[Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act

Sat Dec 18 14:19:09 UTC 2010

We have to be adult about these discussions, and in fact, I'm trying to get
a new york radio station to work with me on airing some of the discussion
about this hybrid bill passage.  I'll keep the list informed.
There is a car show on Saturdays and the guy is a super person.  I'm friends
with him, meaning that we correspond and discuss things, so I brought this
Detroit News article to his attention.  Thanks for sending it, Maryellen.

-----Original Message-----
From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2010 3:37 AM
To: Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act

in the case in point would the audible signal have warned the 2-year-old
child? probably not!
chuck
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Evans" <drevans at bellsouth.net>
To: "Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety" 
<quietcars at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 8:15 AM
Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act

>
> Dear All,
>
> I do believe that cameras are a good idea, but I think that an audible 
> warning sound should also be mandatory as well and is a less costly 
> and easier fix that can be applied to all vehicles even now.  It only 
> requires and electronic beeper, some wire and a contact switch that 
> makes contact when ever the shift lever is placed in reverse.  It 
> could even just be placed in the same electrical circuit with the back-up
lights.
> In the last 2 years, I personally have had 3 incidents where "quiet cars" 
> have nearly backed over me and one did strike me to the point that I 
> had to drop my white cane and jump upon the rear of the car to keep 
> from being run down.  My cane was sticking out in front of the car by 
> the time the driver stopped the car from my beating on the back window.
>
> The cameras will warn the driver, if they are watching and paying 
> attention, but an audible warning beeper, will take care of the other 
> side of the coin and warn people like me that a car is moving.
> I think that the problem will not be solved as best as it can be until 
> we address both sides of the coin.
> There will, I am afraid, still be accidents as drivers will still be 
> careless, as well as pedestrians will be careless or distracted or 
> unable to react in time.
> I also think that along with an audible beeper sound device that the 
> rear lights should also "flash" on and off with the beeper to warn 
> those who are deaf or hard of hearing and also warn approaching other 
> drivers that the vehicle is backing up.
> If we do all of this, I believe that we will have done all we can 
> reasonablely do to fix the situation until cars become more autonomist 
> and take over more of the driving functions and have "self awareness" 
> of the environment around them.
> I know as a engineer and futurist that this will happen in the not too 
> distant future.
>  Then things will be safer for all of us.
>
> David Evans, NFBF and GD Jack.
> Nuclear/Aerospace Materials Engineer
> Builder of the Lunar Rovers and the F-117 Stealth Fighter.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "michael townsend" <mrtownsend at optonline.net>
> To: "'Discussion of new quiet cars and pedestrian safety'" 
> <quietcars at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 8:01 AM
> Subject: Re: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety 
> Act
>
>
>> Once again another excellent post; not necessarily aimed at our 
>> audience, but a more universal one, and we could all benefit greatly.
Thanks, Bob.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org 
>> [mailto:quietcars-bounces at nfbnet.org]
>> On
>> Behalf Of Robert Wilson
>> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 5:27 AM
>> To: quietcars at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [Quietcars] Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety 
>> Act
>>
>>
>> A week before the June 23, 2008 hearing, I first learned about the 
>> back-over problem. Today, I came across the welcome result:
>> http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/li-boy-s-death-may-mean-cam
>> eras-in
>> -all-cars-1.2527253
>> * * * quoting from the article * * *
>> Greg Gulbransen thought at first that maybe he'd backed over the 
>> newspaper.
>> The pediatrician had gone out at night to flip his BMW SUV around so 
>> that he wouldn't have to back out of his driveway in the morning when 
>> kids were headed to school. As he continued in reverse, his 
>> headlights lit up a scene that would change his life forever.
>> Gulbransen's son Cameron, 2, lay sprawled in the driveway. He had on 
>> blue pajamas, was holding a blanket and was bleeding heavily from his
head.. .
>> .
>> "That's when life ended pretty much as I knew it," Gulbransen said 
>> Wednesday. "Complete and utter devastation. I still can't believe it 
>> happened."
>> Now, eight years after the October night in Woodbury when Gulbransen 
>> accidentally killed his son, the federal government is taking comment 
>> on a key provision of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation 
>> Safety Act that's meant to prevent such tragedies.
>> After the 60-day comment period, announced Friday by the National 
>> Highway Traffic Safety Administration, automakers will be required to 
>> eliminate blind zones behind vehicles that can contribute to deaths like
Cameron's.
>> In
>> practice, that means automakers will have to outfit new vehicles with 
>> monitors that display to those driving in reverse a live image of the 
>> blind zone. Such rearview cameras are already found in some luxury 
>> models.. .
>> .Ten
>> percent of new vehicles must meet the requirement by September 2012 
>> and 100 percent by September 2014. The federal government estimates 
>> that the move will cost the auto industry as much as $2.7 billion and 
>> individual car purchasers an extra $159 to $203 per vehicle.
>> Federal safety regulators estimate that in an average year, 292 
>> people are killed and 18,000 injuries occur due to back-over crashes. 
>> Some 228 of those fatalities involve common passenger vehicles, 
>> regulators estimate, with
>> 44
>> percent of those deaths being children under 5 and 33 percent adults 
>> over 70.
>> * * * end quote * * *
>> This safety legislation received near universal support because it 
>> applies an effective solution to a well documented and too often 
>> fatal problem.
>> It
>> is timely because rear view mirrors are losing their effectiveness as 
>> tougher roll-over safety rules require stronger roofs that further 
>> obscure visibility. SUVs and pickup trucks are a particular hazard 
>> because their higher than normal body style and lengths lead to 
>> especially poor visibility. But no car or vehicle is immune.
>> Universal backup cameras make a lot of sense which due to economies 
>> of scale will become much more affordable. This is the application of 
>> new, video technology to replace the century old, and barely adequate 
>> mirrors.
>> Bob Wilson
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>
>
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