Safety

While traffic safety experts are increasingly warning of the dangers caused by distracted drivers, automakers are continually announcing new high tech features that allow drivers to connect to Wi-Fi internet and social networking platforms from behind the wheel. Car manufacturers including Nissan, Volkswagen, Ford, and General Motors are offering Wi-Fi connecting devices allowing in car access to websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Audi claims the spot as the first luxury carmaker to offer its customers access to Google Earth from behind the wheel, even as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun to suggest a nationwide ban on cellphone use while driving that makes no exemptions for using hands free devices such as Blutooth transmitters. According to the administrations official safety guidelines, drivers should not engage in any practice that takes focus off the road ahead for more than two seconds at a time. The administration also recommends that any high tech features allowing internet access be disabled unless the car’s transmission is in park, but the guidelines do not attempt to limit the number of devices available in vehicles. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, more than 9 percent of all fatal highway accidents in 2010 were linked to distracted driving practices, a figure that amounted to more than 3,000 deaths that year, a figure that some safety experts speculate is too low due to the possibility that in many accidents, driver distraction is not reported. The National Safety Council estimates that nearly one in four collisions are related to inattentive driving.

Google has been letting its autonomous Toyota Prius test drive itself on roads in Nevada and more recently Washington, D.C., but now General Motors has announced its intent to enter the hypothetical self-driving car market by the end of the decade. Representatives from the Michigan based automaker have stated that most of the technology required for self driving cars currently exists in modern General Motors automobiles. High tech safety features such as lane departure warning, blind spot recognition, and collision prevention systems all require camera and radar systems that could be modified to allow future car models to control themselves. Currently, the carmaker is developing a self driving automobile based on its Cadillac line of vehicles. The system used to control this Cadillac is called super cruise, and GM representatives say it will allow the car to steer, brake, and correct its course to remain in the center of a lane automatically with no additional input from the driver under ideal road conditions. The super cruise feature might be available within the next three years, the company has announced. General Motors representatives added, however, that legislators will need to pass new safety guidelines to regulate the usage of vehicles equipped with this feature. Self driving cars would also need to communicate with other cars sharing the road in order to avoid collisions, and this automakers would need to ensure the security of this car to car network, the carmaker’s spokesperson continued.

The results of a new drug study have prompted the Food and Drug Administration to issue a statement regarding where they stand on the product’s risk potential.

The New England Journal of Medicine today released a report that detailed how persons who were given a five day course of the drug known as azithromycin, such as what’s contained in Zithromax, had a slightly greater risk of death from a variety of causes, including cardiovascular issues, than did persons who either didn’t receive treatments or were treated with ciprofloxacin or amoxicillin.

In responding to this study, the FDA is saying that they are reviewing the results and will release more information about their findings or any potential risks when they complete said review.  In the meantime, the agency is warning consumers not to refrain from taking the drug unless they have discussed the matter with their doctors.

In March of this year, the drug label on Zmax was altered to include new information about a small heightened risk of what’s known as QT interval prolongation.  This decision was made following a review by the FDA of drug labeling information on macrolides.  Azithromycin is a part of this drug class.

The FDA is advising patients and doctors alike to contact them through the MedWatch program should any issues arise in conjunction with azithromycin.

An item that was only being sold at Costco has been recalled due to the danger it poses to consumers.

The Vallejo, California-based Meyer Corporation U.S. announced the recall of their Circulon Cookware Set.  This set contains 13 pieces of Premier Professional cookware, all of it made of rubber, stainless steel, and aluminum.  However, only one of the products contained within this set poses a threat to safety, and that would be the 11 inch diameter lid that goes atop the five quart saute pan.  Consumers should be able to identify this item by the code IMCP1108 along the lid’s metal rim.

This lid puts consumers at risk of laceration because it is susceptible to breaking, cracking, or shattering outright.  Consumers have already made known 65 instances of the product breaking, although thankfully, none of those occurrences led to reported injuries.

Around 4,600 cookware sets are affected by the recall.  Produced in Thailand and China, the items could only be bought in a Costco store or online at Costco’s website.  It cost around $200 for the entire set, which was sold between October of last year and this past March.

The company is advising that anyone with the item in their possession stop using the 11 inch lid.  Circulon’s customer service lines are reportedly open and representatives can help consumers in gaining a replacement item.

A product that’s vital to preserving safety during climbing has been recalled due to an inherent failure of the item.

Porter Athletic, which is owned and operated by the Champaign, Illinois-based Litania Sports Group, announced the recall, which concerns their Porter Athletic Climbing Ropes.  At issue is the fact that these climbing ropes, which have a clamp near the top that connects the rope to a surface, pose a fall hazard.  The rope can itself fall through the aforementioned clamp, leaving a climber without any kind of anchor to the wall or other surface.

Only 44 units are said to be affected by the recall.  However, there have already been three instances reported to the firm in which the item broke.  In one of those cases, a climber sustained injuries to their wrist and back.

There are two models of ropes affected by the recall:  00118 and 00119.  These white dacron ropes come in 12, 16, 20, and 24 foot lengths.  They were available through the Porter Athletic website as well as via telephone and authorized distributors.  The ropes sold from $387 to $877 across the country between September 2009 and September of last year.

