Due to a potential fire hazard, Forest River Incorporated has announced a voluntary recall for 447 Surveyor Travel Trailers, at the request of the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Certain model floor plans of Surveyor Travel Trailers produced and distributed between August 2011 and April 2012 may been manufactured with a design defect affecting the vehicle’s fuel system and gasoline delivery hoses lines, piping, and fittings. Consumers may obtain more information on this recall by contacting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Vehicle Safety Hotline and referencing NHSTA campaign identification number 12V212000.The Surveyor Travel Trailers affected by this recall were manufactured for sale during model years 2012 and 2013. In these floor plans, the liquid propane gas line is routed along the bottom of the trailer’s frame rail in a fashion that may cause the main rail to catch the fuel line between the rail and the trailer’s axle “U” bolt if the trailer hits a bumpy surfaced road, possibly causing a fire hazard caused by a fuel line rupture. Forest River Incorporated has announced a recall notification schedule that will begin in the near future. The company will notify owners of affected Surveyor Travel Trailers of this potential safety hazard, and owners of affected Surveyor Travel Trailers may return them to authorized dealers of Forest River Incorporated travel trailers, where the liquid propane fuel line will be rerouted for free.
Nebraska law issues 355 citations after commercial vehicle inspections Comments Off
Surprise commercial vehicle inspections conducted by Sarpy County Law enforcement officials in Nebraska recently found more than 350 safety guideline violations. Commercial vehicles were suspended from service for a number of safety violations including brake and tire flaws and performance issues that endanger the safety of their drivers and others sharing the road. Five commercial vehicle drivers were also suspended from service for various violations of commercial licensing protocol. Fines totaling almost $5,500 were issued to commercial motorists in the one day targeted enforcement effort. The Metropolitan Aggressive and Prevention Selective Teams inspections are conducted in order to ensure commercial vehicles that don’t typically pass through weigh stations abide by the same regulations governing long distance commercial vehicles with routes requiring routine inspections, according to a statement issued by a representative from the Nebraska State Patrol. These inspections, 96 in all, were conducted by the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office with the cooperation of the Nebraska State Patrol, targeting commercial vehicles that may regularly escape the attention of state inspectors because they typically remain inside city limits and do not often travel through weigh stations on highways. The Sarpy County inspections marked the third such focused enforcement effort conducted by the Metropolitan Aggressive and Prevention Selective Teams in Nebraska this year. Over the course of one day’s inspections, representatives of the Metropolitan Aggressive and Prevention Selective Teams performed 96 inspections and discovered 355 violations, requiring 39 vehicles to be taken off the road.
Alabama texting ban inspires series of teen driving classes Comments Off
A series of single day instructional courses warning teen drivers of the dangers of distracted driving is scheduled to take place in June and July of 2012 in Madison County, Alabama. The instructional series will be held at various high schools throughout the county in a cooperative effort between the Madison County Sheriff’s office and the local school district. The classes will be a combination of lectures and behind the wheel hands on instruction demonstrations. The lecture portion will address subjects including proper procedures at traffic stops, laws governing seatbelts and driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, while the driving portion will evaluate student driving ability under normal circumstances as compared to their ability to safely operate a vehicle while sending or reading text messages, selecting songs on an mp3 player, and attempting to retrieve items from the backseat. Earlier this year, the Alabama state legislature passed a bill prohibiting motorists from engaging in text based messaging while behind the wheel. The bill was then signed into law by the state’s governor, and it takes effect beginning August 1, 2012. In 2010, more than 3,000 Americans were killed in traffic collisions involving a distracted driver, according to accident data compiled by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In order to sign up for the class, students must have an Alabama state issued driver’s license or learner’s permit.
