Category Archives: safety

First Look – 2020 Nissan Rogue Sport Freshening

Posted on 9 February 2019 by Ken Zino

Set for sale in fall 2019, Rogue Sport follows the rather more significant upgrades for the 2019 model year. Continue reading →

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Coursera Launches Online Self-Driving Cars Specialization

Posted on 30 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Experts – with scant, sometimes questionable data – predict that the demand for skilled workers within the autonomous vehicle industry will continue to climb, creating more than 100,000 U.S. mobility industry jobs in the next decade. Continue reading →

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Significant Automotive Stories and Trends of 2018 and 2019

Posted on 21 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Journalists staring at a blank screen, the opaque prelude to upcoming 2019 deadlines and headlines, do not have the option to Tweet and Run from the responsibilities of their job. So here comes AutoInformed on significant automotive related stories of 2018-2019 and predicted future implications, with our wry awareness, as always, that AutoInformed columnists conduct their education in public. Continue reading →

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In the Weeds – Driving Under the Influence of Cannabis

Posted on 19 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Marijuana’s role in crashes isn’t as clear as the link between alcohol and crashes. Many states don’t include consistent information on driver drug use in crash reports, and policies and procedures for drug testing are inconsistent. Continue reading →

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Autonomous Vehicle System Oops! New 2019 Lincoln Nautilus Recall for Hands On/Off Detection Warnings

Posted on 16 January 2019 by Ken Zino

If this safety defect occurs, the hands on/off detection system may not alert the driver to place his or her hands back on the steering wheel, which could increase the risk of a crash. Such systems are building blocks for autonomous vehicles. Continue reading →

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California, Federal Fines and extended Warranties and Fixes Cost Fiat Chrysler at Least $800m for Diesel Cheating

Posted on 11 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Companies and their board of directors may not believe in global warming, but regulators backed by ruinous fines along with alarmed shareholders and customers are making them act as if they do. Continue reading →

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Ford Again Expands Takata Air Bag Recall to 1,000,000 Vehicles

Posted on 5 January 2019 by Ken Zino

This safety recall represents the addition of previously recalled vehicles to include more model years within the geographic zones defined earlier by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Continue reading →

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Autonomous Vehicles – OmniVision is Watching with High-Speed Global Shutter Image Sensors

Posted on 2 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Semi-autonomous vehicles use DSM to track the driver’s eye gaze and allow the vehicle to take control when the driver becomes drowsy or distracted. DSM is currently available in high-end cars, but over the next few years, the tracking will likely migrate into mainstream vehicles, a market segment that is much more cost-sensitive. Continue reading →

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Will Updated Ontario Distracted Driving Laws Induce Drivers to Finally Put Down Their Connected Mobile Devices?

Posted on 1 January 2019 by Ken Zino

Distracted driving continues to be a challenge everywhere but on Ontario’s roads, nearly a decade after the initial legislation banning handheld devices was passed it’s still a problem. In Ontario one person is injured in a distracted driving collision every half an hour. Continue reading →

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Predictably – So-Called Tokyo “Court” Secretly Prolongs Detention of Carlos Ghosn By 10 Days According to TV Asahi

Posted on 30 December 2018 by Ken Zino

Ghosn, accused of aggravated breach of trust, is facing allegations of making the car maker take on ¥1.85 billion ($16.8 million) in investment losses that allegedly were his. (See AutoInformed from last Sunday: Japanese Justice or Farce?) Continue reading →

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US Insurance Industry Group to Test Emergency Braking. Does the Driver Assist Technology Really Protect Pedestrians?

Posted on 30 December 2018 by Ken Zino

The pedestrian autobrake test is the fourth crash avoidance evaluation in the Institute’s group of safety tests, along with ratings of front crash prevention, rear crash prevention and headlights. Lurking in the background is the promise and threat of autonomous vehicles. Continue reading →

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Happy New Year or is that Old Year? Impaired-Driving Still Remains Primary Cause of Deaths

Posted on 29 December 2018 by Ken Zino

The first four states with legalized recreational marijuana use saw as much as a 6% increase in vehicle crashes compared with neighboring states without such laws, according to research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Highway Loss Data Institute. Continue reading →

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Japanese Justice or Farce?

Posted on 23 December 2018 by Ken Zino

Carlos Ghosn remains in a tiny jail cell in jail for at least the rest of the year, a Tokyo court ruled today, Sunday 23 December 2018. Ghosn stays locked up until January 1, giving the Japanese “authorities” added time to question him – without his lawyer present – on more alleged wrongdoings as Nissan Motors CEO. Continue reading →

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The GM Grinch that Stole Christmas, or Did It?

Posted on 22 December 2018 by Ken Zino

There will be a 15% reduction in GM’s salaried workforce, the closing of the Lordstown and Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plants in the US and the Oshawa complex in Canada in 2019. Baltimore Operations and Warren Transmission plants will also be shut down in 2019. The arrival of year-end auto sales data makes things clearer in the view of consultancy LMC. Continue reading →

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Japanese Scrooges Run Amok as Carlos Ghosn Re-Arrested. Christmas Locked Up for the Gaijin!

Posted on 21 December 2018 by Ken Zino

Prosecutors then re-arrested Ghosn on new charges in a sordid tale that goes back to Ghosn’s first arrest on 19 November 2018. Ghosn could now be in a tiny jail cell for another 10 days or more, where he has been locked up since last month on initial allegations of financial misconduct. Continue reading →

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