Honda Admits Underreporting Serious U.S. Accidents Since 2003

[Octafish]

Source: NBC News

Honda Motor Co. failed to notify U.S. safety regulators of 1,729 claims of injuries and deaths related to accidents in its vehicles since 2003, the automaker acknowledged on Monday. Honda said in a statement that its count of underreported claims came from a third-party audit. Honda cited "various errors related to data entry" and also said it used an "overly narrow interpretation" of its legal reporting requirements. The company said it is taking steps to remedy these shortcomings.

The Japanese automaker's U.S. arm responded to a Nov. 3 order from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seeking an explanation for why Honda failed to fulfill its legal obligation to report deaths and injuries, especially those involving air bags. Honda and Japanese supplier Takata Corp. have been at the center of investigations of defects in Takata air bags. Since 2008, Honda has recalled more than 7.5 million U.S. cars because defects can cause the inflators in some Takata air bags to rupture, spraying metal shards into vehicle occupants. NHTSA sent a second order to Honda on Nov. 5, seeking details and documents related to the air bags and inflators. Honda sent its response on Monday to NHTSA's first order.

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/honda-admits-underreporting-serious-u-s-accidents-2003-n255246

[Historic NY]

1. And they beat up GM over ignition switches...

why are the morons in Congress so quiet.

[Octafish]

4. Eamonn Fingleton concluded it's got to do with awareness and lobbying...

How the Press Helped Destroy the Auto Industry

Detroit's Collapse: the Untold Story

By EAMONN FINGLETON
CounterPunch

For decades East Asian competition has played a controversial role in the decline of the American car industry. Both Japan and Korea have long been accused of unfair trade and closed markets. For their part Japanese and Korean officials have argued that their markets are open and that an incompetent and heedless Detroit doesn't make the sort of cars their consumers want.

In all the charges and countercharges, little of the remarkable truth of Detroit's trade problems has come out. To see how well -- or rather how badly -- you understand the background, try this quiz:

1. What was the Detroit companies' share of the Japanese market in 1930? (a) About 90 per cent. (b) About 20 per cent. (c) Less than 4 per cent.

2. How many models do the Detroit corporations currently make with the steering wheel on the right (the standard configuration for Japan)? (a) More than 40. (b) 12. (c) 3.

3. What was the combined share of all foreign makers – American, European, and Japanese – in the Korean car market in the last decade? (a) Less than 2 per cent. (b) Around 15 per cent. (c) More than 70 per cent.

The correct answer in each case is (a).

If you flunked, don't feel bad. Just cancel your newspaper subscription.

For decades American press coverage of global car industry competition has been abysmal. Reporters and commentators have almost never dug below the surface and their idea of fact checking has too often consisted merely of "accurately" recycling previous observers' errors. Worse many commentators have displayed an almost venomously elitist bias against Detroit. In short, readers of the American press have been fed a diet of falsehoods, while key facts that give the lie to the foreign trade lobby’s special pleading have been swept under the carpet.

Much of the most egregious press coverage moreover has emanated from writers and editors at some of the most “respected” media organizations, not least the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. Reuters and Associated Press have not been far behind and even the automobile trade press has often unforgiveably spun the story to Detroit's great disadvantage.

CONTINUED...

http://www.counterpunch.org/2009/07/03/detroit-s-collapse-the-untold-story/

Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about Detroit in Washington.

[Ms. Toad]

2. On the one hand, I guess I'm glad my daughter didn't get sprayed

with metal shards on Saturday...on the other hand, it is a bit disconcerting that her air bags did not deploy in a car which was badly enough damaged (sandwiched between two cars) to have to be taken away on a flat bed truck...

[Octafish]

5. I hope your daughter is OK...

...Even if uninjured physically, no one involved in a serious accident is left unscathed.

Whatever car she was driving -- the airbags are supposed to work.

A call to a couple of law firms may help advance justice.

[Ms. Toad]

7. I actually wish it had left a larger emotional impact on her.

She had a less serious accident last winter. Both accidents were triggered by weather - snow covered roads last time, and black ice this time. She is less attentive than I would like to her driving, drives too fast (an average of 1 speeding ticket a year), and too close to the car in front of her. In the first accident she spun out trying to avoid the car in front of her (and was hit by the car following her). Because she was facing the wrong way in traffic when the other car hit her she was cited (the insurance companies split the bill, since she was actually stopped out of traffic when the person following her hit her - their insurance company disputed the description by both drivers). In this second accident, less than a year later, the car in front of her spun out. She hit that car, and after she was stopped on the side of the road another car hit the same patch of black ice, couldn't stop & plowed into her. All three drivers were cited.

I don't know that she could have avoided either accident - but I do know that she would have had a far better chance of avoiding them if she had more respect for the physical power of the vehicles moving about the road and drove more defensively. She seems mystified by this concept. Her first reports were to blow off the fact that the car was totaled (I'm ok. The car's not. haha.). After she had had two days to let the shock wear off, I asked her about whether this second accident was a wake-up call, her response was,"Why would it be? Accidents happen."

I am tremendously grateful that all three drivers walked away mostly uninjured - but I am also terrified that it will not change her driving habits and the next time either she or another driver will be much more severely injured.

But thanks - and yes, that is how things are supposed to work. It's a pain to live with the emotional trauma that nearly always kicks in, but a certain amount is necessary in order to change behavior to avoid dangerous things.

We've already filed a complaint with the NTSB, and Honda. It would be hard to make a legal case, since there are no injuries the air bags going off would have prevented. (The vehicle predates the recall period.)

[Stargazer09]

10. Their airbags just don't work

Our Pilot was totaled, but the airbags did not deploy. Seems to be a common problem with their cars.

I hope your daughter will be okay.

[Stargazer09]

3. I hate that company

Their damn airbags didn't work when we were struck by a pickup going 60 mph. Honda treated us like we had no right to complain. Called a lawyer, but he said that Honda aggressively fights every single lawsuit, and since none of us died, we had no chance of winning anything.

I hope they get burned.

[Octafish]

6. I am glad you and yours made it, Stargazer09!

Your story reminds me of so many people I have known who were not so fortunate. Compact cars are at a disadvantage on America's roads, filled with trucks and SUVs that often weigh more than twice as much.

I hope this news about Honda rekindles interest in your case. Perhaps calling a few law firms will reveal the one that will help you get just compensation and justice.

[Stargazer09]

9. Thank you, Octafish!

We were in a Honda Pilot, which was probably why we survived (we were hit by a jacked up Ford pickup). I suffered a massive concussion that could have been prevented if the airbags had worked.

I think I will contact the NTSB directly. The statute of limitations has probably expired by now, but I would love to cause more trouble for those slimy bastards.

[greatlaurel]

8. The safety record has always seemed odd, so even a mediocre investigative reporter could save lives.

This should convince people to think twice about buying these cars. The media love affair with this company needs a good dose of fresh air.

The manufacturing plants in Ohio are nonunion, too.