Autoblog

275,000 Subaru Forester models recalled over faulty seatbelt fears

Steven J. Ewing — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:14:00 EST

Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Crossover, Subaru

Subaru is recalling 275,000 Forester crossovers over potentially faulty rear seatbelts that may not properly allow for the secure attachment of a child restraint. The affected models are from the 2009 to 2012 model years, built between November 26, 2007 and March 13, 2012.

According to the recall summary from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the automatic locking retractor in the seatbelt assemblies of the rear center seat are at fault here. Obviously, if a child restraint is not properly secured to the seatbelt anchor, this can increase the risk of injury in a crash.

The recall is expected to kick off in early April, and Subaru dealers will replace the rear center seatbelt assembly free of charge. In the meantime, owners can contact Subaru directly at 1-800-782-2783, and the full summary of the recall can be read in NHTSA's report after the jump.

Continue reading 275,000 Subaru Forester models recalled over faulty seatbelt fears

275,000 Subaru Forester models recalled over faulty seatbelt fears originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The BBC drives the one road where seat belts are illegal

Aaron Richardson — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 07:30:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Europe

Europe's Longest Ice Road - Click above for high-res image gallery

Europe's longest ice road stretches 16 miles across the Baltic sea and connects mainland Estonia with the island of Hiiumaa. This may be the only road on the planet where seat belts aren't just a bad idea, they're illegal. If the ice gives way here, you need to be out of your car so quickly that removing a seat belt could be a potentially lethal waste of time.

The BBC decided to see for itself what kind of crazy you have to be to willingly accept commuting on a surface like the ice road. Apparently, Estonians love it for being much cheaper than the available ferries, which sometimes get jealous and run in to the frozen road. Still, Jeep Grand Cherokee at the ready, the BBC's intrepid journalists set off on a journey into the frozen unknown.

Not only are safety restraints against the law on the ice road, it's illegal to go any slower than 25 mph, which seems somewhat counter intuitive. Most of the time, the slower you can go on a slick, unpredictable surface the better, despite what Bentley may tell you. On frozen water, though, tires create dangerous vibrations between 16 and 25 mph that could crack the ice, leaving you up to your neck in the deadly cold Baltic. Thus, the recommended speed on the ice road is a pretty brisk 43 mph.

That may not seem like much, until you learn that the road is full of potholes and bumps, as well as being laced with wide gashes in the ice bridged by rough-hewn lumber. Between the dips, potholes, bumps, gashes and shaky bridges, the road is a fairly sensitive beast, which means cars over 2.5 metric tons are also banned.

Despite all its follies and hidden dangers, the route is widely traveled during Estonia's long winter, and sometimes stays open as late as March. Even with a relatively high traffic volume, there were no accidents on the road during the 2010-2011 season, which came to a close at the end of last month.

Gallery: Europe's Longest Ice Road

[Source: BBC News | Image: Raigo Pajula/AFP/Getty Images]

The BBC drives the one road where seat belts are illegal originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kansas man goes to court over homemade seatbelt

Zach Bowman — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:27:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Humor

From the 'We Almost Missed It'' file comes word Kansas man has set about testing his state's new seatbelt law. Kansas has just joined the handful of other states that have moved not wearing a seatbelt while driving up to a primary offense, meaning that law enforcement officers can pull over and cite offenders simply for failing to buckle up. According to KWCH CBS 12, Paul Weigand says that he wants to challenge the law because he believes wearing his seatbelt should be up to him. Since the law says that an individual simply has to wear a seatbelt, Weigand has apparently taken to donning a seatbelt that he made himself around his waist at all times. The law apparently makes no mention of the seatbelt needing to be factory equipment nor that the belt needs to actually be fastened to the vehicle.

Not surprisingly, Weigand was cited under the new law and decided to fight the citation. A district judge decided earlier this month that the seatbelt crusader can take his case to court. According to the report, Weigand knows that he's poking fun at the law, but believes that seatbelt use should be up to individuals. He claims to have a phobia of being trapped in a crashed vehicle. Click on the KWCH link below to watch a video and see the homemade safety belt for yourself.

[Source: KWCH CBS 12 via USA Today]

Kansas man goes to court over homemade seatbelt originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: 2011 Ford Explorer partially revealed during seatbelt airbag demo?

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: SUV, Safety, Videos, Crossover, Ford

2011 Ford Explorer, is that you? - Click above to watch the video after the break

Sometimes, we have to wonder if automakers just like toying with the emotions of those of us who follow their comings and goings on a daily basis. How else can we explain how Ford would show up to the Shoreline Community College Automotive Center in Seattle with what appears to be the back half of a 2011 Ford Explorer in tow?

It's not really possible to know exactly what it is that we're gazing at in the video pasted after the break, but it sure does appear to match what we're expecting to see from the first unit-construction Explorer from the Blue Oval Boys. Nowhere else is that more evident than with the sloping C-pillar, which looks like a dead ringer for the one we saw blowing in the wind on a car hauler back in March.

