
- 3 Mar 01: Audi A4
gets 4 stars from EuroNCAP.
- 3 Mar 01 Auto.com: U.S. probes
Ford (F250,
F350 and Excusion SUV) brakes and Jeep Cherokee door hinges
also
dashboards in Fords (Mystiques, Cougar and Contour electrical
fault).
- 2 Mar 01 MAA: Child Fatalities &
Injuries
in Driveways (pdf 1.81MB) - report by Dr Michael Henderson.
- 2 Mar 01 SMH: BEEP,
BEEP ... MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW BARINA - "big improvements
in both passive and active safety"
- 2 Mar 01 LAT: Rolls-Royce
Explosion Prompts Investigation.
- 1 Mar 01: Intelligent
Speed Management - German initiative.
- 26 Feb 01 Scientific American: Gotcha!
- radar speed detection.
- 26 Feb 01 The Times: Bosses
face jail
if stressed drivers crash.
- 22 Feb 01 Auto.com: Study: Older
drivers respond more slowly to electronic data.
- 21 Feb 01 Auto.com: Drivers' safety
should top list of priorities - NASCAR
- 17 Feb 01 Yahoo: Ford
Recalls Mercury Villagers - possible fuel leak. Also an F-series
recall.
- 16 Feb 01 New Scientist: Eye
test - A Bladerunner-style eye scan reveals if you are
too drunk, stoned or tired to work. Also Soft
hat - A crash helmet mimicking the head's own flexible
structure could
save lives.
- 16 Feb 01 BBC: Reliant
Robin passes into history
- 15 Feb 01 Yahoo: Report
Says Seat Belt Use Hits Record. NHTSA PDF
report. Also child
safety.
- 15 Feb 01 CNN: Cars'
rollover risk low. NHTSA ratings.
- 15 Feb 01 SpaceDaily: Singapore Keeps The
Buses In line With GPS.
- 14 Feb 01: French invention: A.C.S. - Speed Sensitive Accelerator
Pedal. (See also 'Speed control devices')
- 14 Feb 01 Yahoo: Nissan
Issues Recall on Minivans - Quest fuel line cracking.
- 11 Feb 01 Yahoo: DaimlerChrysler
Recalls Mercedes - A-Class braking fault in 55,000 (European?)
vehicles
- 7 Feb 01: 'Assessment
of Child Restraint Performance in Australia' - paper presented at a seminar in
Melbourne.
7 Feb 01 Auto.com: Mexican truck
safety at issue in expected NAFTA ruling. Update: Mexican truck
drivers say they can't afford U.S. safety standards. "...the
biggest problem with the trucks -- the brakes give out."! - 5
Feb 01: Holden Barina seat recall. No links but I heard it on the
radio! Now at SMH
(6/2).
- 3 Feb 01 Infoworld: New
car alarms can call home and track thieves.
- 3 Feb 01 Yahoo: Americans
Favor Cars Over Kids (and spouses) - Seventeen percent of male
participants planned to buy their vehicle a gift on Valentine's Day,
the
poll said!
- 1 Feb 01 Auto.com: Feds upgrade
investigations of Windstar, Jetta and Passat (Windstar - suspension
problem, VWs - tyre blowout may puncture fuel tank) and BMW recalls
22,000 vehicles to check for possible steering defect (X5 SUV)
- 30 Jan 01 Adelaide Advertiser: SCHOOL
BUS DRIVER DIES - SEATBELTS will be installed in all school
buses in the state following yesterday's Barossa Valley tragedy. See
also "School Bus Seatbelts".
- 30 Jan 01 SMH: Stop,
thief (slowly, until police get airbags)
- 26 Jan 01 Auto.com: Eye on the
driver - Some insurance companies are going so far as to use
global positioning satellites to track customers [what, where and when
people] drive to bill them accordingly. Big
brother had nothing on them!
- 24 Jan 01 ATSB: Bull Bars and
Road Trauma - new CR report on the topic of bullbars
seems to lack useful conclusions due to poor accident data.
- 24 Jan 01 Auto.com: Rules set on
auto gadgets ...a first set of standards that will allow such
electronic modules as voice recognition and mobile telephones to work
with each other...
- 23 Jan 01 SMH: VICTORIAN
SPEED CHANGES, 50 K/HR IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS - From today
Victoria becomes the first (Australian) state to introduce the 50kph speed limit in most built up residential
streets. Motorists in Victoria will be required to drive 10kph slower
on all unsignposted roads. Also Fatalities
multiply while NSW idles in the slow lane.