All persons with the rope in their possession are being advised to cease use.  They can expected to be contacted by Porter directly.  Once this happens, the company has said they will repair the ropes for free.

The quantity of emergency exit windows in certain Volvo 9700 motor coaches manufactured by Prevost Cars has been determined to be insufficient, thus the company has been forced to recall these vehicles.  All affected vehicles are of model years between 2009 and 2013.

27 motor coaches in total lack the proper amount of exit windows.  This goes against the protocols laid forth in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 217, “Bus Emergency Exit and Window Retention and Release.”  Because the number of windows isn’t high enough to meet the minimum set by that standard, anyone on the motor coach is at risk of being injured or killed in the event of an emergency.  This is because they might not be able to get out of the bus in a timely manner.

Prevost will contact owners about how they can get installed an extra emergency exit window at no charge.  Dealers will conduct this installation and the notice will not go out until July.  However, the necessary parts won’t be dispersed anytime soon.  Therefore, motor coach owners might not be able to get their vehicles fixed until September, the month in which the parts should become available.

If anyone has a concern about this issue, they can get in touch with either Prevost directly or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  If the latter is chosen, it should be noted that the campaign number is SR12-57.

At the request of the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Honda Motor Company has announced a voluntary recall for an estimated 53,000 Acura TL sedans in the United States due to an issue with potentially defective power steering hoses. Acura is Honda’s luxury brand. The vehicle’s power steering hose may deteriorate with routine daily use and begin to leak power steering fluid while in motion. A loss of power steering fluid could result in the vehicle’s power steering failing unexpectedly, putting the driver at an increased risk of losing control of the vehicle and possibly becoming involved in a collision. Additionally, the leaking power steering fluid poses a possible fire hazard. The Acura TL sedans affected by this recall are from model years 2007 and 2008. In 2008, Honda announced a recall for a similar problem affecting 273,000 TL sedans from model years 2007 and 2008. Honda will begin notifying consumers of this recall via mail in campaign in the near future. Owners of Acura TL sedans affected by this recall can return them to authorized Acura dealerships for a free replacement power steering hose, if needed, at no cost to the consumer. Consumers seeking more information on this recall to determine whether their vehicles are affected by this possible safety issue can obtain it from the Acura website, or call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Vehicle Safety Hotline.

They’re mandatory in airplanes, but very soon, the device known as a black box might soon be required to be installed in motor vehicles as well.

The new transportation bill that was just approved by the United States Senate has a clause that makes these event recorders mandatory on all vehicles of the 2015 model year and later.  A similar measure is now being considered in the House of Representatives as well, and if reports are to believed, that legislative body will likely be approving the mandate too.

The event recorder, or black box, if you will, will adhere to standards set by the Department of Transportation.  The DOT has advised that such boxes gather data under a variety of different metrics.  These 15 categories include such things as what time the firing of the airbags occurred in a crash, what the position of the throttle was, and in which direction the vehicle was accelerating.  These are just to name a few.

Some worry, though, that this is an invasion of privacy.  To that end, though the Senate version of the bill stipulates that the owner of the vehicle is also the owner of the data in the box.  Therefore, any law enforcement officers who want to see the information must first obtain a warrant.  It should be noted, though, that in the event of an emergency, rescue personnel can access the data if it’s critical to helping them do their jobs.

In a demonstration of how crucial it is for tests to be conducted even after a drug is proven safe, the Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers about a drug that might react negatively with another substance.

The organization recently received a report about a person dying after being administered the first dose of fingolimid, a multiple sclerosis drug.  After evaluating the circumstances behind that case, the FDA has now said that persons currently on certain medications that help to prevent arrhythmia or who have had a recent stroke or heart attack should probably not take fingolimid, which is used in Novartis and Gilenya.

It could not be proven that in the case studied or other post market and clinical trial data that the fingolimid contributed to any deaths looked into.  However, the FDA has expressed concerns that the drug might lead to bradycardia, and recommends that, after the first dose, the person taking the drug be monitored carefully.  This monitoring should be even longer, they say, in people who are more at risk of suffering bradycardia.

The FDA says that monitoring should include measurements of blood pressure and pulse rate every hour once the first dose is given.  They also think that an electrocardiogram test should be administered both before and after the period of testing is over.

Prevost Car Incorporated, in cooperation with a request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has issued a voluntary recall for 27 of its Volvo 9700 Motor Coaches from model years 2009 to 2013. This recall has been announced due to an insufficient number of emergency exit windows. The motor coaches affected by this recall do not offer passengers enough emergency exit windows to comply with federal safety guidelines regulating the standards for bus emergency exits and window retention and release. If one of the motor coaches affected by this recall were involved in an emergency situation requiring passengers to make a quick exit, the safety of some passengers may be endangered by a delay in evacuation procedures caused by a less than sufficient number of emergency exit windows. If the passenger is unable to exit the vehicle in a timely manner, the risk of sustaining personal injury is increased. Prevost Car Incorporated has announced a plan to inform the owners of affected vehicles of the potential safety hazard posed by the motor coaches non-compliant safety feature design. Consumers in possession of the affected motor coaches may return them to an authorized dealership where an additional emergency exit will be installed at no additional charge in order to make the bus compliant with federally mandated safety standards. More information on this recall can be obtained by contacting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Vehicle Safety Hotline and reference campaign identification number 12V205000.