[Quietcars] David Strickland at SAE Safety, April 15

[Deborah Kent Stein]

Thanks for posting this.

Debbie


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Wilson" <bwilson4web at hotmail.com>
To: <quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, April 19, 2010 8:01 AM
Subject: [Quietcars] David Strickland at SAE Safety, April 15


>
> Hi,
>
> I didn't see anyone post this article:
>
> http://detnews.com/article/20100416/AUTO01/4160349/NHTSA-chief-talks-safety-at-SAE-World-Congress
>
> "NHTSA chief talks safety at SAE World Congress
> David Shepardson and Alisa Priddle / The Detroit News
>
> Detroit -- Federal regulators are moving quickly to make near-silent 
> hybrid vehicles safe for pedestrians, avoid backing-up accidents and 
> minimize driver distraction.
>
> Quiet electric and hybrid vehicles "could potentially put pedestrians at 
> risk, especially blind pedestrians," said National Highway Traffic Safety 
> Administration head David Strickland.
>
> At the Society of Automotive Engineers' annual World Congress, Strickland 
> said Thursday that data from 12 states "shows that hybrid electric 
> vehicles do have a significantly higher incidence rate of pedestrian 
> crashes than internal combustion engines for certain maneuvers -- like 
> slowing or stopping, backing up, entering or leaving a parking space, and 
> making a turn."
>
> . . .
>
> Other safety experts at the conference urged NHTSA to move cautiously.
>
> When it comes to safety improvements, "be careful what you wish for," said 
> David Champion, senior director of automotive testing for Consumer 
> Reports.
>
> "You have to look at the consequences of improving one aspect of a vehicle 
> that it doesn't harm another."
>
> For example, wider pillars may prevent roofs from crushing in rollover 
> accidents, Champion said, but they may impede drivers' vision.
>
> Also, he noted, Ford Motor Co. made changes in its Escape between 2001 and 
> 2008 that improved fuel efficiency, but the vehicle had a longer stopping 
> distance when the driver hit the brakes.
>
> Safety should not be an option, but standard and global, said Beth 
> Schwarting, a vice president with Delphi Electronics and Safety.
>
> James Vondale, director of Ford's automotive safety office, said he is 
> concerned there will be a dual system of regulations: one U.S. and one for 
> everyone else."
>
> NOTE: Some of us have read the flawed, NHTSA report and noted that vehicle 
> registrations were not used to calculate the rates. So this report counted 
> incidents and tried to draw conclusions without measuring the true risks. 
> Worse, pickup trucks and SUVs were not part of the study. Other reports 
> including one by the NHTSA indicate that when pedestrian accident rates by 
> type of vehicle are used, noisy pickups and SUVs predominate.
>
> Bob Wilson
>
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