- 23 Jan 01 Yahoo: High-Tech
Cars Could Bring Overload - see ITS Electronic Document Library
for analysis of this problem.
- 22 Jan 01 CBS: Ford's
top safety chief to retire.
- 22 Jan 01 LA Times: GM Ordered to Pay $15.4 Million to SUV
Crash Victim - the Blazer was defectively designed due to the
weakness of
its roof...GM has been a leading exponent of this "roof dive" theory.
Piuze spent much of the trial attacking GM studies that underpin the
theory.
The government's minimum standard for roof
strength
is widely considered to be extremely weak...
- 22 Jan 01 Sunday Times: Police
issue radar guns to civilian snoopers - Members of the public
recruited as informers to mount roadside - some motoring groups called
the project "absolutely crackers"
patrols that clock over-hasty drivers - 17 Jan 01: UMTRI: Crash Protection for
Child Passengers: A Review of Best Practice - research report
available.
- 17 Jan 01 NYT: Luring
Drivers From Their Trucks.
- 13 Jan 01 SMH: MEET
THE BUCKLE-UP AIRBAG - Ford in the US has teamed with
BFGoodrich to develop and promote an inflatable shoulder seat belt for
cars.
- 11 Jan 01 (back from holiday!): Yahoo: Automakers
Focus on Green, Safety Issues.
- 11 Jan 2001 USA Today: Rollover
ratings draw criticism, consumers. Also NYT
and WP.
- 11 Jan 2001 AP : Ford
Vows SUV Safety Improvements.
- 29 Dec 2000 Veh-tech: Technological
triumphs in the latter half of 2000 - mostly emissions.
- 29 Dec 2000 Seattle Times: How
Porsche stays sharp: It rents out its engineers - The
engineering unit is Porsche's secret weapon, enabling it to employ more
engineers than if it worked alone, giving it an edge in product
development.
- 28 Dec 2000 New Scientist: Don't
be a dope - If you're going to smoke a joint, don't drive home.
- 27 Dec 2000 Auto.com: Device can
sense rollover,
deploy air bags - Ford's safety canopy on '02 sport-utilities.
- 22 Dec 2000 Veh-tech: (Japan)
Ministry to standardize protectors for large trucks. The Transport Ministry will soon start a study on safety
standards for large trucks in order to minimizedamage to smaller
vehicles. In many car accidents, passengers in smaller vehicles are
injured more severely because the vehicles tend to go under large
trucks. The ministry is thinking about standardization of "front under
run protectors" for large trucks and plan to exclude mid-size trucks
and small trucks for protector installation. The new standards are
scheduled to go into effect in 2003 or 2004 in order to catch up with
the European standards to be implemented in October 2003.
- 31 Oct 2000 Auto.com: Rollover
formula is under scrutiny.
- 29 Oct 2000 Yahoo: Man
Who Filed Air Bag Suit Probed (a strange tale) and DaimlerChrysler
Recalls Minivans (Dodge Caravan and Grand Caravan, Plymouth
Voyager and Grand Voyager and Chrysler Town & Country - potential
fuel leak)
- 24 Oct 2000: Dainese
Inflatable Vest for motorcyclists.
- 24 Oct 2000 Yahoo: GM
Recalls Cadillac [DeVilles]Air Bags. + Federal
Regulators Upgrade Probe Into GM Trucks possible
wiring
problems that can cause headlights to go out - Chevrolet and GMC pickup
trucks, and Suburban, Yukon and Tahoe SUVs.
- 20 Oct 2000 Auto.com: Swaddled in
safety - ITS
- 20 Oct 2000 Yahoo: Study
Highlights Value of Car Seats for Children. Archives
of Surgery article (regn required)
- 18 Oct 2000 Yahoo: Ford
Recalls 351,000 2000-Model Focus Small Cars.
- 17 Oct 2000 Auto.com: Swift action
on Capital Hill on auto safety. - automotive industry officials
could
face up to 15 years in prison for hiding information on
defects that lead to deaths or serious injuries. - 12 Oct 2000
Yahoo: LifePoint
Makes New, Portable Drug Test.
- 12 Oct 2000 Chicago Tribune: Senate
sends auto safety bill to Clinton.
