In some vehicles from model years 2010 and 2011, the wheel studs may fracture and make the car shake. If ignored, the wheels may fall off a moving car, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a posting on its website.

Ford, the No. 2 US automaker, said the issue may stem from wheel mounting pads or rear brake discs that have been incorrectly built and cannot support the wheel.

The sedans were built at Ford’s Hermosillo stamping and assembly plant in Mexico in April 2009 and from December 2009 through Nov. 13, 2010.

Fusion sales were up about 15% for the first 11 months of 2011. The car competes against Honda Motor Co’s Accord and Toyota Motor Co’s Camry.

The recall also affects vehicles with service steel wheels likely sold between mid-April 2010 and mid-November 2010.

As of Sept. 30, Ford has found six cases in which a wheel has fallen off possibly due to these problems. One front wheel was affected and the other five incidents involved a rear wheel.

Cars with alloy wheels are not affected. Ford said that 128 616 cars were affected by the recall.

Ford’s sales have rebounded partly because of the improved quality of its lineup. Still, the company tumbled 10 spots this year on a widely-watched reliability study due to technical glitches in some of its models.

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PG Glass will be doing free chip repairs at the venue, and distribute important road safety and tourism information, road condition reports and gifts.

TRAC’s accident response and roadside assistance teams as well as reaction cars of both the SAPS and the Mpumalanga DCSS will be operating from the venue.

TRAC N4 offers a 24-hour emergency hotline on the N4 toll route between Pretoria and Mozambique. Dial the Helpdesk on 0800 8722 64 / 082 881 444. This is a free accident response and emergency service. TRAC also offers road user support, traffic and route updates through its Helpdesk.

The radio station Jacaranda RMFM will broadcast messages to encourage travelers to take regular safety breaks, especially stopping at ALZU. Bernice Bailey, Marketing Director of the PG Group, says the core message will be stressing the importance of safety breaks and windscreen safety.

“Few people are aware that the windscreen can contribute up to 60% to a vehicle’s structural safety in case of an accident,” she says.
“Negligence in this respect can cost lives. Even a small chip can eventually compromise the vehicle’s structural safety if it is not fixed promptly.”
“A windscreen consists of two pieces of glass stuck together with a piece of virgin vinyl – like a sandwich. Dirt and moisture that enter at the chip can weaken the strength of the windscreen on the long run, lessening the ability of the windscreen to help prevent the caving in of the vehicle’s roof.”

Other benefits of correctly manufactured and well-fitted windscreens include:

• Effective functioning of the airbag system
• Prevention of projectiles penetrating the windscreen
• Keeping passengers in the vehicle in the event of an accident, and
• Prevention of damage to eyes.

Bailey says the initiative is part of PG Glass’s ongoing commitment to promote road safety in South Africa.

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“Our tyre specialists checked 436 tyres on 109 vehicles for condition and pressure,” said Bridgestone Public Relations Manager, Mandy Lovell. “Bridgestone has been conducting these surveys since 2007, and although there has been a slight improvement over the years, we are concerned at the results of this latest survey,” she added.

In the Verulam survey, 20% of tyres fitted on each rear wheel position, on both the left and right of the vehicle, were found to be incorrectly inflated with 16% of these tyres being in the “extremely dangerous” bracket. Tyre pressures between 1.8 bars and 2.9 bars are classed as acceptable for the purposes of the survey, with pressures between 1.5 and 1.7 bars regarded as dangerous, and pressures below 1.5 bars (or over 2.9 bars) considered extremely dangerous.

The survey also revealed that 14 percent of tyres in the front left wheel position and 15% in the front right wheel position were not correctly inflated. Overall, 55 tyres fell into the ‘extremely dangerous’ bracket, with 28 being above 2.9 bars, and 27 below 1.5 bars.

Lovell explained that severe over-inflation leads to reduced traction, and makes tyres less resistant to punctures from road debris such as stones. She added that tyres that are under-inflated are even more dangerous, because they develop excessive heat which weakens the tyre and may cause it to fail suddenly. Under-inflation of tyres, especially on overloaded vehicles, is a leading cause of tyre blowouts.

“Dangerously under-inflated tyres reduce tyre life and increase crash risk,” Lovell said. “We appeal to motorists: if you haven’t checked your tyre pressures for longer than two weeks, please do it today. Tomorrow may be too late.”

