“Last month’s NTSB recommendation will lead state legislatures to consider a range of bills to address distracted driving during 2012,” said AAA Vice President of Public Affairs Kathleen Marvaso.  “Few states have given serious legislative consideration to full cell phone bans, but AAA expects continued progress in our campaign to pass laws banning texting while driving in all 50 states, as well as enacting full wireless bans for new teen drivers and laws that increase penalties for drivers who crash or commit violations while driving distracted.

“AAA will also continue to work with legislators and other safety advocates in statehouses across the country to pass lifesaving laws that improve teen driver licensing and increase seat belt and child safety seat requirements.”

AAA’s top traffic safety priorities in the states include:

Texting while driving bans: AAA in 2009 launched a national campaign to pass laws banning text messaging while driving in all 50 states. Five states enacted these laws in 2011, increasing the number of states to 35 with laws prohibiting all drivers from texting. AAA expects nearly every one of the 15 remaining states to consider this legislation in 2012.

Teen driver safety: The push for graduated driver licensing (GDL) for new teen drivers isn’t new, yet nearly every state still has opportunities to improve these laws that save lives and reduce crashes by easing teens into driving. While some advocates focused on Congressional legislation to incentivize states to improve GDL systems, AAA worked for significant improvements inNorth Dakota and Pennsylvania in 2011. This year presents opportunities for states to improve safety by increasing the age and requirements for getting a license, banning the use of wireless communications devices for novice drivers, and adding or improving limits on teen passengers and nighttime driving for newly licensed teens. Just six states (Delaware, Indiana,Michigan, New York, Oklahoma, and West Virginia) have GDL systems that meet AAA’s guidelines for nighttime limits, passenger limits, and practice requirements.

Booster seat laws: Despite their proven ability to reduce injuries and deaths for child passengers, three states (Arizona, Floridaand South Dakota) continue without booster seat requirements. Georgia and California increased their booster seat ages in 2011, leaving 19 states with booster seat laws that fall short of meeting safety experts’ guidelines, which include all children under age 8.

Primary seat belt laws: AAA and other safety advocates will continue to work to improve laws in the remaining 18 states without a primary belt law, as well as attempt to increase fines in some states with weak penalties and expand seat belt requirements to include back seat passengers in remaining states. Primary seat belt laws have repeatedly been shown as a low cost way for states to quickly increase belt use, reduce traffic deaths, and lower the cost of crashes.

Move over laws: Every state except Hawaii and the District of Columbia requires drivers to slow down and, if safe, “move over” when passing an emergency vehicle that is actively working on a roadway. Additionally, 45 states, including Arizona, New Yorkand Texas, which improved their laws in 2011, also require drivers to move over for tow trucks. AAA will continue to promote these laws in the remaining states.

Name of product: Tea Lights in Carruth Candleholder Collection Sets

Units: About 5,480

Importer: DD Traders Inc. d/b/a Demdaco, of Leawood, Kan.

Manufacturer: Tien Chi Art Co Ltd. of Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China

Hazard: The tea light can burn with an excessive flame height, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm is aware of one fire that resulted in minor property damage. There are no reports of injuries.

Description: The recalled tea lights were sold as part of the Carruth Candleholder Collection sets. The Carruth candleholder sets are resin votive candle holders with a glass insert that holds a tea light. The stock number is printed on a label on the bottom of the candleholders. The tea lights are white. The following eight models and stock numbers are included in this recall: Butterfly, 17708; Smile, 17709; Sun, 17710; Roots of Love, 17711; Sunflower, 17712; Hummingbird, 17713; Bunny, 17714; Friendship, 17715.

Sold by: Home decorating and gift stores nationwide from January 2010 to November 2011 for about $14.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the tea light candle and contact Demdaco for a free replacement tea light.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, consumers should contact Demdaco toll-free at (888) 336-3226 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.demdaco.com.

“Every fatality on our highways is a tragedy, and the uptick in the 2010 preliminary report concerns us deeply.  Without more information and analysis, though, it is difficult to draw conclusions about what this preliminary data means,” Graves said. “We would hope that policymakers will avoid the ‘error of recency,’ by overemphasizing the newest data at the expense of the overall, long-term trend, which has been overwhelmingly positive. We look forward to seeing further analysis from DOT on crash types as well as how many miles American motorists and truck drivers traveled last year.