- 9 Oct 2000: Toyota Australia disappoints - I was hoping to be able to remove the 'revamped'
Toyota Camry from my list of Australian
cars without airbags but the driver's
airbag is still not standard! The new Mitsubishi Magna has a standard
driver's airbag so the Camry is now the only Australian family-size car
without one.
- 9 Oct 2000 Yahoo: Seat
Belts in (nearly 300,000) Fords, GMs Recalled - Explorer;
Ranger pickups; Lincoln Town Cars; Escorts;Explorer/Mercury
Mountaineers;Mercury Villager ans; Contour/Mercury Mystique; Windstar
vans; Buick Century sedans; Chevrolet Lumina and Impala; Monte Carlo
coupes; Chevy Blazer;Chevy Venture minivans; GMC Jimmy;
OldsmobileIntrigue; Olds Silhouette minivans;Olds Bravada;Pontiac Grand
Prix;Pontiac Montana minivans; and Saturn L-Series! Also GM
Subsidiary Saab Recalls 130,000 Cars (9-5 model - electronic fault
- not a safety issue)
- 9 Oct 2000 LATimes: McCain
on Attack as Senators Block Auto Safety Bill.
- 5 Oct 2000 Yahoo: Explorer
Gets Low Rollover Rating in NHTSA Tests. Also Auto.com: Federal agency
gets green light for plan to rate risk of rollovers.
- 29 Sep 2000 APB: Calif.
Toughens Law on Child Safety Seats - Requires Booster Chairs
For Kids up to Age 6
- 27 Sep 2000 The Times: Reliant
Robin at end of the road, 'Superminis'
make safety breakthrough and Driver
protection: star performers. Toyoya Yaris (Echo?) top performer in
the latest EuroNCAP release.
- 27 Sep 2000 USA Today: Outrage
over tires brings good news on rollovers - a consumer-friendly
system
that rates the rollover risk of sport-utility vehicles.
- 21 Sep 2000 NYT: Honda
Warns the Owners of Over 500,000 Vehicles - wiring in audio
equipment
in 1991-97 Accord, Prelude and Legend and defective oil seal in
1993-95 Odyssey and Accord.
- 20 Sep 2000 NYT: Auto
Industry May Ease Safety-Ratings Stance.
- 20 Sep 2000 SMH: Fatigue
rivals drink driving as road risk.
- 13 Sep 2000 Yahoo: Senate
Hearing Calls for More Auto Safety Rules - legislation to
improve the way that safety regulators detected, investigated and
recalled defective vehicles
- 13 Sep 2000 Yahoo: Ford
Recalls [only!] 23,500 Vehicles - Escape SUV (road wheels) +
Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car sedans and Ford
Windstar
minivans for a flaw that could cause air bags to deploy without a crash.
- 13 Sep 2000 LA Times: Unlimited
Fines Sought for Car Safety Violations.
- 12 Sep 2000 Yahoo: GM
Recalls 270,000 Cars for Air Bag Problems--Report - Buick and
Oldsmobile
driver air bags may fire unexpectedly.
- 11 Sep 2000 The Times: How
safe is that baby on board? Nearly two-thirds of child car
seats are the wrong size or fitted incorrectly.
- 6 Sep 2000 Auto.com: Honeywell
(Bendix) unit warns of air-brake failure in buses - school bus
and truck makers are recalling as many as 300,000 vehicles + Volvo trucks.
- 5 Sep 2000 US Gov: Commercial
Vehicle Safety: Technology and Practice in Europe (PDF - RTA
Library alert)
Is this the season for recalls?!
- 4 Sep 2000 Yahoo: U.S.
Bus Maker Issues Warning on Brakes (Thomas) ...possible
defect involving the anti-lock brake system on about 6,000
buses...the
temporary loss of braking ability.
- 4 Sep 2000 BBC: Peugeot
recalls 206 model - in about 60 cases airbags had inflated for no
reason while the car was on the
move.
- 1 Sep 2000 Auto.com: VW recalls
36,095 Golfs in Japan after defect found - insecure brake vacuum
hose.
- 28 Aug 2000 Auto.com: Volvo recalls
some 116,000 cars - ball joints in S70 and V70 models.
- 28 Aug 2000 Washington Post: New
Car Safety Rules Weighed - recalls.
- 17 Aug 2000 NRMA: Australian
NCAP small car release - Lanos, Nubira, Mazda 323/Ford Laser and
Sirion + EuroNCAP cars. See Master List.
