Archive for December 17th, 2008

Dec 17 2008

Collins,Grand Bantam,2005

Published by Lemon Law under General Articles

Build Dates : January 02,2005 - March 01,2005
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number : 05V343000 
Date Owner’s Notified: 20051012  Date Received by ODI: 20050801  Date Added to Databse: 20050801 
Manufacturer’s Involved: COLLINS BUS CORPORATION 
Manufacturer’s Responsible for the Recall: COLLINS BUS CORPORATION 
Manufacturer Campaign Number: 
Component: OTHER:SCHOOL BUS STOP ARM ASSEMBLY 
Potential Number Of Units Affected : 1345 

Summary:
Certain 2002-2005 my Collins bantam, Super Bantam, and Grand Bantam school busses equiped with specialty MFG “5″ series stop arms originally sold in or currently registered in the following states:Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Districy of Columbia. In extremely cold weather, the microswitches used internally to position the sign in the open and closed positions may malfunction, causing the sign to open or close in an improper position, or to not open at all.
 
Consequence:
Should the stop arm not perform properly, a child or pedestrian may be endangered by passing vehicles should the motorist not stop at the correct location.
     
Remedy:
Collins Bus will notify its customers and the original switch will be replaced free of charge with a switch pack that is not sensitive to extreme cold weather and will inspect to ensure the microswitch heater wiring is properly connected free of charge. The recall began October 12,2005.
Customers may contact Collins bus customer service at 1-800-533-1850 or Specialty manufacturing at 1-800-951-7867.
    

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Dec 17 2008

31 Ways to Determine if You Have a Car Defect Case

Published by Lemon Law under General Articles

Weeks or months may pass before you begin wondering why or how a car accident happened. Very few victims know right away that an automotive defect played a role in their accident, since they assume the collision caused their injuries.

If you suspect you have a car defect case, you should first decide whether your injuries are more serious than you might expect in a similar accident.

Although an attorney experienced in engineering is invaluable in determining whether an automotive defect played a role in your accident, there are some typical signs that a problem in your car may be to blame.

Here are some of those signs:

1. If you were involved in a head-on accident or an accident that caused serious damage to the front of your car, and the air bag in your steering wheel or dash failed to deploy.

2. If you were involved in an accident that caused serious damage to the side of your car, and your side air bag failed to deploy.

3. If you were involved in a rollover accident, and your side curtain air bag did not deploy.

4. If you were involved in a minor accident in which your air bag deployed and you suffered a serious injury.

5. If your air bag deployed and your injuries seem much more severe than you would have expected in that accident.

6. If your air bags deployed when you were rear-ended and you suffered a serious injury.

7. If you were involved in an accident because your air bags deployed before the crash.

8. If the air bags deployed when you hit a pothole or the bottom of your car hit something on the road, and it caused you to have an accident.

9. If the air bags went off for no reason and you suffered a serious injury.

10. If you suffered blindness or eye injury from your air bag when it deployed.

11. If your air bag ripped or tore during the accident and you suffered a serious injury.

12. If your air bag deployed late in the accident (or even after the accident), and you hit your head, neck or chest on the steering wheel, dash or other part of the interior.

13. If your air bag broke apart the dash panel, sun visor or other part of your interior during the accident and you suffered a serious injury.

14. If your seat belt was buckled before the accident, but it unbuckled during the accident and allowed you to suffer a serious injury.

15. If your seat belt was buckled but you were still ejected or partially ejected from the vehicle during the accident.

16. If your seat belt ripped, tore or broke during the accident and you suffered a serious injury.

17. If your seat belt was buckled, but you still suffered a serious injury from hitting the steering wheel, dash, the seat in front of you, or other parts of your car’s interior.

18. If you suffered a serious internal injury from the seat belt.

19. If your seat collapsed during your accident and you or someone in the seat behind you suffered a serious injury.

20. If your seat loosened while driving, and caused you to have an accident.

21. If you had a blow out of one or more of your tires and it caused you to have an accident.

22. If your tire tread separated and caused you to have an accident.

23. If a part breaks on your car and causes an accident in which you suffer a serious injury.

24. If your vehicle rolled over on a paved surface before it struck another car, a curb, or anything else.

25. If one of your car doors opened during your accident, allowing you to suffer serious injuries.

26. If your vehicle suddenly goes out of control, causing an accident. This out-of-control can be from the vehicle fishtailing or swaying side-to-side, the back of the vehicle sliding out, a large van containing many people losing control, etc.

27. If a fire breaks out during or after your accident and causes burn or smoke injuries.

28. If the safety cage of your passenger compartment fails to protect you during an accident.

29. If the roof of your vehicle collapses during a rollover accident and causes your injuries.

30. If your trailer starts to sway side-to-side during ordinary driving maneuvers, and that swaying causes you to have an accident.

31. If the safety systems in your car fail to perform as safely as a reasonable consumer would expect.

These are just some of the ways you can help spot a car defect. For a more definite answer, contact an attorney who is experienced in car defect cases and has an automotive engineering background.

Keep in mind, passage of time can result in changes to the vehicle that may make it more difficult to spot a defect and the role it may have played in your wreck.

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Dec 17 2008

2 Common Types of Defects That Cause Vehicle Fires

Published by Lemon Law under General Articles

Anyone who survives a car crash should not perish in a fire caused by that accident. But the reality is that post-collision fires do occur, and they’re often the result of two types of defects.

Fuel system and vehicle fire have been reported in all types of vehicles, including Acura, BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, General Motors (GM), GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Mercury, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Pontiac, Porsche, Saturn, Toyota, and Volkswagen (VW).

Defect #1: Post-Collision Fuel Fed Fires (PCFFF).:These fires that break out following an accident are due to the compromise of the vehicle’s gas tank and fuel system.

For example, the gas lines rupture during an accident, allowing gas to spray over a hot ignition source, creating a fire that rapidly consumes the vehicle and its occupants. In other situations, vehicle components move during a crash and puncture the gas tank or fuel lines. This triggers a fuel leak, often leading to a fireball that spreads so quickly that escape from the vehicle is virtually impossible.

Defect #2: The components are not designed to minimize the risk of a fire spreading: Vehicle components should be designed so they reduce the risk of a fire spreading to the passenger compartment. This is accomplished by using an adequate firewall between the engine and passenger compartments, as well as proper material selection and an appropriate test program. Failure to implement such features can lead to tragic consequences .

For example, although a vehicle’s firewall should be properly designed to minimize the risk of a fire spreading, some full-size vans use a plastic engine cover in an attempt to seal the hole in the firewall caused by the engine being positioned partially in the passenger compartment. When the engine cover comes loose in an accident, the firewall is compromised, creating an opening for fire to spread into the passenger compartment.

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