** Tyre pressure : 1 bar = 100kPa

We would like to urge all vehicle owners to pay close attention to tyre safety and view the following sections:

• Road Safety and Tyre Safety
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According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the German automakers saaid the recall would involve 2009-12 VW Jetta, Jetta SportWagen and Golf. The engine affected is the German automaker’s 2.0 TDI which is also used in Audi’s A3.

The recall includes 161 144 VWs and 7131 Audis. No fires, crashes or injuries have been reported.

FAULTY MATERIAL

VW said 20% of vehicles recalled had fuel-injection lines with potentially faulty material. The automaker said one supplier used a faulty part in assembling fuel-injectors and the failures only related to one of four injector lines.

The company began investigating the issue in March 2010 after a warranty return due to a single fuel leaks report. The German automaker did not discover the cause of the leak but plans to notify dealers and owners in November.

In February 2011, the NHTSA investigated the 2009-10 diesel VW Jetta, Golf and Audi A3 models after it received 160 complaints and field reports alleging incidents of engine stall and/or loss of power. The problems appear to be related to high-pressure fuel-pump failures.

WV has said it believes the problem is caused by contaminated diesel fuel consumers using the wrong fuel.

Wheels24 contacted Volkswagen SA and they commented that at less than 200 local vehicles will be affected by the recall.

“VWSA has evaluated the impact on cars sold in South Africa and less than 200 vehicles could be affected. As a precautionary measure, the affected customers will be contacted directly to bring in their cars for a check at their nearest dealership,” said VWSA.

[Story from Wheels24]

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US safety regulators have opened an investigation into an estimated 120 000 BMW 7-Series sedans for a potential issue with the car not shifting into park and then rolling away.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it has opened a preliminary probe of the BMW cars from model years 2002 through 2008 after receiving a complaint that a 2006 model rolled away after the consumer parked and exited the vehicle.

Reports involving similarly equipped cars also describing roll-away incidents were submitted by BMW, according to the NHTSA website.

A BMW spokesperson said they are co-operating with the NHTSA and are not aware of any reports of accidents or injuries related to the issue.

A preliminary investigation is the first step in a process that could lead to a recall if regulators determine that a safety issue needs to be addressed by a manufacturer.

According to the complaint filed with NHTSA, the car was equipped with BMW’s electronic access and ignition system, and an electronic transmission shifter with a gear selector mounted on the steering column.

The shifter is designed to automatically shift the vehicle to park under a variety of conditions, including when the driver turns off the engine, according to the NHTSA website.

The NHTSA said no cause has been identified for any of the incidents.

- Reuters

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What are the “height limits of delivery vehicles”? We shared the above photo with experts on road traffic legislation and received the following confirmation:

“A bakkie and his load may be up to 4.3 m high but obviously it will not necessarily be able to get in everywhere. The height restriction applies to vehicles used on public roads. As this looks like a private entrance I do not think it applies.”

Car Insurance does not only protect from accidents, fire and theft but sometimes also needs to protect from everyday stupidity. These unfortunate incidents may unfortunately spoil an otherwise claims free record…

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The automaker said the sensors – which are designed to detect vehicle roll angle – can malfunction and inadvertently cause the side curtain airbag and seatbelt to be activated.

The sensor malfunction does not prevent the airbag from deploying during a collision, Toyota said in a statement.

A Toyota spokesperson said the Japanese automaker has received defect-related reports of “minor injuries, including a report of a person’s hand being cut by a seatbelt in March”.

The recall affects 214 000 RAV4 vehicles and 94 000 Highlander and Highlander HV vehicles from the 2007 and 2008 model years. – Sapa-AFP

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Taxis from northern Pretoria and the East Rand township of Tembisa would operate on liquified petroleum gas (LPG) and petrol, the Gauteng economic development department said on Friday.

MEC Qedani Mahlangu hailed the initiative as a positive development towards achieving the objectives of Green economy.

“I would like to applaud Sasol for their support of this initiative and investing an additional R1.2m in refuelling infrastructure to date. This project has the potential to significantly advance our objective to create a low-carbon economy.

“South Africa’s most recent Country Report to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development noted with concern our over-reliance on dirty energy,” she said.

Spokesman in her department Mandla Sidu said strategic relationships were established with the SA National Taxi Association Council, the SA National Energy Research Institute and Sasol.

After a robust vehicle selection process, seventy mini-bus taxis were converted to operate dually on petrol as well as LPG over a three-month period. An LPG vehicle conversion specialist was appointed to conduct the conversion process, he said.

“The project findings show an 11% reduction on the carbon dioxide, levels when switching the vehicles to LPG, which is one of the internationally recognised alternative energy sources that have a reduced harmful impact on the environment.