- 16 Aug 2000 BBC: Faster
than a speeding phone.
- 15 Aug 2000 Auto.com: Firestone
recall won't hurt SUV sales, dealers say - consumer advocates
say the recall could prompt consumers to pay closer attention to safety
issues involving larger vehicles, such as rollover.
- 10 Aug 2000 Yahoo: Ford
to Add Stability System to SUVs - brain implants??
Opinion: The number of SUV ads in
Australia showing vehicles leaping in the air makes you wonder about
marketing priorities (Subaru is a notable exception). Those responsible
SUV owners who attend 4WD courses learn about "treading lightly"
(minimising environmental damage) and keeping all four wheels in
contact with the ground: one wheel lift-off is careless; two wheels
lifting off is reckless; anymore than two wheels is downright
dangerous. Manufacturers might be seen as more serious on the issue
of SUV safety if they scrapped the ads and included vouchers for
recognised 4WD courses with each vehicle purchase. Maybe a compensation
claim from someone injured trying to mimic the ads would make them
think
again! See also comments about rollover crashes in
Australia
and physics of rollover crashes. - 9
Aug 2000 Yahoo: Firestone
to Recall Millions of Tires.
- 8 Aug 2000 NYTimes: Poor Crash
Results for 2 Popular Cars - two of the nation's most popular new
vehicles, the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Ford Focus ZX3, have fared badly
in government (NHTSA) crash tests.
- 7 Aug 2000: IIHS(PDF) and NHTSA
HTML (or PDF)
reports (issued May 2000 and Oct 1999!) showing the link between
vehicle travel speeds and pedestrian injuries.
- 4 Aug 2000 Yahoo: U.S.
Agency Looking at 21 Deaths in Tire Probe.
- 2 Aug 2000 BBC: Drive
safely, pay less. Some safe drivers in Texas are paying less
for their car insurance by agreeing to have satellites monitor their
driving
habits.
-
- 27 Jul 2000 Auto.com: Lesley
Hazleton: Carmakers accept the reptile in SUV buyers !!
- 27 Jul 2000 Auto.com: Safety
regulators hear complaints. Mentions Ford Contour, Mercury
Mystique, Windstar minivans, F Series pickup trucks, Kia Sephia and
Sportage.
- 21 Jul 2000 Yahoo: Auto
Cos. Urged on 'Smart Cars' - still no mention of the enormous
potential of smart speed control!
- 19 Jul 2000 LA Times: Automakers
resist female-sized dummies.An effort by federal safety
regulators to
improve crash tests of new cars by using a dummy of a small
woman has run into a roadblock in the Senate because of auto industry
objections. - 19 Jul 2000 Yahoo: Study:
Some SUVs Roll Over in Half of Accidents. Also USA Today.
- 19 Jul 2000 Auto.com/Detroit Free Press!: GM and
fuel-tank fires (historical article)
- 13 Jul 2000 APB: Illegal
Drivers Kill 8,000 a Year.
- 13 Jul 2000 USA Today: Large
drivers demand safety belts fit for all.
- 1 Jul 2000 Auto.com: Safety, money
at heart of debate over recycled air bags.
- 27 Jun 2000 Auto.com: GM, Subaru
may be
allies, but not in Subaru's ads - In advertisements promoting
the safety
of its Legacy wagon, which scored top ratings in crash tests conducted
by
a U.S. insurance group, Subaru shows competitors' vehicles flashing by
in
a blur and crashing into a wall.
- 8 Jun 2000 Auto.com: U.S. report
warns about misuse of older seat belts. ..automatic two-point
systems where occupants fail to buckle the lap belt.
- 6 Jun 2000 Yahoo: Children
Graduate to Seat Belts Too Soon-U.S. Study. (Press release and PDF)
- 6 Jun 2000 Los Angeles Times: Side
Air Bags Largely Safe, Auto Industry Panel Finds.
- 2 Jun 2000 Yahoo: Truckers
Unhappy With New Limits (proposed fatigue regulations in the USA)
- 2 Jun 2000 Yahoo: Automakers
Unveil Side Air Bag Plan.
- 2 Jun 2000 MSNBC: Luxury car crash tests.
IIHS
News Release. Also Auto.com, Reuters
& AP.
- Hot 2 Jun 2000: 16th ESV Proceedings now
available in
PDF format from NHTSA.
- 31 May 2000 NYT: S.U.V.