Unannounced inspections result in closing of 26 busing operations Comments Off
Busing companies transporting passengers along the I-95 interstate between Florida and New York were targeted for safety inspections that resulted in the closing of 26 operations, in what federal officials are calling the largest single enforcement effort of its kind. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the United States Department of Transportation announced the results of this safety enforcement campaign recently, proclaiming the 26 busing companies shut down by the operation to be significant dangers to public safety. The companies closed down in this safety crackdown were headquartered in several states: Indiana, Georgia, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The majority of the bus routes traveled by these buses, more than 230 in total, either departed from or arrived at Chinatown in New York City. Three busing companies, Apex Bus Incorporated, New Century Travel Incorporated, and I-95 Coach Incorporated, all of which oversee a larger network of busing subsidiaries, were targets of a year long investigation leading up to this crackdown. All the bus companies shutdown in this operation were affiliated with one of these three companies though they operate under different names. These 233 bus companies were shutdown after official inspections revealed a number of safety violations such as employing improperly licensed drivers and failing to comply with mandated maintenance or inspection schedules. Thirteen of the companies targeted for shutdown had previously been stripped of their operating licenses but continued to remain in business anyway, and three additional companies were operating while their government authorization applications were still in the approval process.
Volvo to begin active safety testing at state of the art facility Comments Off
Volvo Car Corporation has announced its plans to test automobiles at a soon to be constructed active car safety testing facility to be operated by the AstaZero division of the Active Safety Test Area company. The testing facility will be constructed beside the current Volvo testing facility in the western Swedish region of Hällered, but Volvo will be only one of the automakers making use of the AstaZero facility’s testing grounds. A statement released by representatives from the Volvo Car Corporation indicated that the automaker would use the facilities planned high tech testing equipment in the development of innovative safety features for the vehicles released in the future as part of Volvo’s effort to eliminate all serious casualties caused by its new vehicles by the year 2020. The term active safety describes technologically innovative safety features designed to aid the driver in preventing collisions, or in the case of an unavoidable accident, reducing the damage caused by the collision, City Safety, Pedestrian Detection with fully automatic braking, Driver Alert Control, Sign Information and Cross Traffic Alert Road are safety features Volvo has already developed and installed on new model cars. Vehicles and their drivers will be tested across a wide range of traffic conditions at the new active testing facility, including congested city roadways, busy intersections, and rural highways. In every environment, vehicles and drivers will be tested on their ability to safely share the road with other cars as well as bicycles, pedestrians, motorcycles, commercial trucks and buses, etc.
Big Rig and BMW Collide At Intersection of Highways 25 and 156 Comments Off
A big rig crash along the highway sent two people to the hospital with injuries.
The incident took place Sunday at around 9:20 in the morning where Highway 25 and Highway 156 meet. A BMW was traveling north along Highway 25 when it reached the aforementioned intersection. At the same time, a Freightliner tractor trailer was traveling down the eastbound side of Highway 156. The BMW reportedly entered the intersection and the semi truck crashed into the left side of the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.
As a result of the crash, the smaller BMW was thrust eastward, not coming to a stop until it was in the middle of the westbound side of the 156. The car reportedly blocked traffic going west.
Although the driver of the big rig did not sustain any injuries as a result of the collision, the occupants of the BMW were not unscathed. The passenger, a young boy, suffered minor injuries and was taken to Stanford hospital to receive treatment for the damage. The injuries that the driver of that vehicle incurred, though, were reportedly major. Calstar had to take the man to San Jose to receive treatment at a Regional Medical Center.
The CHP is in the process of investigating the incident.
Officials Rescue Driver Following Crash Along 101 in Paso Robles Comments Off
A two-vehicle crash in Paso Robles sent one person to the hospital.
It all took place at around 10:20 in the morning on Tuesday. A Nissan Frontier was attempting to merge onto Highway 101 from Spring Street in Paso Robles. The driver of this pickup truck reportedly was in the process of changing lanes in order to navigate onto the southbound side of the freeway. At the same time, a Chevy Trailblazer was traveling in the same direction, and according to the California Highway Patrol, the merging vehicle failed to spot the Trailblazer.