“More significantly, the tests show a massive reduction by 31% on the carbon monoxide (CO) levels, which is the harmful gas which can cause various forms of cancer. With the taxi industry transporting more than 14 million people daily, replication and expansion of the LPG conversion project will be of considerable advantage to the provincial and national government’s environmental management.”

In terms of fuel efficiency, the Automotive Industry Development Centre (Blue IQs automotive subsidiaries) showed that although the overall fuel consumption was higher on LPG, the lower cost of LPG balances out the effect of fuel costs for the minibus taxi driver.

The cost benefits also include improved longevity of the engine and a reduction of overall maintenance costs over the lifespan of the vehicle. Vehicle performance remained unchanged.

About 150 converted taxis were expected to be rolled out in the next 12 months.

More LPG refuelling stations are expected across Gauteng in order to support this growing fleet of “green” minibus taxis.

The project has received endorsement from the National Minister of Transport, Sibusiso Ndebele, who has also requested a briefing on the outcomes of the pilot project.-Sapa

CO2 and Car Insurance

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I have decided to focus in this short blog post merely one one pothole incident. A friend of mine Lino Pestana hit a pothole last week close to Hertzogville. His Audi Q7 is fitted with 20 inch tyres. These tyres cost about R6000 per tyre to replace. The damage is clearly visible and is about the size of a fist.

We can only imagine what the damage might be – and more important – the threat to safety on the road when driving with a less reliable car.

On Insurance Chat we have discussed the need for tyre insurance in a post titled “Potholes and road damage drive demand for tyre insurance in South Africa”

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We approached the experts at C-track Fleet Management to enquire how fleet management can assist in streamlining accident management.

C-track Vehicle tracking technology helps fleet owners streamline accident management

Vehicle tracking technology is an essential tool for fleet owners that want to understand the causes of accidents that their vehicle are involved in so that they can protect themselves against fraudulent claims as well as take steps to prevent similar accidents in the future.

That’s according to Hein Jordt, managing director at DigiCore Fleet Management.

He says that many fleet owners think of vehicle tracking technology primarily as a means to recover stolen vehicles and cargo quickly in the event of theft.

However, this technology also has an important role to play in accident management.  Today’s vehicle tracking solutions are based on a sophisticated and powerful blend of telematics, GSM and GPS technology that enables the control room to not only locate the vehicle on the road, but also to harvest a range of information about how the driver is handling the vehicle.

Fleet owners can gather a range of rich historical data from their vehicle tracking systems that they can use to build a detailed picture of what happened in the event of a collision. They can easily see the heading, geographic location and speed of the vehicle at the time of an accident and use that data to verify or refute statements from the driver and other people involved in crash.

They can infer a great deal of data about the driver’s behaviour on the road and his treatment of the vehicle, enabling them to verify whether the driver was speeding or braking harshly at the time of an accident. This information safeguards the fleet owner and driver from wrongful claims in the event that the accident was not caused by the fleet vehicle’s driver, says Jordt.

It also helps companies to fill in their insurance claims confident that they are passing on the correct information to the insurer. Many insurers offer policyholders with tracking systems premium discounts and excess waivers not only because the vehicles are more likely to be recovered if they are stolen, but also because they can verify information policyholders submit in their claims. This, in turn, allows the insurer to reduce losses on damage claims.

Jordt says that accident report information can also give fleet owners insight into the routes and driver behaviours that are the most common causes of accidents. They can use this information to reduce accident rates into the future.

The technology enables the vehicle to automatically notify the control centre in the event of a collision. It can also be used to dispatch emergency assistance to an accident site when a collision takes place. This prevents the nightmare scenario the vehicle is only discovered hours after an incident.

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About DigiCore and C-track

Founded in 1985, DigiCore Holdings Ltd is listed on the JSE. The company specializes in the research, development, manufacturing, sales and support of technology advanced GPS fleet management, vehicle tracking and personal tracking solutions.

The design and development of these products is done in Centurion and the products are manufactured at DigiCore’s ISO certified facility in Durban.

Using a wide range of personal tracking, vehicle location, fleet management, satellite navigation, workflow, mobile job planning and security tools, C-track is able to provide private individual,  commercial vehicle, van and car fleet operators with cost effective and scalable solutions that offer a unique combination of flexibility, reliability and functionality.

C-track contact:

Hein Jordt

Managing Director DigiCore Fleet Management

Tel: +27  12 662 2705

Examples of Reporting to assist in Accident Management

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