By Eric Kulisch on September 4, 2019
Grade inflation in school makes it difficult to distinguish who is actually achieving in the classroom. The federal government’s vehicle safety rating system suffers the same problem. Today, 98 percent of all vehicles tested receive four or five stars for crashworthiness. Consumer advocates and safety experts say it’s time to raise the bar for the New Car Assessment Program, which hasn’t been updated in nearly 10 years.
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer Protection, Government accountability |
By Marjie Lundstrom on August 22, 2019
In Washington, D.C., a new Trump administration plan to relax safety rules for truck drivers has rekindled old heartaches for families across the country. On a sunny Labor Day morning in Oklahoma, Linda Wilburn’s younger son, 19-year-old Orbie, hopped into his 1994 red Camaro and headed east from Weatherford on Interstate 40. The college freshman,…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety |
By Chelsea Conaboy on June 25, 2019
Driver-assistance technology is becoming more common. Major carmakers have pledged to make automated emergency braking standard on all vehicles by 2022, for example. But technical barriers, plus the general unease of consumers, make full automation a farther reach, despite what Elon Musk may say.
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Auto and Highway Safety, Climate Change, Consumer Protection, Environmental Safety and Health, Government accountability, Smoking and Tobacco Industry, Workplace Safety and Health |
By Chelsea Conaboy on June 18, 2019
Lawyers presented a federal judge in Ohio with a proposal that would allow every town, city or county in the country to receive a payment from the companies that have made and sold prescription opioids. Local governments opting in to the settlement would get money to help address the public health crisis stemming from opioid abuse.
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Climate Change, Consumer Protection, Environmental Safety and Health, Government accountability, Pharmaceutical Industry and Drugs, Workplace Safety and Health |
By Chelsea Conaboy on April 30, 2019
Food sick: The U.S. has seen a significant increase in the number of people contracting certain foodborne illnesses, with more multi-state outbreaks in 2018 than at any point in the previous decade, reports Laura Riley of The Washington Post. Better, quicker diagnosis is one factor, but public health experts told Riley that holes in food…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer product safety, Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health, Firearms, food safety, Food Supply, Government accountability, Pharmaceutical Industry and Drugs, Smoking and Tobacco Industry |
By Christopher Jensen on April 10, 2019
The federal government’s 1995 decision to allow states to set speed limits higher than 65 mph caused almost 14,000 additional deaths over 25 years on interstates and freeways.
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer Protection |
By Chelsea Conaboy on April 2, 2019
David Bernhardt, acting secretary of the Interior Department, seems headed for confirmation by the Senate. He told the Energy and Natural Resources Committee that, if confirmed, he will stop recusing himself from issues that involve his former clients as soon as this summer
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Auto and Highway Safety, Aviation Safety, Climate Change, Consumer Protection, Environmental Safety and Health, Government accountability, Product Hazards and Recalls, Workplace Safety and Health |
By Chelsea Conaboy on March 26, 2019
A rush job with fatal effects?: As the investigation into the crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 in Ethiopia this month continues, the picture that seems to be emerging is a one of a faulty sensor, problematic software and hubris. With European aircraft maker Airbus threatening to lure away key customers, Boeing fast-tracked the…
Posted in Warning Wire | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Auto and Highway Safety, Aviation Safety, Consumer Protection, Environmental Safety and Health, FDA, Firearms, Smoking and Tobacco Industry |
By Eli Wolfe and Myron Levin on March 20, 2019
Federal officials concede that the death toll is an undercount. Fatalities involving some trail machines are not included.
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer product safety, Off-Road Vehicles, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Myron Levin on March 14, 2019
Editor's note: Story was updated April 11. See clarification at end of the story.
Business groups call on well-connected lobbying firm to help thwart unwanted federal standards. They have not been disappointed.
Posted in FairWarning Investigates, Recent Stories | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer product safety, Consumer Protection, Environmental Safety and Health, Government accountability, Off-Road Vehicles |