The two vehicles collided, with the front of each automobile colliding with the other. The force of the crash caused the Nissan to spin around and careen into an asphalt curb along the road. The vehicle continued onward, traveling along a dirt embankment and directly into a sign. The automobile overturned and finally came to a stop along its passenger side.
Rescuers arrived on the scene and set about extricating the driver from the overturned vehicle with a combination of hydraulic power tools and roof removal devices. The whole rescue took less than ten minutes. The woman sustained minor injuries and thus was transported to nearby Twin Cities Community Hospital to receive treatment.
San Luis Ambulance Service and Cal Fire assisted in helping the injured driver.
Alleged Truck Thief Dies in Single-Vehicle Wreck in Delano Comments Off
The driver of a truck that was allegedly stolen sustained fatal injuries as a result of a single-vehicle collision.
The alleged stealing of the truck took place at some point before 5:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday in Delano. Two gardeners had reportedly parked their Ford Ranger, which had a trailer loaded up with equipment, near a local church at the intersection of Dover Place and 3rd Avenue. When they went to the truck to grab some tools, they found that it was gone.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the vehicle was taken by a teenager. The vehicle was reportedly traveling along the northbound side of Highway 99. When it reached the Cecil Avenue overpass, the vehicle apparently struck a number of structures as the driver lost control for unknown reasons. The truck hit a concrete barrier and then careened toward the right, crashing directly into a guard rail, then a call box, then a wooden post, and finally a concrete pillar that brought the vehicle to a halt.
The driver of the stolen vehicle sustained injuries and was originally transported to Delano Regional Medical Center. An air ambulance then took the individual to Kern Medical Center, and it was at that location that the driver succumbed to his injuries and died.
Tow Truck Strikes Vehicles and Kills Pedestrian in Clearlake Comments Off
A three vehicle crash in Clearlake ended with a bystander in the area sustaining fatal injuries.
The incident took place at around 2:30 in the afternoon on Tuesday. An International tow truck was traveling north along Highway 53 at around 45 or 55 miles per hour, according to the California Highway Patrol. When the vehicle reached the intersection of Polk Avenue, it came upon a Lexus sedan waiting to turn left onto that cross street. The flatbed tow truck reportedly began to apply the brakes in order to stop, but the attempt to do so apparently came too late.
The driver swerved the tow truck to the right, but its left side collided with the back right of the Lexus. The vehicle continued onward, drifting over onto the shoulder of the road. In its path, unfortunately, was a parked Ford Ranger and an individual doing some sort of landscaping in the area. The tow truck crashed into the pedestrian, and the vehicle’s back portion came into contact with the out of control Ranger.
An air ambulance arrived to take the pedestrian to nearby Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, but according to the Clearlake Police, he died while en route. The tow truck’s driver was uninjured, but the driver of the Lexus, which sustained minor damage, had to be taken to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake to receive treatment for injuries that were described as minor.
Truck Barrels Through Nine Pedestrians Near Hemet High School Comments Off
Hemet was the site of a pedestrian accident that sent nine people, including eight teenagers, to the hospital with injuries that varied in severity.
The incident took place just outside of Hemet High School after classes had dismissed for the day. It was the last day for seniors to participate in classes, and other students only had two days left to go. According to witnesses, a Ford Ranger that had reportedly been modified to be used for off-roading purposes looked to be turning into the school’s parking lot, as it was in a right turn only lane. Instead of turning, though, the vehicle allegedly blasted through a red light and continued forward into the intersection.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the vehicle careened into a crosswalk being used by around 30 people. The Ranger crashed directly into these pedestrians. A total of nine individuals were struck in some manner, all but one of them students at the school. Three of those students sustained critical injuries, with the other six incurring minor damage to their person. Everyone who was hit had to be transported to area hospitals.
The CHP has stated that the driver of the vehicle got out to assist those persons who were struck. Authorities will be conducting an investigation into the incident. Cameras positioned around the school apparently captured video of the accident, and the school’s principal said that police officials were reviewing this footage.