A newsletter roundup of recent news stories, including rising U.S. traffic fatalities, a hoverboard recall, and the ongoing Takata airbag recall.

1. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 7/13/16
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Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
1. Traffic deaths surged in 2015
Adapted from L.A. Times, 7/2/16;
I In 2015, U.S. traffic fatalities rose 7.7% year-over-year to 35,200 deaths, according to preliminary
government data. Increases in non-motorist crash fatalities were significantly higher than the overall increase,
with bicycle fatalities up 13% year-over-year, pedestrian deaths rising 10% and motorcycle deaths up 9%. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) attributed the increase in fatalities to a better economy
and lower gas prices, which led to a record 3.1 trillion miles being driven last year.
2. Why the U.S. is a World Leader in Car Crash Deaths
U.S. News & World Report, 7/6/16
The U.S. had the highest number of crash deaths per 100,000 people compared to 19 other high-income
countries, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC). In 2013, there
were more than 32,000 traffic fatalities in the U.S. The report noted that about half of the drivers and
passengers killed in 2013 were not wearing a seatbelt. The CDC indicated traffic fatalities continue to occur due
to a combination of factors, including speeding, alcohol-impaired driving, and a failure to use safety devices
such as car seats, booster seats, and seatbelts. Distracted driving contributed to about 10% of fatal collisions
and 18% of injury collisions, according to comments made by transportation safety team lead Erin Sauber-
Schatz.
3. Hoverboards Recalled for Fire Risk and Hoverboards being recalled
Adapted from Wall Street Journal, 7/7/16, and L.A. Times, 7/7/16
l Ten companies are recalling more than 500,000 self-balancing scooters known as hoverboards following a
report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). That report noted the commission had received at
least 99 reports of hoverboard battery packs overheating, catching fire, or exploding. There have been at least
18 reports involving injuries such as burns. The recalled products were sold nationwide between June 2015 and
May 2016, CPSC reported. Consumers will receive a free repair, a free replacement, or a full refund for the
faulty devices, depending on the model.
4. U.S. Pleads With Some Honda and Acura Owners to Replace Airbags
Adapted from N.Y. Times, 7/1/16
Vehicle owners should immediately replace faulty Takata airbags in more than 300,000 older Acura and
Honda vehicles, according to a warning from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The
agency noted that airbags in these vehicles had an unacceptably high risk of exploding, with laboratory tests
showing that airbag inflators in some vehicles had a 50% chance of rupturing and sending metal shrapnel into
the passenger compartment.

2. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 7/13/16
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
5. On Private Prisoner Vans, Long Road of Neglect
Adapted from N.Y. Times, 7/7/16
Many of the tens of thousands of suspects and fugitives transported annually from one state to another do
so courtesy of a small number of private companies that perform local and state prisoner extractions. A review
by the Marshal Project found a pattern of prisoner abuse and neglect at these private prisoner extraction
companies. Allegedly, the industry operates with almost no oversight. Since 2012, at least four people have
allegedly died on private extraction vans owned by Prisoner Transportation Services of America, the biggest for-
profit extradition company. Since 2000, at least fourteen women have filed complaints in civil or criminal court
alleging they were sexually assaulted by guards during transport. At least 56 prisoners have reportedly escaped
from private extraction vehicles since 2000, compared to just one prisoner each for the prison systems of
California, Florida and Texas, which do their own prisoner transport.
6. DuPont loses suit over cancer and Man Gets $5 Million in tainted-Water Case
Adapted from L.A. Times, 7/7/16, and Wall Street Journal, 7/7/16
On July 6, a federal jury determined DuPont Co. acted with malice when it dumped tainted water into the
Ohio River. DuPont used the water, which it claimed contained only small amounts of the chemical C8, to make
Teflon at its West Virginia plant. The jury awarded $5.1 million in compensatory damages to fifty-six-year-old
David Freeman, who alleged C8 in the water caused his testicular cancer. DuPont is facing 3,500 lawsuits
alleging links between the C8-contaminated water from the West Virginia plant and various illnesses.
7. Driver’s killing by CHP raises concern
Adapted from L.A. Times, 7/6/16
The California Highway Patrol (CHP)is facing questions after undercover officers in an unmarked vehicle shot
and killed 19-year-old Pedro Villanueva of Canoga Park. Villanueva had sped away from a place where truck
drivers were doing burnouts, leading the officers on a chase with speeds of up to nearly 90 miles per hour
(mph). The officers opened fire after Villanueva made a U-term and started driving toward them, according to
the Fullerton police. As a tactic, shooting at a moving vehicle has been prohibited by police departments in
some large cities including L.A. and N.Y. The CHP has no such restriction. The Fullerton Police Dept. and the
Orange County district attorney’s office are reviewing the case.
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