“Even with this increase, 2010 was the among the safest years on record for the trucking industry thanks in large part to the good faith efforts of America’s truck drivers, vehicle manufacturers, truck fleet safety directors, law enforcement officers and true safety advocates, rather than due to economic hardship or other ancillary factors,” Graves said. “By remaining vigilant and focused on the true causes of crashes, I’m confident that we will be able to continue the marked declines in the number of truck-involved crashes and fatalities on our highways that we have seen in over the past decade.”

The full and complete data from DOT for the last decade shows improvement in overall highway safety, and clearly shows trucking’s marked safety improvement.

Over the past 10 years (1999 to 2009) the number of large trucks involved in:

Fatal crashes dropped by 35%;

Injury crashes dropped by 48%.

Over the past 10 years (1999 to 2009), the number of registered large trucks grew by more than 3 million, or 41%.

Over the past 10 years (1999 to 2009), the number of passenger vehicles involved in:

Fatal crashes dropped by 24%, 11 percentage points lower than the change in the truck numbers;

Injury crashes dropped by 29%, 19 percentage points lower than the change in the truck numbers.

Over the past 10 years (1999 to 2009), the number of registered passenger vehicles grew by more than 17%, 24 percentage points lower than the truck growth.

Over the most recent years of economic growth (2002 to 2007 – using the base recession year of 2001):

The truck-involved fatality rate dropped by 35%;

The truck-involved injury rate dropped by 47%;

The passenger vehicle fatality rate dropped by 11%, 24 percentage points lower than the change in the truck rate;

The passenger vehicle injury rate dropped by 23%, 24 percentage points lower than the change in the truck rate.

Over the economic growth years of the 1990s (1992 to 2000 – using the base recession year of 1991):

The truck involved fatality rate dropped by 20%;

The truck-involved injury rate dropped by 8%;

The passenger vehicle fatality rate dropped by 19%, 1 percentage point lower than the change in the truck rate;

The passenger vehicle injury rate dropped by 18%, 10 percentage points higher than the change in the truck rate.

During the recession (2008 and 2009 – using the base year of 2007):

The truck-involved fatality rate dropped 26%;

The passenger vehicle fatality dropped 16%, 10 percentage points lower than the change in the truck rate.

ATA looks forward to working cooperatively with DOT leadership to keep the highway and truck safety trends moving in the right direction.

via New Truck-Related Crash Numbers Not Indicative of Truck Safety Trend — ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –.

The researchers used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), an advanced MRI-based imaging technique, on 38 amateur soccer players (average age: 30.8 years) who had all played the sport since childhood. They were asked to recall the number of times they headed the ball during the past year. (Heading is when players deliberately hit or field the soccer ball with their head.) Researchers ranked the players based on heading frequency and then compared the brain images of the most frequent headers with those of the remaining players. They found that frequent headers showed brain injury similar to that seen in patients with concussion, also known as mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The findings are especially concerning given that soccer is the world’s most popular sport with popularity growing in the U.S., especially among children. Of the 18 million Americans who play soccer, 78 percent are under the age of eighteen. Soccer balls are known to travel at speeds as high as 34 miles per hour during recreational play, and more than twice that during professional play.

After confirming the potentially damaging impact of frequent heading, “Our goal was to determine if there is a threshold level for heading frequency that, when surpassed, resulted in detectable brain injury,” said lead author Michael Lipton, M.D., Ph.D. , associate director of Einstein’s Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center and medical director of MRI services at Montefiore. Further analysis revealed a threshold level of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 heads per year. Once players in the study exceeded that number, researchers observed significant injury.

“While heading a ball 1,000 or 1,500 times a year may seem high to those who don’t participate in the sport, it only amounts to a few times a day for a regular player,” observed Dr. Lipton, who is also associate professor of radiology, of psychiatry and behavioral sciences ), and of the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience at Einstein.

“Heading a soccer ball is not an impact of a magnitude that will lacerate nerve fibers in the brain,” said Dr. Lipton. “But repetitive heading may set off a cascade of responses that can lead to degeneration of brain cells.”

Researchers identified five areas, in the frontal lobe (behind the forehead) and in the temporo-occipital region (the bottom-rear areas) of the brain that were affected by frequent heading – areas that are responsible for attention, memory, executive functioning and higher-order visual functions. In a related study, Dr. Lipton and colleague Molly Zimmerman, Ph.D. , assistant professor in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology at Einstein, gave the same 38 amateur soccer players tests designed to assess their neuropsychological function. Players with the highest annual heading frequency performed worse on tests of verbal memory and psychomotor speed (activities that require mind-body coordination, like throwing a ball) relative to their peers.

“These two studies present compelling evidence that brain injury and cognitive impairment can result from heading a soccer ball with high frequency,” Dr. Lipton said. “These are findings that should be taken into consideration in planning future research to develop approaches to protect soccer players.”

