Graco recalls 25,000 car seats over flaw in harness webbing.

AP (5/24) reports Graco Children’s Products has issued a recall for “more than 25,000 car seats because the harness webbing can break in a crash and may not keep children restrained.” According to the AP, “the recall affects certain My Ride 65 convertible seats” made on July 22, 2014, “with model numbers 1871689, 1908152, 1813074, 1872691, 1853478, 1877535, 1813015, and 1794334.”

        CNN (5/24, Jimison, 29.79M) reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the issue on Wednesday, saying the webbing in the My Ride 65 car seats failed to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards during NHTSA tests.

        Also reporting are Cars (5/24, Masterson, 716K), the Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution (5/24, Pirani, 1.41M), NJ News (5/24, Goldman, 952K), Consumerist (5/24, Kieler, 56K), TODAY (5/24, Holohan, 1.85M), the Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette (5/24, Faust, 493K), and Fortune (5/24, 7.12M). 

MAY IS BICYCLE SAFETY MONTH

As we end May-the Bicycle Safety Month- and enter the Memorial Day Weekend and the “unofficial” start of Summer please remember bicycle safety, for tips on prepping your bike for summer, correctly fitting a helmet, and rules of the road, please visit:   http://www.nhtsa.gov/Bicycle

Americans are increasingly bicycling to commute, for exercise, or just for fun. By law, bicycles on the roadway are vehicles with the same rights and responsibilities as motorized vehicles. Whether riding our bikes or driving in our cars, we must all share the road, and keep in mind the Pennsylvania Bicycle Safety Act, some key points are:

• Bicycles must be operated in the right hand lane, or as close as practicable to the right hand curb or edge of the roadway.

• This does not apply to a bicycle using any portion of the road due to unsafe surface conditions.

• Motorists must overtake a bicycle with no less than four feet between the vehicle and the bicycle and must do so at a prudent speed.

• No turn by a motorist may interfere with a bicycle proceeding straight.

• Bicycles must be operated at a safe and reasonable speed.

Pennsylvania drivers and bicyclists should be aware of and adhere to these safety rules in order to safely share the roads. They are designed to make bicycle travel safer and reduce the risk of traffic collisions.

Riding a bicycle is more than a fun and healthy family activity. Besides being a great way to exercise many people also use bicycles to commute to work, go to the grocery store, or to visit friends.  Drivers, please always remember, that bicyclist you are sharing the road with, or sometimes cut off, or cut it too close, is someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, son or daughter. 

Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.25 million dodge Ram pickups over software glitch.

NBC News (5/15, 2.67M) reports in continuing coverage that Fiat Chrysler is recalling over 1.25 million Ram pickup trucks “due to a software glitch that can cause some of the vehicles’ airbags and seatbelts to fail during rollover crashes.” According to the company, the issue has been linked to at least one death and two injuries. 

Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.25 million Ram pickup trucks.

ABC World News Tonight (5/12, story 13, 0:20, Muir, 14.63M) broadcast on “a massive auto recall” by Fiat Chrysler involving “more than a million Ram pickup trucks to fix faulty software that could disable airbags and seat belt tension devices.” So far, one death has been reported in relation to the defect, which affects “Ram models from 2013 to 2016.”

        The AP (5/12) reports the “software glitch” can “prevent side air bags and seatbelts from deploying during a rollover.” According to the story, when the Ram pickups “experience significant underbody impact, a computer module may incorrectly determine that one of its sensors has failed, temporarily disabling the side air bag and seat belt pretensioner.” In addition to the one death reported, FCA believes there have been two injuries in connection to the defect, as well as two accidents.