By Paul Feldman on August 1, 2017
More than 14,000 people, including roughly 3,200 children age 15 or younger, have been killed in crashes of all-terrain vehicles since federal safety officials began keeping track in the early 1980s. Studies have shown (here and here) that over half of the deaths occur on public or private roads — even though ATVs are required…
Posted in Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer Protection, FairWarning Reports, Off-Road Vehicles |
By Paul Feldman on July 13, 2017
Graham Brown was headed to his job as a computer technician when a drowsy big-rig driver swerved into his path and struck his car, sending it flying off a rural Illinois road and into a field. Brown was airlifted to a hospital for a six-hour surgery that saved his life. He suffered collapsed lungs, broken…
Posted in Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer Protection, FairWarning Reports, Uncategorized |
By Paul Feldman on June 20, 2017
More than 200 scientists and public health advocates are urging regulators to take a closer look at the potential dangers of antimicrobial chemicals including triclosan, an additive that has been banned from hand soaps but remains an active ingredient in products ranging from building materials to Colgate’s Total toothpaste. The call for better labeling and…
Posted in Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Consumer Protection, FairWarning Reports, Pharmaceutical Industry and Drugs, Product Hazards and Recalls, Uncategorized |
By Paul Feldman on June 7, 2017
Each year, roughly three dozen children die of heatstroke in unattended vehicles. Today three congressmen and a coalition of safety groups announced plans to do something about it, through legislation to require alerts in cars as a reminder that there may still be a child in the back. The proposal, backed by more than two…
Posted in Auto and Highway Safety, FairWarning Reports, Uncategorized |
By Paul Feldman on May 30, 2017
In the four months since President Trump took office, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued four news releases announcing penalties for job safety violations. By the end of May last year, it had issued 199. The recent reticence has spurred six U.S. senators, all Democrats, to ask what’s up at OSHA. In…
Posted in Environmental Safety and Health, FairWarning Reports, Uncategorized, Workplace, Workplace Safety and Health |
By Paul Feldman on May 16, 2017
Each year, roughly 150 motorists are killed when their cars plow into the sides of big-rig trailers, slicing off the windshields and roofs. But many of these gruesome underride deaths can be prevented, according to a new study and crash videos from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The research shows that a trailer side…
Posted in Auto and Highway Safety, FairWarning Reports, Uncategorized |
By Paul Feldman on May 11, 2017
Winemakers could soon receive a tax break that would spur production of higher-alcohol wines, a move that would pad their bottom lines but that has health advocates seeing red. The proposal, which has strong bipartisan support in Congress, would cut taxes by 50 cents per gallon on wines with high alcohol content. Wineries that now take…
Posted in Consumer Protection, FairWarning Reports, Product Hazards and Recalls, Uncategorized |
By Paul Feldman on April 4, 2017
Pedestrian deaths are surging across the nation, and analysts are putting much of the blame on drivers and walkers who are looking at their smartphones instead of watching where they are going. Tipsy walking also is part of the problem, with one in three victims legally drunk when they were struck and killed. The latest…
Posted in Auto and Highway Safety, Cell Phones, Gadgets and Distracted Driving, FairWarning Reports |
Legal Clash with FTC on Marketing of Used Cars
By Paul Feldman on March 27, 2017
Can a used car be marketed as “safe” or “certified” even if it has defective air bags, a faulty ignition switch or other potentially lethal problems? Yes, so long as the used car dealer discloses that the vehicle may be subject to a pending safety recall. That stance, taken by the Federal Trade Commission, is…
Posted in Auto and Highway Safety, FairWarning Reports, Product Hazards and Recalls, Uncategorized |
By Paul Feldman on March 2, 2017
Editor's note: See update at bottom of story.
In November, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced fines against businesses with workers who were killed when they were pulled into a wood chipper, burned in a refinery fire and crushed in collapsing grain bins and construction trenches. In all, OSHA issued 33 enforcement news releases that month, and over 50 more from…
Posted in FairWarning Investigates, Whistleblowers, Workplace, Workplace Safety and Health |