Heading is an essential part of soccer and is unlikely to be eliminated from practice or play.

As there appears to be a safe range for heading frequency, additional research can help refine this number, which can then be used to establish heading guidelines. As in other sports, the frequency of potentially harmful actions in practice and games could be monitored and restricted based on confirmed unsafe exposure thresholds.

“In the past, pitchers in Little League Baseball sustained shoulder injuries at a rate that was alarming,” Dr. Lipton noted. “But ongoing research has helped shape various approaches, including limits on the amount of pitching a child performs, which have substantially reduced the incidence of these injuries.”

“Brain injury due to heading in children, if we confirm that it occurs, may not show up on our radar because the impairment will not be immediate and can easily be attributed to other causes like ADHD or learning disabilities,” continued Dr. Lipton. “We, including the agencies that supervise and encourage soccer play, need to do the further research to precisely define the impact of excessive heading on children and adults in order to develop parameters within which soccer play will be safe over the long term.”

A group of elite professional truck drivers with millions of accident-free miles are offering advice on how to navigate through highway traffic and arrive at your destination safely. Tips include:

-Prepare you vehicle for long distance travel: Check your wipers and fluids. Have your radiator and cooling system serviced. Simple maintenance can prevent many of the problems that strand motorists on the side of the road before you leave your home.

-Plan ahead:  Before you get on a highway, know your exit by name and number, and watch the signs as you near the off-ramp. Drivers making unexpected lane changes to exit often cause accidents.

-Do not cut in front of large trucks:  Remember that trucks are heavier and take longer to make a complete stop, so avoid cutting quickly in front of them.

-Be aware of truck blindspots:  When sharing the road with large trucks, be aware of their blind spots.  If you can’t see the truck driver in his or her mirrors, then the truck driver can’t see you.

-Check your emergency kit: Contents should include: battery powered radio, flashlight, blanket, jumper cables, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, bottled water, non-perishable foods, maps, tire repair kit and flares.

-Be aware of changes in weather: Weather conditions across the U.S. will be changing – especially during early mornings and evenings with the cold. Watch for ice, snow and other weather related obstacles.

-Keep your eyes on the road:  Distracted driving is a major cause of traffic accidents. Even just two seconds of distraction time doubles the chances of an accident. Use your cell phone when stopped and never text while driving.

-Leave early and avoid risks:  Leave early so you won’t be anxious about arriving late and to accommodate delays. Road conditions may change due to inclement weather or traffic congestion.

-Avoid extreme weather conditions: Ice, hail and snow make roads difficult to travel. Try to avoid driving through extreme weather conditions, and travel during daylight.

-Remove ice and snow from your vehicle:  Clear your windows and roof of snow to insure you have maximum visibility and avoid creating a hazard for the vehicle behind you. Don’t allow ice and snow to create additional blindspots on your vehicle.

-Be aware of the vehicle in front of you: Leave extra room between you and the vehicle in front so you can avoid snow and ice blowing onto your windshield or maneuver around patches of ice.

-Slow Down: With the extra highway congestion due to Holiday travel, speeding becomes even more dangerous. Allow plenty of space cushion and reduce your speed.

-Buckle up: Safety belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45 percent and are a simple way to increase your safety on the road.

“Thanksgiving is a challenging time on the highways,” said Share the Road Professional Driver Bob Weller (Hahn Transportation).  “Between motorists visiting families or shopping during the start of the holiday shopping season, our highways are busier than ever.  There is nothing better than patience and safe driving practices behind the wheel,” he added.

“Always buckle up,” said Share the Road Professional Driver David Boyer.  “Weather can also be a factor during this time of year so check weather conditions before you get in your vehicle,” Boyer added.

The Share the Road Professional Drivers would like to remind the motoring public that from driveway to highway, safety requires patience and dedication.

“Based on the latest report from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, fatal crashes involving a large truck have fallen 31% from 2007 to 2009 and crashes resulting in injury have fallen 30%,” Graves said following a review of FMCSA’s 2009 Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts, recently posted on FMCSA’s website.

In addition, the report says the large truck fatal crash rate fell to 1.0 crashes per 100 million miles in 2009 from 1.1 crashes per 100 million miles traveled in 2008. Since 2000, the fatal crash rate for large trucks has fallen 54.5% – more than twice as much as the passenger vehicle fatal crash rate, which dropped just 25% – in the same time period.

