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Other Dangers - Latest News
Collision Mitigation Advances
Collision mitigation systems for trucks are becoming increasingly popular as they offer enhanced safety features, register fewer false activations and set the stage for increasing autonomous capabilities. When these systems first were introduced, there were many false positive results and unnecessary emergency brakings, said Art Trahan, Ryder’s senior manager assigned to national accounts. But the collision-mitigation products offered by the three suppliers — Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems, Wabco and Daimler Trucks North America — have been improving. As a result, more of Ryder’s fleet customers are using them.
What's new — and what's missing — in your next new car
Automakers are continually making changes in vehicles. These can be technological breakthroughs, such as the automatic emergency braking systems that are increasingly becoming standard on new cars. Some are mandated changes, such as a federal requirement that all vehicles have backup cameras, which went into effect in May. At times, the shifts reflect consumer electronic trends. Cassette players in cars gave way to in-dash CD systems, which started disappearing from cars when Bluetooth streaming music arrived. Many of these feature swaps don't get a lot of fanfare, so you might not always realize what's come and gone until you're shopping for a new car.
DC Circuit Takes Up Push for Rear Seat-Belt Warnings
The fight for car safety landed in the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday as two nonprofits asked the appeals court to force the Department of Transportation to get moving on making seat-belt warning systems mandatory for backseat passengers. In 2012, Congress required the agency to initiate rulemaking on the matter by Oct. 1, 2014, and implement a final rule one year later.
Highlands Ranch girl, 9, nearly strangled by seatbelt
Everyone knows seat belts save lives. But a Highlands Ranch mother and her daughter recently learned that same belt, used incorrectly, could put a child's life in danger. Last week, Mary Eppolito and her 9-year-old daughter Briana pulled into a parking lot, and Briana tried to climb out of her seatbelt, putting the lapbelt over her legs before unbuckling. She found her chest and neck trapped. "I opened the passenger rear door," said Eppolito, who said the seatbelt was in locking mode, tightening around Bri's chest and neck with every move.
The U.S. needs to move forward on rear-seat safety belts
Safety advocates have sued the U.S. Department of Transportation to force action on a standard that would require automakers to include seat belt reminders for rear-seat passengers. Congress said the rule was supposed to have been issued by October 2015. In this photo, emergency personnel attend to a fatal crash Aug. 4, 2015, in the Boyds area of Montgomery County. A Clarksburg woman died after she was thrown from a vehicle in the crash. (Montgomery County Fire Department)
