Reported on the newswire today is that federal regulators are pushing for a probe into unintended acceleration issues with some Grand Cherokees. Naturally DC counters with the idea this is driver error.
Now, if we look at the actual demographic of those who buy new Grand Cherokees we’ll see they’re usually older and affluent. I don’t know about you, but I see far too many of the “older & affluent” set doing completely stupid things while driving their Mercedes, Cadillacs and other high-dollar, big vehicles. Not much of a stretch to think that Pops hit the gas too hard when nudging up and over that little hump leaving the car wash…
Worse, if this happened to you and someone died, what would YOU say happened? A vehicle fault, or your own fault?
Connecticut urged federal regulators to probe possible acceleration flaws in late-model Chrysler Jeep Grand Cherokees after a 52-year-old man was run over and killed by one in a car wash.
Connecticut authorities said they had received several reports of Grand Cherokees suddenly accelerating out of car washes while changing gears to drive from neutral.
Chrysler, a unit of DaimlerChrysler, said such incidents are usually caused by driver error, specifically by drivers who believe they are applying the brakes when they are actually pressing the accelerator.
More here…
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and State Rep. Patricia Widlitz, D-Guilford, today called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to investigate sudden acceleration problems with late-model Jeep Grand Cherokees.
Blumenthal and Widlitz called for the investigation after several reports of Jeep Grand Cherokees suddenly accelerating, reaching several thousand revolutions per minute (RPMs), out of car washes while transitioning from neutral to drive.
In one incident in Connecticut, a 52-year-old man was killed at a car wash when a Jeep Grand Cherokee accelerated suddenly and ran him over.
Blumenthal and Widlitz said that NHTSA should require Daimler-Chrysler to provide all information concerning sudden or unexpected accelerations, and request information from car wash owners, auto repairers and insurance companies.
“The rate and severity of these sudden acceleration incidents suggest a severe structural flaw - certainly more than simple coincidence,” Blumenthal said. “These incidents - in one case killing a Connecticut man - call for aggressive and vigorous action to prevent another needless, preventable tragedy. No safety official can be neutral: a full-gear federal investigation is vital.”
Widlitz said, “It is imperative that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration immediately launch an investigation into the Jeep Grand Cherokee sudden acceleration incidents. How many deaths and injuries must the public endure before this issue gets serious attention?”
Doug Newman, who owns a chain of Connecticut car washes, has witnessed incidents of sudden accelerations by Jeep Grand Cherokees and joined Blumenthal and Widlitz in their call for an NHTSA investigation.
Newman, owner of Connecticut Car Care in Milford, said, “I have been operating multiple car wash locations for almost 20 years. Over that period of time and the few million or so cars washed, I have had only four sudden acceleration incidents and all four of these incidents involved Jeep Grand Cherokees. It is a statistical impossibility. I know many other car wash operators who can make the exact same claim.”
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