Pedestrians Are at a Higher Risk of Being Hit by a Car During the Pandemic
People were driving much less last year because of the pandemic, but the cars that were on the road were more likely to hit and kill a pedestrian. Pedestrian deaths per mile driven soared.
Emptier roads meant more speeding, and the popularity of SUVs and pickup trucks make collisions with pedestrians more likely to be fatal. Essential workers who had to keep commuting are transit riders, pedestrians or bicycle riders and are more vulnerable to getting hit.
A new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association found about a third of pedestrians were intoxicated when they were struck, and deaths are more common at night and in warm states.
Read the article at NPR.
IARA Virtual Conference Accentuates Positives for 2021
By Ed Pierce, Contributing Editor
The 2021 IARA Virtual Conference was conducted last week the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance and featured important presentations for remarketers and fleet professionals interested in remarketing trends for 2021 and beyond.
The conference kicked off with opening comments by Laura Taylor, Charleston Auto Auction Accelerate and former National Auto Auction Association (NAAA) president. She began by noting that, although everyone knows how chaotic 2020 went, the current situation is really good for remarketers. “Conversion rates are high. The inventory may be a little short, but we're selling everything that's coming through the door.”
NAAA president-elect Charles Nichols of BSC America, followed Laura and stressed “how nice it is to be able to run cars again.” And noted “everybody has been so resilient through all of this. I've not seen a group be more cohesive. It’s a real statement to the industry, our organization, and our people.”
Heading the Wrong Way with ‘Wrong-Way’ Driving
Fatal wrong-way driving crashes on our nation’s highways are a persistent and devastating threat that is only getting worse.
According to the latest data analysis from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, there were 2,008 deaths from wrong-way driving crashes on divided highways between 2015 and 2018, an average of approximately 500 deaths a year.
Researchers examined eight factors related to these types of crashes, and three stood out – alcohol-impairment, older age, and driving without a passenger.
Read the article at AAA Newsroom.
California Senators Push Biden to Set End Date for Gasoline-Car Sales
California's two US senators, Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla, both Democrats, have sent a letter to President Biden urging him to set a date for when gasoline-powered vehicles will no longer be sold in the US.
Biden hasn't said that he will commit to any timeline for a sales ban of gas-powered vehicles, but his campaign site during the Democratic primary did say he aimed to develop "rigorous new fuel-economy standards aimed at ensuring 100 percent of new sales for light- and medium-duty vehicles will be electrified."
The senators' letter also requested that Biden restore California's leadership on emissions standards; that leadership was eroded during the Trump presidency, particularly when the EPA revoked California's waiver to set stricter emissions standards. The senators requested that the emissions standards which California and several automakers—including Ford, Honda, Volkswagen, Volvo, and BMW—agreed to last summer be made the federal standard.
Read the article at Autoweek.
Connected-Car Hacking Is a Perennial Worry and a Constant Fight
More and more cars are becoming connected, but fears about hackers getting into your vehicle have been around for a decade, at least.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's nonbinding Best Practices guidance, currently being updated, says automakers should use a "layered approach to vehicle cybersecurity," one that understands that some vehicle systems might get hacked but that will keep the hack from causing too much damage.
The United Nations has regulations concerning vehicle cybersecurity that will go into effect in Japan and South Korea in 2022 and in Europe in July 2024.
Read the article at Car and Driver.
