Hotels increasingly sharing airlines’ fee addiction – National Consumers League

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breyault.jpgAsk practically any flier what their biggest gripes are with airlines and the word “fees” will almost certainly come up. From $25 baggage fees, to $200 change fees, to $50 standby fees and more, fees are big business for the U.S. airlines — bringing in a reported $38 billion (with a “b”) in revenue in 2014 alone. Here at NCL, we’ve voiced plenty of gripes about the fee-based profit model at U.S. airlines, but so far little has changed to break the big U.S. airlines of their addiction to fees.Unfortunately, the hotel industry is increasingly taking a page out of the airlines’ playbook when it comes to socking consumers with add-on fees. As Amy Zipkin’s excellent New York Times piece this week lays out, big hotel chains like Marriott International and Hilton and room-sharing apps like Airbnb and HomeAway are joining the fee trend. Things like $40 last-minute booking fees, $50 cancellation penalties, 6-12% “guest service fees” and mandatory resort fees look like they could become the the norm instead of the exception. It’s not hard to see why. According to New York University professor Bjorn Hanson, hotel fees and surcharges are expected to bring in $2.47 billion (again, with a “b”) in revenue in 2015, up from $2.35 billion only a year earlier.

Interestingly, not all experts in the hotel industry think this trend towards more fees is a bad thing. “Hotel reservations have long been way too flexible,” said Christopher K. Anderson, a faculty member at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration who was quoted in the Times.

We couldn’t agree less with Mr. Anderson. Consumers have long appreciated the flexibility of being able to cancel a hotel reservation without a charge if their plans change at the last minute. The need to make such changes are often outside a consumer’s control (think: death or illness in the family, weather-related flight cancellations, etc.). It is outrageous that a consumer should get socked with a hefty fee through no fault of their own.

While there’s no one single regulator with jurisdiction over hotels, there are steps that consumer protection agencies can take to address the growth in fees. For one, hotel fees should be disclosed more up front both on hotels’ own websites and on online booking websites like Hotels.com, Expedia, Airbnb.com, and others. Ensuring honest advertising is a job for the Federal Trade Commission and state Attorneys General. The Department of Transportation can also play a role by requiring better disclosure when hotels are booked as part of a package with airfare. Earlier this year, NCL testified before the DOT’s Advisory Committee on Aviation Consumer Protection and called on the agency to do just that.

Until that happens, however, consumers themselves need to express their outrage with these new fees directly to the hotels (preferably loudly, frequently, and with their pocketbooks!). If you get hit with a fee that you think is unfair, we want to hear from you!  Drop us an email at info@nclnet.org or drop us a line on our Facebook page or on Twitter at @ncl_tweets.

Great news: Daily teen cigarette use down by 50 percent over five years – National Consumers League

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karinb.jpgWhat great news for the New Year–daily cigarette smoking among high school students has fallen by 50 percent or more over the past five years! This is significant, since tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death and disease in the United States.

As reported in The Wall Street Journal, the recent NIH-funded Monitoring the Future survey conducted by the University of Michigan found that about 5.5 percent of 12th grade students reported smoking cigarettes daily, down from 11 percent five years ago.

The news was similarly positive for the surveyed 10th and 8th grade students. Among 10th graders, only 3 percent smoked cigarettes daily, down from 6.6 percent five years ago. Only 1.3 percent of 8th graders reported smoking daily, down from 2.9 percent. The study surveyed about 45,000 students from over 380 schools across the country. This downward trend in cigarette use is testament to the great strides our country has made in preventing youth smoking.

The National Consumers League (NCL) commends organizations such as the Truth Initiative and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for their work in educating young people about the serious health risks of tobacco. However, NCL and its colleagues in the advocacy community are concerned about the use of electronic cigarettes, which is outpacing the use of regular cigarettes. NCL worries that e-cigarettes, as well as flavored little cigars, might represent new mechanisms for getting kids hooked on nicotine.

It is imperative that the U.S. build on these downward trends in cigarette use and win the fight against tobacco and nicotine addiction, in order to ensure many more happy and healthy New Years for our nation’s youth.

Hyatt signs ‘The Code’ – National Consumers League

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This article written by Child Labor Coalition contributing writer on human trafficking issues Mary Donovan, was originally published on the Child Labor Coalition website on December 18, 2015.

On December 10, 2015, Hyatt Hotels Corporation re-affirmed its efforts to fight child trafficking by signing a code of conduct known simply as “The Code.” This is a big step forward in the fight against human trafficking and the abuse and exploitation of girls and young women, and in some cases, boys and young men caught in the so-called “sex industry.”

The Code is an industry-driven initiative to prevent the sexual exploitation of children in the tourism industry through awareness, tools, and support. It was developed by End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (EPCAT), the United Nations World Tourism Organization, and UNICEF.

The sexual exploitation of children often takes place in hotels. Hotels are a prime place for this crime because traffickers and pimps can avoid being caught by paying for hotel rooms in cash and switching rooms nightly. Polaris, a global anti-trafficking non-profit, reported that 35 percent of survivors said hotels and motels were the primary places sexual exploitation occurred. These facts make the tourism industry a good place to start to combat the sexual exploitation of children.

