Posts Tagged ‘congress’

We wrote in May that California lawmakers were considering a bill that would end a liability loophole for adults responsible for teen drinking. Currently, California is one of only three states that don’t hold “social hosts” accountable when a teenager is killed by illegal alcohol consumption. But last Thursday, the California state Senate unanimously passed a bill that would hold eliminate the liability loophole if Governor Schwarzenegger signs it in to law.

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Reacting to the growing public denunciation of distracted driving and consumer distrust of the auto industry following Toyota’s massive worldwide safety recall, an auto safety overhaul is moving rapidly through Congress. Last week, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to pass a bill that, after debate and compromise, has earned the support of consumers and automakers.

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Congress has made clear that it intends to launch a safety overhaul for the country’s fledgling auto industry. And despite years of heightened safety complaints and automobile recalls, Detroit, along with leading international automakers, appeared set to resist such restrictions, which they say will drastically increase the consumer cost of new cars.

At a Congressional hearing today, lawmakers had some harsh words for Toyota, which has recalled nearly 9 million vehicles worldwide, including 6 million here in the United States. “Toyota has repeatedly told the public it has conducted extensive testing for electronic defects,” said California Rep. Henry Waxman, chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee. “We can find no basis for these assertions.”

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Until recently, Toyota has done everything it can to minimize the impact of its embarrassing string of safety violations and product recalls by admitting fault and forking over government fines without protest. Last week, the Detroit News reported that Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) have teamed up to demand more accountability from Detroit’s massive but flegling car industry. Now, the car industry is poised to remove the tail from between its legs and is starting to fight back.

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Toyota recalls aside, the debate on distracted driving has been the month’s most compelling consumer issue. Over the past few years, eight states have banned the use of cell phone handsets while driving, and the dangers of such actions have been well documented in the main stream media. This Tuesday’s Pulitzer Prize announcements, for example, honored two New York Times articles exposing the serious risks of texting, typing, and talking in the car. On his blog, Secretary of Transportation Ray Lahood applauded these articles in addition to television shows like Modern Family, The Office, and Glee, which have all promoted themes against distracted driving, the number one killer of teenagers.

Though this publicity helps Lahood’s goal to eradicate distracted driving, nationwide legislation against the practice continues to stall in congress.

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