The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "auto safety" ...
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NC Auto Inspection's-Failing the Test
Every year, North Carolina auto owners must take vehicles to private garages for state-mandated safety and emissions testing meant to prevent traffic crashes and curb pollution. Drivers cannot put a car on the road legally unless it passes inspection. A review inspection data showed the program is undermined by unscrupulous garages who do a volume business, passing unsafe cars, and by other who take bribes or cheat customers with uncessary repairs.
Tags: auto owners; emissions testing; unsafe cars
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Company's Choice Made Cars Less Safe
General Motors removed the side airbags, at request of fleet customers, from the standard package Impalas to save money for these fleet customers. In doing so, they risked the safety of thousands of people. Enterprise Rent-A-Car was one of these fleet customers, who bought “65,000 vehicles” knowing that the airbags had been removed. Enterprise not only rented these out, but also sold them online using false advertising. After this was revealed, Enterprise and many car dealerships issued apologies and bought back these vehicles above book value.
Tags: automobiles; cars; Chevy; used cars; safety feature; consumers; transportation; restraint system; build sheet; auto safety
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Jeep Grand Cherokee Investigation
Currently, there are “three million Jeep Grand Cherokees on the road today”. Furthermore, they have been involved in “hundreds of fatal fire accidents in the past 11 years”. The investigation revealed a flaw in the vehicle; the fuel tank is located in the rear of the vehicle. This flaw is the main cause of these fatal deaths. After these accidents had occurred, the automaker has relocated the gas tank in a more secure location and since then zero accidents have occurred.
Tags: Chrysler; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; SUVs; consumers; automobiles; crash; damage; defect; auto safety; transportation
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Certified Dangerous: Used Cars' Airbags
An investigation of 1650 consumer complaints about the failure of airbags to deploy during car accidents such as head-on collisions, rollovers and broadside crashes. Some airbags are not replaced when the vehicle is being fixed after an accident, leaving the driver more succeptible to injury.
Tags: airbag; safety; t-bone; traffic; ford; gm; honda; kia; mitsubishi; nissan; volkswagen; auto accidents
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Road Hazards
Drivers with "poor safety records and histories of drug and alcohol abuse," poorly inspected and maintained trucks and lax enforcement of safety laws are the main problems affecting the truck driving industry in the state of Texas. The Dallas Morning News investigates, spurred by the case of Miroslaw Jozwiak, a trucker who falsified his log reports before causing a fatal accident, which he survived. The stories of those who perished in the crash are told, as are those of the people who survived the crash.
Tags: Miroslaw Jozwiak; truck drivers; truck safety; highway safety; fatal auto accidents; poor truck inspections
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Ford Sudden Acceleration
This story examined Center for Auto Safety records and discovered 25,000 instances of sudden acceleration since the early 1980's. Ford vehicles were involved in almost one third of all incidents and were twice as likely as General Motors vehicles to have sudden acceleration problems. Fords were connected to 69 death caused by sudden acceleration accidents.
Tags: FOIA; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Ford; cars; car safety; sudden acceleration; accidents
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Special Report: The Hazards of Teen Driving
USA TODAY examined all the deadly crashes involving 16 to 19 year old drivers in 2003. They found that during the course of the year, 3,500 teenagers died in teen-driven vehicles in the United States. USA TODAY looked at factors that could lower these numbers, such as age restrictions, night-driving restrictions, and passenger limits. Jayne O'Donnell even looked at certain vehicles whose features would help keep teen drivers safe.
Tags: teen auto crashes; teen driving; auto accidents; driving age; driver safety
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Danger overhead: Crushed roofs
This investigation found that Detroit's Big Three automakers have fought costly upgrades to a 33-year-old roof strength standard despite the estimated 7,000 people killed each year in rollovers in which the roof was crushed. Automotive engineers are aware that strong roofs save lives, and the company's own European operations build and test stronger roofs, yet the Big Three continue to fight attempts to require stronger minimum standards in the United States.
Tags: autos; cars; automobile safety; rollovers; Big Three; automakers; SUVs; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; NHTSA
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A History of Fiery Deaths on the Road
A Los Angeles Times two -part series reports that "facing lawsuits, GM moved gas tanks of its C/K pickups inside the frame. But it denies the design was unsafe, and federal regulators retreated from a costly recall."
Tags: recall; pickups; automobiles; auto safety; GM; lawsuits; federal regulators; deaths; Fatal Accident Reporting System
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Costly Verdict: Why One Jury Dealt A Big Blow to Chrysler in Minivan-Latch Case
The Journal reports on the threat of high-profile safety litigation looming over the auto industry. The story focuses on deaths caused by defects in Chrysler minivans, and the subsequent lawsuits.
Tags: fatalities; GM; Ford; federal safety standards; door latches; C/K pickup trucks; liftgates