When an organization signs The Code, they commit to following six steps. These steps include training employees and providing information for travelers on how to report suspected cases, adding clauses to contracts with a zero tolerance policy of sexual exploitation of children, and reporting annually on the implementation of The Code. The goal is to have a prepared and aware tourism industry that can recognize and prevent crimes against children. Wanting recognition as responsible brands, becoming leaders in the tourism industry, and making the community safer for children were motivations for organizations to sign.

The Code now has 1,287 signatories. Notable ones in addition to Hyatt are: Hilton, Carlson, Choice Hotels International, and Delta Airlines. Signatories come from all around the world, from Bangkok to Jamaica to Bulgaria.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation already has a good record of working against trafficking. In 2012, they worked with Polaris to develop a mandatory human trafficking training program for employees. Their announcement, released on International Human Rights Day, of signing the code deepens their commitment to being a responsible business.

Millions of children are sold into sexual exploitation around the world each year. In order to stop these crimes we must be able to identify when and where they are taking place. Human trafficking is a high-profit and low-risk industry, mainly because of the ability of traffickers to conduct hidden crimes. Initiatives like The Code elevate the risks traffickers face by increasing the chances of detection and making it harder for them to connect with consumers who are fueling the industry of human trafficking. We urge consumers to be a responsible traveler and stay at hotels who have signed “The Code.”

Survey: Increased communication between patients, health care providers leads to better adherence – National Consumers League

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December 18, 2015

Results of the national Script Your Future campaign confirm theories of link between communication, adherence

Contact: NCL Communications, Cindy Hoang, cindyh@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—New research conducted for a national multi-media educational campaign to raise awareness about the importance of medication adherence shows that there are clear benefits and opportunities linked to increased communication between people who take prescription medications and their health care professionals, as well as to the use of tools that make it easier to adhere to medications. Greenberg Quinlan Rosner (GQR) surveyed patients for the Script Your Future campaign, in the campaign’s pilot cities before the campaign launched in 2011, at its midpoint in 2013 and again in 2015.  The new results, released today, demonstrate improvement in communication and adherence, particularly in the campaign’s target market cities.

Bringing together more than 135 stakeholder organizations, Script Your Future hasaimed to help people with chronic conditions—cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease (asthma and COPD), and diabetes—along with their families, caregivers, and health care professionals, to talk more clearly and effectively with each other about adherence. Script Your Future’s national outreach and targeted efforts in six pilot cities have reached millions through hundreds of local events, traditional and social media, educational programs by campaign stakeholders, and the campaign website, www.ScriptYourFuture.org. 

The surveys  in the six pilot cities—from 2011 to the present—show that, while Americans possess a strong awareness and acceptance of the importance of taking medications exactly as prescribed, there are clear benefits and opportunities linked to increased communication between people who take prescription medicines and health care professionals, and use of tools that make it easier to adhere to prescription medicines.

According to the GQR survey data: 

The link between communication and good adherence emerged as important early on in the campaign and continues to be crucial; those who report taking medications better than a year ago also are more likely to experience increased communications by health care professionals over the same time period, while those who report a worse job taking medications say they had seen decreased communications. The increase in communications from pharmacists has been particularly notable. Continuing to work to encourage communications between patients and health care professionals will be an important piece in continuing to promote awareness around adherence to medication.

“We are pleased at the results of this research, which confirm our hypotheses on the importance of good patient-provider communication, and validate the involvement of more than135  organizations that, through their collaboration and support, brought the Script Your Future campaign to life,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of the National Consumers League, the lead campaign organizer. 

The GQR research also found that those taking medicines in the pilot cities, where the campaign had specific outreach efforts, are significantly more likely than those in a control market to say they are taking their medicines better than in the previous year.

The Script Your Future pilot cities, or target markets, are Baltimore, Md.; Birmingham, Ala.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Providence, RI; Raleigh, NC; and Sacramento, Calif.

Key findings

Some key findings from the surveys of patients in the six pilot cities  include:

  • Americans who take prescription medications report a strong awareness and acceptance of the importance of adhering to their medications. A majority of Americans taking medications (55 percent) strongly agree with the statement “I am convinced that it is important for me to take my medicine.”
  • Self-reported levels of adherence to prescription medications have remained consistently high since 2011. More than 9-out-of-10 people who take prescription medicines (93 percent) now say that they “always” or “almost always” take their medicines exactly as instructed by their doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. This is consistent with the high levels of adherence reported in both 2011 and 2013.
  • Nearly 1-out-of-5 people taking medications in the target markets say they are taking their medicines better than they were a year ago, significantly higher than in the control market. In the control market, just 12 percent of those taking medicines say that they were doing a better job taking their medicine as directed compared to a year ago; in the target markets, 19 percent of patients note that they are doing a better job with their medicines.
  • Better communication between patients and health care professionals connects to better adherence. Those Americans who report taking medications better than a year ago also are more likely to have experienced increased communications with health care professionals during that the same time period. Those who say that they are doing a worse job taking medications report a decrease in communications with health care professionals.
  • Americans taking prescription medicines report an increase in communications with pharmacists in particular. Thirty-nine percent of those who take medications report that pharmacists are now more likely to ask about problems with medications “every time” or “occasionally.” This represents a 6-point increase compared to the campaign’s inception. Importantly, the number of individuals in the target markets who say their pharmacist “never” asks about problems with medications has also decreased since 2011, from 50 percent to 43 percent.

