Back in August, Uber stopped running its UberPop service. That’s the equivalent of the UberX service in the United States, where safe drivers who just have regular licenses, not livery licenses, hire themselves out to drive people around for a lower price than taxi service. The reason wasn’t the pending legal challenge: the company claims that it feared for the safety of its drivers and passengers. [More]
Transportation & Infrastructure
New York Is Now Investigating Volkswagen Recall
By 9.22.15
While federal regulators have yet to publicly confirm a reported criminal investigation into Volkswagen’s alleged attempt to deceive consumers and emissions tests, New York state is letting it be known that it plans to hold the carmaker accountable. [More]
NHTSA Chief: Regulators “Questioning Everything” About Vehicle Recalls, Safety Issues
By 9.22.15
Recent high-profile recalls from the likes of Volkswagen, General Motors and other automakers have changed the way federal regulators view safety issues within the auto industry. Instead of viewing some recall initiatives as isolated incidents, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now going to take a closer look at issues.
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VW Announces 11M Cars Affected Worldwide By Software That Evades Emissions Standards
By 9.22.15
While the Environmental Protection Agency ordered Volkswagen to recall nearly 500,000 sedans equipped with software that tricked emissions tests, the carmaker announced on Tuesday that more than 11 million vehicles actually include the so-called defeat device. [More]
Justice Dept. Considering Criminal Charges Against Volkswagen
By 9.21.15
Many people who heard about last week’s recall of 500,000 Volkswagen diesel vehicles because the carmaker installed software that tricked emissions tests have asked, “Isn’t this a crime?” That’s a good question, and one the Dept. of Justice is reportedly looking into. [More]
Yes, Owners Of Recalled Volkswagens Can File Deceptive Marketing Complaints With The FTC
By 9.21.15
While Volkswagen and the EPA say the recently recalled VW and Audi diesel cars are safe to drive while waiting for the problem to be fixed, a number of car owners feel like they were tricked by the company’s “clean diesel” branding and slogans like “this ain’t your daddy’s diesel.” So what can these consumers do? One option is to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. [More]
VW To Stop Selling Vehicles Affected By Emissions System Recall
By 9.21.15
Two days after the Environmental Protection Agency took the unusual action of issuing a motor vehicle recall for nearly 500,000 Volkswagen and Audi sedans that used software to circumvent emissions tests, the car maker says it will stop selling all vehicles equipped with the same kind of diesel motors as those involved in recall. [More]
Consumer Reports Suspends “Recommended” Status For Recalled VW Vehicles
By 9.18.15
Earlier today, the Environmental Protection Agency took the unusual action of issuing a motor vehicle recall for nearly 500,000 Volkswagen and Audi sedans that used software to circumvent emissions tests. In light of this development, our colleagues at Consumer Reports have suspended their rating for two of the cars involved in the recall. [More]
GM CEO Mary Barra: “People Were Hurt And Died In Our Cars”
By 9.17.15
Following this morning’s news that General Motors had reached a $900 million deal with the Department of Justice to settle criminal charges tied to a long-delayed ignition recall that killed more than 100 people, the car maker’s CEO Mary Barra spoke to her employees openly about the culture of incompetence that brought the company to this place. [More]
American Airlines Fined $20K For Failing To Adequately Compensate Bumped Passengers
By 9.17.15
If you get bumped from a flight because the airline overbooked the plane, you usually get some sort of compensation — money or vouchers for future flights — in exchange for having to change your travel plans. But federal regulators say American Airlines screwed up when it bumped nearly a dozen passengers from a Miami-to-London flight and failed to tell them why or offer them anything for their troubles. [More]
Report: Prosecutors, GM Reach $900M Agreement To Settle Criminal Charges Over Ignition Defect
By 9.17.15
Federal prosecutors are poised to settle a criminal investigation into General Motor’s mishandling of the ignition switch defect linked to more than 120 deaths and hundreds of injuries. [More]
Uber Appeals Certification Of California Suit Against Them As Class Action
By 9.16.15
Not long ago, Uber took an unsurprising step: they changed their driver agreements so their independent contractors would have to give up their right to sue the company in a class action. The drivers eligible for a recently-certified class action in California are those who never agreed to that provision, but that doesn’t mean that Uber isn’t appealing its certification as a class action anyway. [More]
Class-Action Lawsuit Accuses Fiat Chrysler Of Hiding Safety Issues To Increase Stock Value
By 9.14.15
Fiat Chrysler once again finds itself in the legal doghouse after some of its investors filed a class-action suit, claiming the automaker deceived them by withholding information related to the safety and computer problems in millions of vehicles in order to inflate the price of company stock. [More]
Automakers Commit To Making Sensor-Based Emergency Braking Systems Standard In Vehicles
By 9.14.15
Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced plans to change its vehicle safety rating program to include two sensor-based automatic emergency braking systems. While the agency didn’t go so far as to mandate automakers’ use of the systems, 10 manufacturers recently pledged to do so. [More]
Lyft & First National Bank Busted For Forcing Customers To Accept Robocalls & Spam Text
By 9.11.15
As we recently pointed out with the PayPal terms of service, it’s against the law for a company to require that its customers to accept spam text messages and pre-recorded, auto-dialed robocalls. Someone should have forwarded that message on to Lyft and First National Bank. The FCC has cited both companies for forcing their customers to agree to unwanted marketing messages, in violation of federal law. [More]
Regulators Could Call On Other Parts Makers To Increase Production Of Replacement Takata Airbag Inflators
By 9.11.15
Just days after federal regulators announced they would hold a public meeting to once again address the slow replacement of defective, shrapnel-shooting, Takata-produced airbags linked to eight deaths and hundreds of injuries, officials with the agency outlined what steps it could take to finally coordinate the messy recall. [More]
Former Uber Driver In California Granted Unemployment Payments
By 9.10.15
While a decision by the California Employment Development Department only affects one employee and their claim for unemployment benefits, it’s yet another official declaration from a government agency that the people who drive for Uber have an employer-employee relationship with the company, which in theory should entitle them to benefits that employees receive: reimbursement of vehicle costs, having the employer’s portion of their income taxes paid, and receiving unemployment benefits when their employment with the company ends involuntarily, if appropriate. [More]