“These safety gains,” Graves said, “are the result of many things, sensible regulation, improvements in technology, slower more fuel efficient driving, the dedication of professional drivers and safety directors as well as more effective enforcement techniques that look at all the factors involved in crashes, not just a select few.”

Graves also chided FMCSA for not doing more to share this good news about trucking’s safety progress.

“These results deserve to be heralded as tremendous progress and very good news for American motorists, our industry and our industry’s regulators,” Graves said. “However, FMCSA has chosen not to highlight these important results. By not celebrating this success, the agency is doing itself a disservice. These results are as much an achievement for FMCSA as they are for the nation’s trucking industry.  We are at a loss on why FMCSA chose not to communicate this final data indicating great safety progress.”

While the home page of FMCSA’s website makes no mention of the report, a copy of it can be found here.

Highlights of FMCSA’s 2009 Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts

From 2007 to 2009, the number of fatal truck-involved crashes fell 31% to 3,215 from 4,633.

Over that same time frame, the fatal crash rate for large trucks fell 27%.

Since 2000, the fatal crash rate has fallen from 2.2 crashes per 100 million miles to 1 crash per 100 million miles. Due to undisclosed changes the formulas used to calculate miles traveled, the bulk of that decline appears to occur after 2007.

The majority of fatal multivehicle crashes (59%) recorded were the result of a passenger vehicle rear-ending a truck, crossing the median to hit a truck head on or hitting a truck in some other way, as coded in the government’s database. In less than 40% of cases, the crash was the result of the truck striking the car.

In fatal crashes where the database records a “driver-related” factor, 80.5% of the time the factor was assigned to driver of a passenger vehicle compared with just 22% of factors being assigned to the commercial driver.

The most common driver related factors for commercial drivers are speed (7.3%), failure to maintain lane (6.5%) and inattentiveness (5.7%). Being drowsy, asleep or fatigued was the seventh most common factor at 1.4%.

The plurality of fatal crashes – 31.3% – occur between 6 am and noon. Conversely, only 17.2% of crashes occur between midnight and 6 am.

Additionally, United States District Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf of the Eastern District of New York ordered Brooklyn Sleep Products and Chavez to recall all mattresses, mattress sets or mattress pads sold to consumers that failed federal flammability tests.  If the firm fails to comply with the judge’s order, it can face fines of $1,000 per day.

The judgment is a victory for the safety of consumers and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which filed suit against Brooklyn Sleep Products and Chavez after discovering that the firm was selling mattresses that did not comply with the the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA) and the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). The firm committed violations even after it had been preliminarily enjoined from selling violative mattresses.

In 2008, CPSC conducted inspections and collected mattress samples at Brooklyn Sleep Products’ facility in Brooklyn, N.Y., and at retail stores selling the firm’s mattresses in Fall River, Mass., and Providence, R.I.  CPSC collected a non-compliant mattress made by Brooklyn Sleep products at a Newark N.J. store in 2010.  The mattresses failed flammability tests conducted by CPSC for open flames.

Chavez admitted to CPSC inspectors that neither he nor Brooklyn Sleep Products tested their mattresses and mattress sets as required by law.

Chavez failed to respond to numerous court filings against him.

In September 2008, January 2009 and again in March 2010, CPSC requested that Brooklyn Sleep Products stop selling and distributing mattresses that failed comply with federal laws.  But the firm continued to manufacture, renovate, sell, offer for sale and introduce into commerce mattresses in violation of the federal mattress flammability requirements putting consumers at risk.

Mattresses and mattress sets sold in the United States are required to comply with federal mattress flammability requirements including for open flame and for cigarette ignition. CPSC estimates there was an annual average of more than 300 deaths associated with mattress fires from 2006 through 2008.  The intent of the mandatory standards is to slow the spread of a mattress fire to give consumers more escape time.

The U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of New York and the Office of Consumer Protection Litigation in the Justice Department prosecuted the case on behalf of CPSC.

CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products—such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals—contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

Under federal law, it is illegal to attempt to sell or resell any recalled product.

There is a possibility that the outer ring of the crankshaft pulley may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise and/or illumination of the discharge warning light.  If this condition is not corrected, the belt for the power steering pump may become detached from the pulley and the driver may notice a sudden increase in steering effort.  There are no reports of accidents or injuries related to this condition.

The vehicles involved are certain:

• 2004 Avalon
• 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna, and Solara
• 2006 Highlander HV
• 2004 and 2005 ES330 and RX330
• And  2006 RX400h

No other Toyota or Lexus vehicles or these Toyota models with 4 cylinder engines are involved.

