auto safety

President Trump has given the green light to polluting gas guzzlers.

Maryland drivers will soon receive notice of open recalls on their vehicle when it is time to register it with the state under a program announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

By John Fritze

Oct 27, 2017

Safe Kids Carroll County works to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading killer of children 14 and under.

The consequences of tractor-trailer accidents are too great to ignore underride concerns.

When you drive your son or daughter to school, you make sure they fasten their seat belt. Not only is it the smart thing to do but it's also the law. So, when we put our kids on the school bus every morning, why aren't we taking the same precaution?

A push to require set belts on school buses is gaining momentum nationally and in the Maryland legislature -- but the pushback from school systems likely will be over how to fund such a mandate. State Sen. Jim Brochin said he plans to introduce a bill to make seat belts mandatory on school buses statewide to safeguard children, because, "Without seat belts, these kids become projectiles -- literally crash test dummies."

It¿s long been recommended that smaller pets travel in body harnesses or soft carriers that interface with a car¿s shoulder belt, or in a travel carrier or crate, for larger dogs. Those options keep pets in place during normal driving, reducing distractions. And in case of an accident, it was believed they might reduce the likelihood of pet injury. But how did we know these harnesses and carriers would really protect our pets in an accident?

After years of massive recalls across the auto industry, car dealerships and drivers are in new territory with the announcement that Fiat Chrysler must buy back some defective Ram pickups and Dodge and Chrysler SUVs.

If car dealers were truly free to let consumers know about the safety and repair problems they see, they could serve as a critical early warning system for consumers and regulators, letting car buyers and safety officials know about dangerous defects and pushing their customers to fix those problems — before they cause dozens of deaths on the road.

Redesigned for 2015, this second-generation Genesis looks, feels and drives like a luxury car should: distinctive, roomy, comfortable, quiet, powerful and loaded with safety and infotainment features. Yet it¿s priced thousands less than similarly equipped competitors.