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A small plane carrying four passengers clipped a pole, skipped across several cars—including one that had people in it—and crashed into an empty car Wednesday night in a Tennessee shopping center parking lot. All four airplane passengers survived. [CNN]
One Verizon FiOs install results in breached sewer pipe. Another, a breached gas line. There was no explosion, or even smoke. Some unpleasantly scented puffs of air, though. Guess they’re getting better. What do you expect to happen when you have guys drilling through stuff? Accidents, that’s what. Unfortunate and statistically insignificant accidents. It all comes out in the wash. Like blood. Blood comes out in the wash, right? Still, it’s almost like some of these guys have no idea what they’re doing. “It’s true QAM.” Yes, we have true qualms.
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In an attempt to mitigate the negative PR fallout from having one of its planes explode on the tarmac seconds after the last of its passengers scrambled off it, China Airlines painted over the ruined plane’s logo. [MSN]
When a Starbucks barista accidentally dumped scalding hot coffee all over Matt’s father, he got to see Starbuck’s crack PR response in action.
Bank of America employees in California forgot that Marian Prescher, a 73 year-old diabetic woman, was looking her through her safe deposit box when they closed the bank last Friday. Prescher did not expect to be in the bank long, and had not taken her diabetes medication. Sometime between 6pm and midnight – when she was discovered by a cleaning woman and taken to a hospital – she passed out, bruising her right cheek when she hit the floor.
My colleague came to work waving around a new pair of Sony headphone’s he’d bought on the way over, still new in the blister plastic packaging. He was excited because he got such a good deal on them, and tried cutting through the package with a pair of heavy duty scissors. The plastic was unusually strong and was resisting even our most well made scissors (we work in a printing facility, and have lots of types of scissors, all high quality). He switched to the x-acto knife after the scissors were unable to pierce the thick bonded plastic.
Part 2 in a LA Times investigation into U-Haul’s business practices and safety record isn’t any less bleak than part 1. The LA Times investigation has uncovered that U-Haul fails to properly maintain their aging fleet of vehicles while mechanics “hang paper” (forge safety inspections and repairs) to keep the trucks and the money rolling.
During a yearlong investigation, Times journalists surveyed more than 200 U-Haul trucks and trailers in California and other states and found that more than half were overdue for a company-mandated “safety certification,” a check of brakes, tires and other parts typically required every 30 days.
U-Haul knowingly rents unsafe tow trailers that have the potential to kill customers. A yearlong investigation by the L.A. Times found that U-Haul’s practices unnecessarily expose customers to the dangers of trailer sway.
Traveling downhill or shaken by a sharp turn or a gust of wind, a trailer can begin swinging so violently that only the most experienced — or fortunate — drivers can regain control and avoid catastrophe.
Trailers can sway when towed by vehicles lighter than the trailer. U-Haul regulations allows trailers to outweigh the tow-vehicle by up to 25%, openly flouting guidelines set by automakers. For instance, U-Haul allows a 2007 Crown Victoria to haul 4,400 pounds, even though Ford suggests that the 4,100 pound vehicle tow no more than 1,500 pounds. “Two U-Haul competitors, Penske and Budget only rent trailers to customers renting trucks heavier than the trailers. Safety is the reason.”
Insurance companies are beginning to view the increasingly advanced onboard computer systems found on many vehicles as mini black-boxes. The data collected by the systems can help determine if a driver was speeding or driving recklessly.
It’s done by capturing data about speed, braking and steering input from what is called an event data recorder. And it’s going to get even more complex — already there are systems on some cars that warn when there’s a vehicle in a car’s blind spot, as well as anti-collision warning systems like the one currently featured in a Volvo commercial.
Carbon nanotubes have one of the highest tensile strengths of any material known to man, which is how we know that the Wii wrist strap is not made of them. The Wii strap has been breaking at inopportune times all over the country since the Wii’s release in mid-November—and the results have been disastrous enough to warrant a few news stories and at least one blog dedicated to documenting the destruction. Because after you’ve bounced a video game controller off your laptop and into your brand new plasma tv—you’re going to take a picture. And we’re going to laugh. In all seriousness, Nintendo might have a little problem on its hands if these “accidents” are caused by a faulty wrist strap. May we suggest Kevlar next time?—MEGHANN MARCO
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