car safety

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Tesla May Bring Big Change to Car Insurance

It plans to bundle it, and maintenance, into total price of car

(Newser) - If cars are becoming safer as they incorporate self-driving features—the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration last month confirmed Tesla's first-gen Autopilot reduced Tesla vehicles' crash rate by 40%—consumers and experts alike are wondering when auto insurers will slash rates to reflect the minimized risk. Tesla CEO Elon...

'Pink Noise' Could Save Your Hearing in Car Crash

Mercedes-Benz has been working on this tech for years

(Newser) - A coming safety feature for cars aims to protect drivers and passengers in a novel way: to save their hearing in a crash. The idea is that when a smartcar senses an imminent collision, the sound system sends out a burst of "pink noise" inside the car. That causes...

Volvo: By 2020, No One Will Die in Our Cars

Company makes bold pledge

(Newser) - Volvo has just come out with a gutsy move, making what CNN Money is calling a "shocking pledge"—that not a single person will be killed or even seriously injured in a new Volvo car or SUV by 2020. (Not including a driver who does something "really,...

Keyless Car Ignitions: Convenient but Deadly?

Critics say popular feature makes it too easy to accidentally leave the engine running

(Newser) - An increasingly common feature that many car manufacturers tout as convenient is actually a very dangerous "defect," according to critics. NBC News —citing stats from a safety group—reports keyless ignitions have caused at least 19 deaths and more than two-dozen "close calls" since 2009. A...

Volvo Invents Life-Saving Invisible Paint for Bikers


 Volvo Invents 
 Lifesaving 
 Invisible Paint 
 for Bikers 
in case you missed it
Apr 4, 2015 7:01 AM CDT

Volvo Invents Lifesaving Invisible Paint for Bikers

Spray-on stuff reflects in headlights

(Newser) - The company that invented the three-point seat belt is behind another big innovation in road safety, and this one comes in a spray can. Volvo's LifePaint, developed by a London ad agency and a Swedish startup, is invisible when you spray it onto, say, your bike. But when a...

After 75-Car Crash, Maine Mulls End of Seat Belt Law

'It's very unfortunate timing,' says GOP senator

(Newser) - It's an effort that even the bill's sponsor acknowledges is poor timing. Just two days after a 75-vehicle pileup injured at least 17 people in the state, lawmakers in Maine are considering legislation that would allow adults to opt out of wearing seat belts. Sen. Eric Brakey told...

Mom of Crash Survivor: I Thank Honda, Not God

Lynn Beisner: federal regulations more important than higher power

(Newser) - Lynn Beisner's son was driving last week when a semi-trailer wheel landed on his hood and shattered every window in the car. Amazingly, the Honda vehicle "formed a cocoon for his body" and he didn't have "a scratch on him," she writes in the Washington ...

Crash-Test Dummies Don't Look the Way They Used To

They're getting fatter

(Newser) - Your average crash-test dummy, it seems, weighs 167 pounds. But a lot of Americans, as you might have noticed, weigh considerably more than that. That disparity raises safety issues rather than health issues, reports UPI , and there's a sobering statistic to back that up, as per CNN : "Obese...

Small Cars Don't Do So Well in Crash Tests

Mini Cooper Countryman gets 'good' rating; Nissan, Mazda, and Fiat models tank

(Newser) - Not that we'd ever want this to happen, but if you're going to get into a crash in a tiny car, you might want to be in a four-door Mini Cooper Countryman. That's the only small car out of 12 tested that earned a "good" rating...

New Rule Will Force Cars to Have a Rear Camera

Regulation intended to prevent backup accidents

(Newser) - Years late, the Transportation Department issued a rule today that will require rearview technology in all new cars and many light trucks—an effort to reduce deaths and serious injuries caused by backup accidents. NHTSA said the new rule, required in the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act, will save...

Feds Open Criminal Inquiry Into GM Auto Recall

Justice Department suspects automaker didn't act quickly enough

(Newser) - General Motors is facing more pressure over its handling of a deadly defect in certain compact cars as word leaked of a criminal investigation and two congressional committees opened inquiries into the matter. The Justice Department is investigating whether GM broke any laws with its slow response to a problem...

LAPD Seat Belt Crackdown Targets ... LAPD

Half of cops in America don't buckle up

(Newser) - The Los Angeles Police Department has launched a new "buckle up" campaign—for the LAPD. Studies show that around half of police officers in America don't wear seat belts and though seat belt laws generally exclude law enforcement officers, traffic-related deaths are the leading cause of death of...

Consumer Reports Yanks Approval From 3 Toyotas

Meanwhile, Toyota reports winning sales figures

(Newser) - It was a good news/bad news kind of day for Toyota. The good news? The Japanese automaker beat GM in sales for the second straight quarter, moving 2.5 million vehicles between July and September, it announced today, according to Bloomberg . The bad news? Consumer Reports yanked its recommendation of...

Tesla Model S Safety Rating: 5.4 Out of 5 Stars

Electric vehicle fares better than any in history of NHTSA testing

(Newser) - Just how well did the Tesla Model S do in government safety tests? The highest score a car can get is 5 stars. The Model S got 5.4. "Yes," writes Travis Okulski at Jalopnik . "It broke the scale." In fact, the electric car did better...

Car With Highest Injury Rate Is ...

Toyota Yaris, with Suzuki SX4 right behind

(Newser) - Driving a Toyota Yaris? Be cautious: At 28.5 injury claims for every 1,000 of the vehicles insured, the car boasts the worst rate of any vehicle, says a new study. The runner-up was the Suzuki SX4, with 26.6 injury claims per 1,000 insured vehicles, the Los ...

Half of Teen Drivers Text Behind Wheel

 Half of Teen 
 Drivers Text 
 Behind Wheel 
CDC survey
Jun 8, 2012 5:35 PM CDT

Half of Teen Drivers Text Behind Wheel

Feds are renewing crackdown on distracted driving

(Newser) - More than half of high school seniors have texted while driving, according to a federal survey that collected the data for the first time ever. In the survey, 58% of 12th-graders admitted to texting or emailing while behind the wheel, while 43% of 11th-graders said they did also, reports AP...

New Cadillacs to Warn Drifting Drivers

Seat will vibrate, for non-embarassing warning

(Newser) - We've all done it. At some point you're driving and you get distracted, or you start to nod off, and your car starts to drift out of its lane. If you're in the market for a new Cadillac, your car may soon have your back. The Cadillac...

All New Cars Must Have Rearview Cameras by 2014

US regulators sending new mandate to Congress tomorrow

(Newser) - By 2014, all new cars will be required to include rearview cameras—but not because federal auto safety regulators would like to create a nation of better parallel parkers. The new rule is an effort to decrease a disturbing statistic: Each week, two children are killed and about 50 hurt,...

GM Gives Volt Owners Loaners as It Investigates

Says fires may be caused by electronic problem

(Newser) - As the US investigates the Chevy Volt following fiery crash tests , General Motors will lend cars to current owners of the electric vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reports. Meanwhile, the company is working to fix the problem. It believes the fires aren’t caused by overheating chemicals, but rather, that...

Today's SUVs 'Light Years Safer'

Auto industry appears to have solved vexing problem

(Newser) - Newer sport utility vehicles are significantly less deadly than those of decades past, according to a new analysis of federal data. From 2008 to 2009, the fatality rate for passengers in 3,000- to 3,499-pound cars or minivans hit by similarly-sized SUVs was 16 per million registered vehicles. That’...

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