Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters announced today upgraded test procedures for determining the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) ratings for vehicle safety. We support the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) overhaul and review of these standards; however, we were disappointed with the omission of four major crashworthiness standards. Read More »
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Vehicle Safety Check Before Winter Travel
checking out your important vehicle systems before hitting the road this winter to prevent your holiday travel from turning into a hassle. Read More »
‘The Talk’ Versus the Dream Machine
My 14 year-old son gave me a shopping list not long ago of things he needed: hockey stick tape ($1.50), cotton boxers ($5.99 for a three-pack) and a red Bugatti ($1.4 million). Read More »
10 o’clock, 2 o’clock? Or 9 o’clock, 3 o’clock?
A firestorm of controversy seems to have been sparked by the comment I made to my permit-carrying son with regard to placing his hands at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock on the steering wheel. From John F. Knippel: “The auto manufacturers have changed where items are located near the steering wheel to force us to adapt to the now-advocated positions ... Read More »
Watching, Learning Not Best Method to Teach Driving
When I got my license, I found that I drove the exact same way. Only years later did it occur to me that driving wasn't some sort of contest that I had to win every time I jumped behind the wheel. Read More »
New Lighting Technologies Can Potentially Reduce 2,300 Pedestrian Fatalities
Each year approximately 5,000 pedestrians (including bicyclists) are killed along U.S. roads -- 2,300 of them occurring at night -- and another 70,000 pedestrians are injured in traffic crashes, according to a 2003 NHTSA report. On average, a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 111 minutes. Read More »
Message From Schwarzenegger Inspires, Oops, Cell Phone Call
The e-mail was from the following address: governor@govmail.ca.gov. The e-mail in my in box was from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. I wrote to Arnold, and Arnold wrote back. What he had to say was truly extraordinary. In July, I decided to finally sit down and write a column about cell phone use when driving. Several people had asked me when I ... Read More »
Hard Core Drinking Drivers
Hard core drinking drivers have drawn extra attention in recent years as policymakers try to renew progress against alcohol-impaired driving and the deaths and injuries it causes. Read More »
California’s Graduated Licensing Program is Reducing Crashes, Especially Ones With Lots of Teens in a Vehicle
A new Institute study quantifies the benefits of provisions of California’s graduated driver licensing program. Findings affirm those of previous studies by other researchers that also point to the success of this program. Read More »
Zero Alcohol Tolerance Is Enforced More Effectively In Washington Than In Some Other States
In every US jurisdiction drivers younger than 21 may be arrested if they have any measurable alcohol in their blood, not just if it’s enough to arrest them under DWI laws. Prompted by the threat of federal sanctions, state legislators put these zero tolerance laws on the books, but the results vary from state to state. Those in Washington are impressive. Read More »