Suits Still Face Long Odds - ...judge in Los Angeles who
concluded that the automaker had no legal duty to consider what would
happen to
other vehicles and motorists struck by its products...Paradoxically, a
particularly gruesome aspect of accidents involving sport utility
vehicles
also discourages plaintiff lawyers from filing lawsuits over their
designs.
Statistics show the high front ends of sport utilities make them
more likely to hit other motorists in the head, neck and upper
torso
and kill them, instead of crippling them with injuries to the waist or
leg.
Large liability awards tend to go to people who are severely injured
but
survive to provide vivid testimony.
- 31 May 2000 Business Week: Just
How Dangerous Is a Cell Phone behind the Wheel?
+NHSTA
- 30 May 2000: ATSB has the abstract
and Executive
Summary of our report 'Passenger Car Roof Crush Strength
Requirements' online. A PDF of the full report can be downloaded (477K).
- 30 May 2000: Rollover
rankings proposed , U.S.
Sets Star System to Rank Auto Rollover Risk and Feds to rank
SUVs on likelihood of tipping over.- but there is a lot more to rollover crashes than the tipping threshold -
see my 1998 comments on heavy
vehicle performance standards: Another example
is the regulation of roll stability - an effective roll warning device
could more than compensate for a vehicle which did not meet a
prescribed
limit on roll threshold. Therefore any regulation which limits roll
threshold
should be linked to a principle about the prevention of rollover. See
also
Tom Gillespie's book 'Fundamentals of Vehicle Dynamics'.
- 25 May 2000 ETSC: 'Spring' Newsletter
covers
- SAFER CAR FRONTS FOR PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS,
- MANDATORY FRONTAL UNDERRUN PROTECTION ON TRUCKS and
- FOLKSAM CRASH PERFORMANCE RATINGS FOR IN-CAR SAFETY.
- 24 May 2000: Road Safety
Think Tank in Sydney 27-28 May.
- 24 May 2000 Yahoo: DaimlerChrysler
likely to build beefier pickup.
- 24 May 2000 USA Today: Injured
motorists can't sue for lack of air bags. Also Washington
Post.
- 23 May 2000 Policy.com: A Bumpy Road
Ahead for SUVs? also Auto.com: Feds to rank
SUVs on likelihood of tipping over.
- 23 May 2000 Yahoo: Court
Blocks Some Air Bag Lawsuits and Supreme
Court Rules for Automaker in Air Bag Case.
- 23 May 2000 Yahoo: Police
To Target Unbuckled Children.
- 22 May 2000: Tips for kids safety.
- 22 May 2000: Dog restraint
performs well in US tests.
- 19 May 2000: Airbags
for computers??
- 15 May 2000: NRMA Crash
Test website revised.
- 12 May 2000 Auto.com: DC prevails
in air bag trial - In a major win for the auto industry in the
air bag debate, a Wayne County jury cleared DaimlerChrysler Corp. on
Thursday in the 1995 death of a 7-year-old girl killed after an air bag
deployed in
her face.
- 6 May 2000 Yahoo: Feds
Announce New Air Bag Rules. NHTSA
Press Release.
- 2 May 2000 Washington post: Car
Air Bags Must Pass 25-Mph Test. Also Yahoo.
- 2 May 2000 Yahoo: BFGoodrich
Unveils Inflatable Car Seat Belt.
- 2 May CSM: The
suburban beast that ate the minivan?
- 1 May 2000: SCHOOL BUS SEAT BELTS:
THEIR FITMENT, EFFECTIVENESS AND COST - Executive summary of a 1994
report added to website.
- 20 Apr 2000 Radio Netherlands: Putting a
Price on Traffic Congestion. The odd thing is that if you wait
for the bus, people consider that as waiting. If you wait in a traffic
jam people consider that as travelling, but standing still. People are
not totally rational.
(here here!)
- 20 Apr 2000 Auto.com: Delphi,
Palm set deal for Palm access in car - voice recognition system
- 19 Apr 2000 VDR: Vehicle
roadworthiness and accidents
- 15 Apr 2000: Side
impact tests now being conducted by Japanese NCAP (OSA).
- 14 Apr 2000 Auto.com: Safety
campaign targets British motorway deaths - Alistair Cheyne,
director of the Automobile Association's Road Services division, said
in a statement: ``Around two recovery operatives are killed each year
while working on
the hard shoulder, and many others are injured.
