Autoblog

New Year's Day, not St. Patrick's, most deadly on US roads

Jonathon Ramsey — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:58:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety

Earlier this month, as part of its conclusions to an investigation into wrong-way driving crashes, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommend ignition interlocks for all those convicted of a DUI. That means every first-time offender couldn't start his car until he had satisfied the breathalyzer attached to his ignition. With the nation's deadliest hours for drunk driving approaching, New Year's Day, the American Automobile Association (AAA) has pointed out the dangers of the holiday and voiced support for the NTSB measure.

The AAA says its own study shows that "nearly eight out of ten Americans support requiring ignition interlocks for all convicted DUI offenders, even if it's their first conviction." Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has put the national rate of repeat DUI offenders at 15 percent, but there's a huge variance: in California nearly eight percent of fatal DUI crashes are repeat offenders and DUI recidivism overall was 24 percent in 2007, whereas in New Mexico in 2011 more than 50 percent of fatal DUI crashes are attributed to repeat offenders. Another stat from MADD is that "The average driver drives drunk 87 times before their first arrest."

There are already 17 states that mandate ignition interlock devices for those convicted of DUI, and the NTSB is asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to speed up research into manufacturer-installed interlock devices. It will probably be a while, if ever, before the federal government or the rest of the country follows the lead of those 17 states, but the real point is this: We've made it past the Mayan Apocalypse, so enjoy the new world and be careful behind the wheel come NYE.

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New Year's Day, not St. Patrick's, most deadly on US roads originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 30 Dec 2012 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Honda recalling 383,000 vehicles over runaway risk

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:01:00 EST

Filed under: Recalls, Safety

Honda has announced plans to recall 383,000 Civics, Accords and Elements built in 2003 and 2004. Due to a fault with the ignition interlock system that normally prevents the key from being removed until the transmission lever is in Park, the affected Hondas could roll away on their own accord.

According to Honda, the interlock system can wear prematurely, allowing the key to be pulled regardless of the shifter position. If the parking pawl isn't engaged, the vehicle can roll away if parked on a slope.

While this has nothing to do with the sort of problems that Toyota has experienced, there is an interesting parallel regarding the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's defect database. Toyota complained that there was insufficient detail in the database categories, resulting in the appearance that there were more incidents of unintended acceleration than there actually were. This Honda issue is purely a mechanical failure of the locking system and yet it is grouped under Electrical System:Ignition problems. This lack of detail makes it much more difficult and time consuming for engineers to sift through the data to find and prioritize issues to fix. As part of the follow-up to its recalls, Toyota has been talking to NHTSA about revising the database to make it easier to mine relevant information other automakers will likely be following suit.

[Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Honda]

Continue reading Honda recalling 383,000 vehicles over runaway risk

Honda recalling 383,000 vehicles over runaway risk originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota's sweat-sensing steering wheel will thwart drunk drivers

Frank Filipponio — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:28:00 EST

Filed under: Gadgets, Safety, Toyota

A few months ago we told you of Nissan's plans to test an ignition interlock that would stop intoxicated would-be drivers from starting their cars. Several recent high-profile, alcohol-related accidents and fatalities in Japan have brought drunk driving to the forefront of lawmakers' minds, and Nissan appeared to be one of the first Japanese automakers to address the issue. Not one to let rival Nissan get the jump on them, Toyota Motor Corp. is said to be working on its own drunk driving inhibitor system. And it sounds pretty sci-fi to us. Actually, it sounds pretty Big Brother with huge potential safety concerns.

The Toyota system would involve sensors in the steering wheel that could detect alcohol through the sweat of the driver's hands. The system would stop drunk drivers from operating their vehicles by automatically shutting things down if it detects intoxication. And in case the steering wheel sensors don't detect the elevated blood alcohol content (say, if the driver was wearing gloves), sensors could also detect irregular steering inputs (please define "irregular" for driving enthusiasts), or cameras could even monitor the driver's pupils for signs of lack of focus (maybe they wear their sunglasses at night). If anything seems out of order, the vehicle would slowly come to a halt, hopefully not in the middle of freeway traffic. Better to get the drunk driver off the road, but anytime the car takes over the driving, we wonder whether the problem might actually be compounded.

[Source: Detroit News]

Toyota's sweat-sensing steering wheel will thwart drunk drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 16:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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