Toyota is currently working on obtaining the necessary replacement parts.  Once the replacement parts have been produced in sufficient quantities, Toyota will send an owner notification by first class mail advising owners to make an appointment with an authorized Toyota or Lexus dealer to have the crankshaft pulley inspected and if necessary, replaced at no charge.  The owner notifications will be mailed by first class mail beginning in January, 2012.

In the meantime, if an abnormal noise is heard coming from the engine compartment, the owner is asked to make an appointment with any Toyota or Lexus dealer to have the vehicle inspected for this condition.

Name of Product: UA Defender Chin Straps

Units:  About 541,000

Retailer: Under Armour, Inc., of Baltimore, Md.

Importer: JR286, Inc., of Redondo Beach, Calif.

Hazard:  The metal snap that connects the chin strap to the helmet has sharp edges, posing a laceration hazard when the user’s metal snap comes into contact with another player.

Incidents/Injuries: Under Armour has received six reports of injuries that required stitches.

Description: This recall involves all UA Defender Chin Straps. They were sold in the following colors: white and black, red, midnight, navy and royal and have a hard nylon shell, a padded chin area and a plastic strap with “Under Armour” printed on it. The chin straps have metal clasps that tighten the straps and attach them to the helmet.

Sold at: Sporting goods stores and Under Armour outlet stores nationwide and at www.underarmour.com from January 2008through September 2011 for about $20.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy:  Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled chin straps and contact Under Armour for a free replacement chin strap.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Under Armour toll-free at (888) 823-0343 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.underarmour.com.

Analyzing the crashes of new drivers in North Carolina, researchers found that three common mistakes—failure to reduce speed, inattention, and failure to yield – accounted for 57 percent of all crashes in which teens were at least partially responsible during their first month of licensed driving. Additionally, when researchers looked at specific types of crashes in relation to how long the driver had been licensed, they found that some types of crashes occurred at relatively high rates at first and declined particularly quickly with experience.  For example, crashes involving left hand turns were common during the first few months of driving but declined almost immediately. The high initial rate and subsequent steep decline in certain types of crashes appeared to reflect teens’ initial inexperience followed by rapid learning.  Crash types that decline more slowly appear to result not from lack of understanding, but from failure to master certain driving skills.

“We know that young drivers’ crash rates decrease quickly as they gain experience. What our new study tells us is that there are a few specific abilities that we could do a better job of helping teens develop before they begin driving independently,” said AAA Foundation President and CEO Peter Kissinger.

A related AAA Foundation study used in-vehicle cameras to monitor teens when they were learning to drive with parents, followed by the first 6 months of licensed driving without their parents in the car.  The research found that while teens had their learner’s permits, routine trips on familiar roads under relatively easy driving conditions accounted for the bulk of the time spent behind the wheel.

The study also illustrated changes in teen behavior when a parent is no longer in the car. While the vast majority of driving caught on camera was uneventful, the study did capture a number of close calls due to simple mistakes likely attributable to inexperience, along with a few instances of texting behind the wheel, horseplay with passengers, running red lights, and other potentially distracting or dangerous behaviors.

“This research serves as a great reminder for parents to stay involved in the learning process even after the law allows teens to drive without a parent in the car,” Kissinger added. “Continued parent engagement can help teens gain needed driving experience and shape their habits for a lifetime of safe driving.”

These studies affirm AAA’s long-standing efforts to help parents prepare their teens for independent driving by practicing under a broad range of progressively more challenging conditions. Among the steps parents can take to improve teens’ safety as they start driving on their own, AAA suggests:

• Practice, practice, practice: Once teens have their actual license, continue to practice together to ensure that basic skills are mastered and to introduce varied driving conditions (snow, heavy traffic, rural roads) with an experienced driver in the passenger seat.
• Keep passengers out: Teen drivers’ crash risks multiply with teenage passengers in the vehicle. Set limits and enforce them consistently.
• Limit night driving: Reduced visibility makes night driving riskier for drivers of all ages. For inexperienced teens, it’s even harder.  Allow new teen drivers to drive at night only if truly necessary or to practice with a parent.
• Keep setting rules: Parents can – and should – set and enforce rules above and beyond their state laws. In addition to night and passenger limits, set rules for inclement weather, highways, cities, or other driving conditions in which a teen has not gained enough experience. Find a parent-teen driving agreement on TeenDriving.AAA.com that can help.

The AAA Foundation commissioned the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center to conduct both studies. Findings pertaining to the crash rates of newly-licensed drivers are based on analysis of crashes of young drivers licensed inNorth Carolina between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2008.