Date: Sun, 17 Dec 1995 14:53:10 -0500 (EST)
From: Charlene M Blake 
To: cblak1@osf1.gmu.edu
Subject: Key addresses in the ABS controversy....

	I'd like to provide two addresses for anyone interested in disputing
the possible NHTSA conclusion of "driver error" or "lack of education"
in the ABS matter.  Apparently, there is more and more PR on this theory
which I think may have originated on the automakers end.  Any automaker would
be willing to admit to the fact that they are not providing driver education
in lieu of admitting to major design flaws in the particular ABS they use.
	I just read the big article on ABS discounts in the Washington Post
today.  They keep saying we overreact to the feel of the ABS and take our
foot off the brake or continue to pump our brakes....this is so ridiculous
in the case of the Bendix-10 failures.  They make it sound like we 
*think* the brakes are failing and react by misusing our ABS.  I am just
dumbfounded by this rhetoric on the matter.
	If you ever get time after the holidays, those who have experienced
the problem and can vouch for the fact that it is not "driver error" that 
caused their failure, please send letters to:

	William A. Boehly
	Associate Administrator for Safety Assurance
	National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
	Department of Transportation
	400 Seventh St. S.W.
	Washington, DC 20590  (his phone # is (202) 366-9700)

	Clarence Ditlow
	Center for Auto Safety
	2001 S Street, N.W.
	Suite 410
	Washington, D.C. 20009 (phone: (202) 328-7700)

	Brian O'Neill
	President
	Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
	1005 N. Glebe Road, Suite 800
	Arlington, VA 22001  (phone: (703) 247-1500)

	Rosemary Shahan
	Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety
	1500 W. El Camino Ave.
	Suite 419
	Sacarmento, CA 95833 (phone: (916) 920-5464)

	Department of Enforcement
	Federal Trade Commission
	Bureau of Consumer Protection
	6th and Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
	Washington, D.C. 20580
 
	White House Office of Consumer Affairs
	The White House
	1600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
	Washington, D.C. 20500
 
	Robert Heimerl
	Ralph Hoar & Associates
	1001 N. Highland St.
	Arlington, VA 22201
	(a research firm which examines auto complaints)

	It would be good to "cc" copies of this letter to your lawmakers
	and CAS, CARS, etc., and request more research be conducted on the
	matter.  Mr. O'Neill maintains that it is the design of some systems
	but claims it is the pedal pulsation that *results* in the
	driver misusing the ABS.  The insurance companies are not longer going
	to offer discounts because the "antilock brakes haven't lived up to
	their billing because human nature has defeated technology."  
	They go on to talk about the way we "drive faster and take more
	risks" because of the ABS.  I cannot get over this big smokescreen
	which distracts from the attention to the actual mechanical
	failures which are occurring in so many cases.

	Thank goodness the NHTSA is postponing the mandate that all new
	passenger cars and trucks have ABS; however, they may soon decide
	it is our fault.  Personally, I will lose faith in their ability
	to adequately safeguard owner interests if they conclude this way.
	If anyone has an e-mail address for the Washington Post, let
	me know....I want to send a letter to the editor re: this article.
	It is biased against the drivers, without question!

Charlene Blake
Springfield, VA
email: cblak1@osf1.gmu.edu
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