No matter what it is that we're seeing in this video, the rear seatbelt airbag technology on display is definitely coming to a dealership near you, first on the - you guessed it - 2011 Ford Explorer. Enough talking already... check out the video for yourself after the break.

[Source: Driven Car Reviews]

Continue reading Video: 2011 Ford Explorer partially revealed during seatbelt airbag demo?

Video: 2011 Ford Explorer partially revealed during seatbelt airbag demo? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pennsylvania to conduct seatbelt checks... from aircraft?

Sam Abuelsamid — Sat, 22 May 2010 15:33:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

Rule number one of the Internet should be to always read past the headline before hitting the keyboard to comment. A prime example comes from the latest press release from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The statement's headline implies that PA state troopers will be enforcing seatbelt use from aircraft flying overhead. Frankly, given the budget constraints of most states, we suspect that aerial traffic enforcement is enormously wasteful at best. But the idea of even detecting seatbelt use from the sky seems absurd on its face.

As it turns out, Pennsylvania's belt law only only allows for secondary enforcement anyway. That means if you drive unbelted past a trooper while still observing all other traffic edicts, you can't get pulled over. Hence, the Air, Land and Speed campaign that the Pennsylvania state police is undertaking this summer will be primarily focused on catching speeders and then giving them secondary tickets if they insist on being truly foolish by driving unrestrained.

[Source: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania | Image: Wikimedia Commons]

Continue reading Pennsylvania to conduct seatbelt checks... from aircraft?

Pennsylvania to conduct seatbelt checks... from aircraft? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 22 May 2010 15:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Georgia finally mandates seatbelt usage among pickup truck drivers

Dan Roth — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:31:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety

Now it's just New Hampshire. For decades, any effort in Georgia to require universal seatbelt use couldn't get passed - such matters would just get stuck in the throat of the House by extra-regulation-resistant rural lawmakers. The consistent rejection kept pickup truck driving adults from being legally required to buckle up, an exemption that drove safety advocates up the wall.

According to The Washington Post, however, statistics about needless deaths, avoidable accidents and potential medical cost savings seem to have finally connected with enough House members to send the bill through, with the measure passing by a tally of 132-29.

For what it's worth, not wearing a belt when you're using your pickup truck on a construction site or farming doesn't seem like a contentious issue. Speeds are low and drivers may be in and out of the truck rather regularly, but those situations are not on public roads at normal speeds. Despite what some view as as unneeded regulation, it seems that members of the Georgia House now consider a law requiring adults to buckle up when in pickup trucks (the same as in cars) as a vote for common sense that will keep more money in state coffers.

Now it's just the Granite State as the lone state that doesn't mandate seatbelt use. Live free and/or die?

[Source: The Washington Post | Image: Getty]

Report: Georgia finally mandates seatbelt usage among pickup truck drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Decling death rates due to safer vehicles, not better drivers

Damon Lavrinc — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 11:56:00 EST

Filed under: Safety

The number of fatal crashes on U.S. roads have steadily declined over the last few decades and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has found that this has little do with a safer motoring public and more to do with safer vehicle design.

Their findings confirm what has been assumed for years, that as more safety equipment is added and eventually mandated, drivers who would have been killed years earlier in older models are now surviving with greater frequency.

The study also points to the lack of required seat belt usage in some states and the waning enforcement of DWI charges as worrisome developments. These concerns, coupled with speed limits that have steadily increased across the country, are providing the IIHS a bleak outlook on the future.

One glaring omission in the press release (printed after the jump) is the effect of driver training programs on new drivers and how further driver improvement is a necessity to decrease on-road fatalities.

Continue reading Decling death rates due to safer vehicles, not better drivers

Decling death rates due to safer vehicles, not better drivers originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 12 Aug 2006 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Traffic deaths substantially higher among some ethnic groups, males

Eric Bryant — Thu, 25 May 2006 13:04:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Safety

Hispanics and Native Americans face dramatically higher odds of dying in an automobile accident than do whites, blacks, or Asians, according to a study on the topic recently released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. The trend is said to be caused by an increased rate of intoxicated driving, more drivers without a valid operator's license and decreased seatbelt usage among the higher-risk ethnic groups. A NHTSA spokesman stated that the agency is "not sure there is an answer across the board." Part of the problem is thought to be related to recent immigrants who are not yet familiar with the driving habits and rules of U.S. roads, though presumably this reasoning does not extend to Native Americans.

Taking a look at gender instead of race, men are twice as likely to die as women in auto accidents - a fact that Autoblog attributes to the strong correlation between the Y chromosome and a tendency to perform donuts, engage in stoplight drag racing, and generally act like hooligans whenever presented anything with wheels and an internal combustion engine.

[Source: Detroit News]

Traffic deaths substantially higher among some ethnic groups, males originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 25 May 2006 13:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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