- 14 Apr 2000 Auto.com: Lernout,
Ford race to give drivers voice control - voice-recognition
technology which would allow car drivers to check e-mail and surf the
Internet while keeping their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel
(how about their
mind on the driving task?)
- 13 Apr 2000 Yahoo: Seven
Carmakers Recall About 490,000 Vehicles - mostly seat belt problems.
- 13 Apr 2000 Auto.com: Subaru
Legacy wins top marks in front crash test. Latest
IIHS crash tests. Still some vehicles being rated 'poor' (Daewoo
Leganza, GM's Grand Am and Oldsmobile Alero).
- 12 Apr 2000 SMH: Footballer
plucks boy from burning car Truck runs into a line of cars stopped
at traffic lights at the end of a long descent (2 km from my home!)
- 7 Apr 2000: Reports on extensive speed limiter trials available in PDF
format from Uni of Leeds. See also Speed
Control Devices for Cars.
- 7 Apr 2000: MUARC Newsletter nowavailable in PDF format.
- 4 Apr 2000 Yahoo: Airbags
protect people but threaten the environment.
- 4 Apr 2000 CBC: Air
bag may have caused 'fender-bender' death. Also Yahoo
- 3 Apr 2000 SciAm: Plastic
Bodies On Display - Do plastinated corpses cross the line between
science education and desecration?
- 31 Mar 2000 IEAust lecture: Tuesday 4th
April
5.30 pm to 7.30 pm Transport Engineering Panel *NSW Road Safety Strategy
2010* John Brewer RTA Harricks Auditorium 118 Alfred St, Milsons
Pt. Contact David Kilsby Ph: 02 9928 2273 Fax: 02
9928 2510 DKilsby@skm.com.au
- 30 Mar 2000 Detroit News: Dead
girl's dad fights air bags - Case may shape future safety standards.
- 30 Mar 2000 Yahoo: Mazda
Recalls 2000 Model Year MPV Minivans - front bumper design (not
safety related)
- 30 Mar 2000 New Scientist: Bugs behind
the wheel : ...They hope the robot's neural network program,
which mimics part of the locust's brain, will be the basis of a
collision-avoidance system for cars.
- 29 Mar 2000 Yahoo: Feds
Investigate Cadillac Air Bags
- 27 Mar 2000 Auto.com: Regulators
upgrade probe into Cadillac side air bags.
- 25 Mar 2000: List of Australian cars
without driver's airbag updated - fortunately several models were
taken
off the list. The remaining 'shame file'
makes are: Hyundai?, Kia, Landrover, Mitsubishi, Nissan (2), Proton
(2), Suzuki
(4) and Toyota. Lada and Seat were in the previous list but are no
longer
listed by Which Car.
- 22 Mar 2000 Yahoo: Automakers
Looking to SUV Design Changes for Safety - lower frames for better
compatibility with cars.
- 22 Mar 2000 The Times: Safety
call for side air bags in all cars - latest ENCAP results
(family and luxury car update - PDF downloads).
- 20 Mar 2000: Assessment of Pedestrian
Protection Afforded by Vehicles in Australia - paper presented at
Impact Biomechanics conference.
- 14 Mar 2000 Auto.com: Drivers click
it to avoid a ticket - Seat belt law appears to be working,
cops say
- 14 Mar 2000 USAToday: Honda
inflates safety for all sizes - smart airbags.
- 11 Mar 2000 Auto.com: Auto
makers offer to pay for more air bag data A group of automakers
offered on Thursday to pay for increased analysis of accidents in an
effort
to resolve a disagreement over upcoming new rules for the next
generation
of vehicle air bags.
- 8 Mar 2000 : Victims want
to disconnect car phones - distraction a safety hazard.
- 8 Mar 2000 Auto.com: Peugeot
swerves to avoid ``moose test'' blackspot.
- 6 Mar 2000: Master list of offset
tests updated and converted to show "stars".
- 6 Mar 2000: GM
recalls 900 electric cars, pickup trucks.
- 2 Mar 2000 Yahoo: Air
Bag Regs Nearly Finished.
- 26 Feb 2000 Auto.com: Kia
recalls Sportage sport-utility vehicles.
- 25 Feb 2000 The Times: Super-minis
beat crash test barrier - the latest Euro-NCAP (new homepage) results.
- 23 Feb 2000: IIHS has released the results
of research on the effects of 'cosmetic' parts such as bumpers and door
skins on crash performance. They make no significant difference!
