ASF Alerts JAMA About Safety Crisis

The Automobile Safety Foundation cites unsafe Japanese cars. ASF requests JAMA improve Japanese automobiles with safe blind spot mirrors and modern auto theft prevention technology.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) July 11, 2007 -- The Automobile Safety Foundation, a non-profit organization, is working in conjunction with United States national DMV offices to address urgent safety crisis chiefly caused by unsafe Japanese steering locks, see: www.carsafe.org

ASF has apprised the Japanese Automobile Manufacturing Association, JAMA, that American automobile companies are well underway replacing the hazardous, and obsolete, spring loaded steering lock (first introduced in 1969) with safe and modern auto theft prevention technology. Steering locks are easy to defeat by auto thieves, allowing auto theft to skyrocket, while at the same time causing accidents from steering lockup. Most Japanese automobiles still utilize steering locks as standard equipment. ASF is requesting that JAMA insist that the Japanese auto makers bring Japanese cars and trucks up to American safety and auto theft prevention standards.

Furthermore, ASF has alerted JAMA about an unsafe side mirror crisis, as in traffic drivers can not merge onto a freeway or change lanes safely, with standard equipment side view mirrors. This grave problem causes thousands of accidents daily and must be addressed by JAMA and the Japanese auto makers forthwith on all Japanese vehicles.

As it is, standard side view mirrors, which conceal nearby approaching vehicles in a blind spot area and restrict driver's view while changing lanes, are implicated in more than 413,000 (more than half) of the country's 826,000 lane change accidents such as side swipes, according to The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). As many accidents are not reported or are improperly investigated, ASF believes that these statistics represent just a fraction of the thousands of accidents caused by mirror blind spots everyday.

The European Union recently addressed the problem of inadequate side view mirrors, by enacting blind spot mirror regulations, that will improve road safety in Europe, while setting a worldwide safety precedent.

After several years of research ASF has introduced the world's best blind spot mirrors attachments, and is offering these safe mirror attachments to the auto industry at special non-profit rates. There are also less effective blind spot mirrors attachments readily available. All Japanese automobiles need to be equipped with blind spot mirrors as soon as possible. Safe Mirrors Now!

ASF requests that JAMA/Japanese auto makers demonstrate concern for the safety of Americans forthwith, by equipping all Japanese automobiles with safe mirror, and modern auto theft preventions technology.

Contact: ASF East: Sam Stephens sam @ carsafe.org ASF West: Bob James asfwon @ yahoo.com

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