Note the link to download a PDF copy of Status Report.
- 23 Feb 2000: University of New England (Australia) is taking
enrolments for a post
graduate distance education study program in road safety. The
Academic Director of the Road Safety Studies program is (RTA's) Paul
Duignan...!
- 23 Feb 2000 Yahoo: Armstrong
Unveils Century's Top Engineering Feats - the automobile comes 2nd!
See also Great Engineering
Achievements.
- 21 Feb 2000 Yahoo: Cosmetic
Aftermarket Auto Parts Safe - Insurers.
- 21 Feb 2000 DallasNews: High cost
of gasoline no roadblock to SUVs (gas-guzzlers)
- 17 Feb 2000 Yahoo: US
Group Launches New Ads on Child Airbag Danger.(limited posting)
- 17 Feb 2000 Auto.com: Consumer
advocate Ralph Nader to run for US President (again).
- 12 Feb 2000 Washington Post: NHTSA
Pondering Ratings for Child Seats - similar idea to CREP
in Australa.
- 12 Feb 2000 Washington Post: Safety
Effort Adds Character - DaimlerChrysler nationwide Fit for a Kid
campaign. Also Chicago
Tribune.
- 9 Feb 2000 Auto.com: U.S.
safety group urges higher speed air bag test.
- 7 Feb 2000: Popular
Mechanics - Buyers Guide for 2000 now available. Includes "Which
are safer- cars or trucks?" - be sceptical!
- 7 Feb 2000 Auto.com: Ford
Taurus, Sable get top U.S. safety ratings - Ford Motor Co. said
Friday its 2000 model year Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable mid-size
sedans
received five-star safety ratings for frontal crashes from the U.S.
National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration. More from
Ford.
- 3 Feb 2000 New Scientist: The
wrong trap. A patent lawyer could drive police forces worldwide
into a rage.
For the past year, the British government has been testing a system
...Called Speed Violation Detection Deterrent (SVDD), it uses digital
infrared cameras to photograph all cars passing fixed points such as
overhead bridges. It
records the time cars pass and identifies them by using optical
character
recognition software that can read their
licence
plates...
- 3 Feb 2000 BBC: Robo-Roo
helps crash safety. Holden's kangeroo dummy gets an upgrade.
- 1 Feb 2000: (US) Automakers,
industry groups lobby government on new air bag proposal. Automakers
and industry groups lobbied the government Thursday to try to prevent
adoption of a
federal test they say will bring back car air bags that are too
powerful for children and small women.
- 28 Jan 2000: "Safety" Technical
Sessions of SAE 2000 - World Congress. March 6-9, Detroit.
- 27 Jan 2000 Car Talk: Nominations
for the worst car of the Millennium! "...Romanticized as it has
been, the Volkswagen bus had no heat, blew over in the wind and used
the driver's legs as its first line of defense in an accident."
- 21 Jan 2000: Call for papers - Saferoads - (Victorian) Local
Government Road Safety Conference - 20-21 July 2000. Organised by
Monash
University. Contact Iren
Thavarajah.
- 18 Jan 2000 Yahoo: All
GM Vehicles to Have (curtain) Side Airbags by 2003.
- 17 Jan 2000: MUARC
Biomechanics of crash injury short course - Melbourne, 13-15 mar 2000.
Contact Melanie
Thiedeman.
- 17 Jan 2000: University of
Cincinnati's College of Engineering are claiming a breakthrough(?)
in crash simulation. Explorezone
article.
- 7 Jan 2000: Leeds Uni releases report on speed
control. Press
gets confused about the suggested use of GPS - assumes satellites
will be used to monitor individual cars. The lead researcher has
confirmed
that the GPS location is simply used to identify speed zones from an
onboard digital map - no surveillance is involved.
- Dec 1999: Call for papers "Impact Biomechanics Australia
Conference", Sydney 16-17 Mar 2000. Institution of Engineers Australia.
Contact T. Grice.
- Dec 1999: NSW RTA issues draft Load
Restraint Guide for public comment
- Dec 1999: NSW RTA issues Road Safety 2010
- strategy
for the next decade (download the PDF file) and 4th Annual Local
Government Road Safety Conference - many papers available online,
including the keynote address by Narelle Haworth.
- Nov 1999: Scientific American recently posted an "ask the
expert" item
on airbags.
Nov 1999: List of Australian cars without
airbags