View the: survey brief, full survey report, as well as individual target market analysis:

Baltimore | Birmingham | Cincinnati | Providence | Raleigh | Sacramento

 

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Script Your Future is a campaign of the National Consumers League (NCL), a private, non-profit membership organization founded in 1899. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. The National Consumers League serves consumers across the country by providing government, businesses and other organizations with the consumer’s perspective on a range of concerns – including health care and medication information. As an advocacy organization, NCL is working to educate consumers and key health stakeholders on the importance of taking medication as directed. For more information about this campaign, visit ScriptYourFuture.org, and for more information on our other areas of focus, please visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL statement in support of Congresswoman Pingree’s Food Recovery Act – National Consumers League

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December 18, 2015

Contact: Cindy Hoang, National Consumers League, cindyh@nclnet.org or (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC–In September, the USDA and EPA announced a national commitment to reducing food waste by 50 percent by 2030. However, we are lacking the comprehensive strategies that must be in place and it is hard for stakeholders to know where to start. We are pleased to support Congresswoman Chellie Pingree’s groundbreaking bill, the Food Recovery Act, aimed at reaching this national goal.

The Food Recovery Act (HR H.R.4184)  is organized by four major stakeholder groups; farms, retail and restaurants, schools and institutions, and consumers and local infrastructure. Framing legislation in such a way, presents stakeholders with policy solutions that are relevant and achievable. Solutions include standardizing date labeling, increasing funding for larger-scale state composting, and strengthening the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which encourages companies and organizations to donate food by protecting them from criminal and civil liability.

The issue of food waste is real and mounting. It’s easy to get discouraged when confronted with numbers such as: 40 percent of the U.S. food supply is wasted; the average American throws away between $28-433 of food each month; and we could feed 25 million people if we reduced food waste by just 15 percent. The National Consumers League (NCL), along with other non-profit and government groups, are working to address this problem throughout the food supply chain and appreciate initiatives such as the Food Recovery Act from leaders like Congresswoman Pingree. We urge Congress to pass the Food Recovery Act to help move us closer to our 2030 goal. 

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL statement applauding victory for retirement savers’ protections – National Consumers League

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December 17, 2015

Contact: Cindy Hoang, National Consumers League, cindyh@nclnet.org or (202) 207-2832 

Washington, DC–The National Consumers League (NCL) is celebrating a victory for American workers and retirees with the recent announcement that Congress has reached an agreement on an omnibus funding bill that supports the Department of Labor’s rulemaking to improve retiree protections.  The DOL rule would make financial professionals responsible for meeting basic quality standards by closing loopholes in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Financial firms fought bitterly against the rulemaking, but Congress’ Wednesday vote on the funding bill ensures it will take place.

The following statement may be attributed to NCL’s Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

“We applaud Congress’ decision to stand up to special interests and protect the workers and retirees who would have been hurt by this omnibus funding bill had the previous version been passed. These people deserve to feel secure about their lifelong savings and retirement funds.”

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

U.S. consumer groups slam GM for failing to put safety technologies in cars sold in developing countries – National Consumers League

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December 11, 2015

Washington, DC—Four national consumer advocacy organizations – Consumers Union, Public Citizen, Advocates For Highway and Auto Safety, and National Consumers League – are asking General Motors CEO Mary Barra to address the glaring absence of basic safety equipment – like seat belts – in GM cars sold in Latin American in a letter sent this week. The letter stated:

“We were surprised and disappointed to learn of the poor performance of General Motors (GM) in auto safety tests conducted by the New Car Assessment Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (Latin NCAP). These results are directly related to GM’s failure to provide the same safety technologies on cars sold in Latin America as the company provides as standard equipment in cars sold in the US market. We are specifically referring to basic safety features, such as airbags, but also newer life-saving technologies like electronic stability control and pre-tensioned seat belts, all of which are fitted as standard on GM vehicles in the US.”

The American consumer groups’ letter came in response to the Nov. 16 release of crash test safety results by the New Car Assessment Programme for Latin America and the Carribbean (Latin NCAP). In those tests, GM’s Chevrolet Aveo, the best-selling car in Mexico that is sold throughout Latin America, scored zero stars for protecting adults and only two stars for protecting child passengers. Latin NCAP described the model as demonstrating a “high risk of life-threatening injuries.”

Latin NCAP tested the basic version of the Aveo, which is sold in Latin America without airbags. Despite recent commitments from GM to become an industry leader on safety, Chevrolet has performed consistently poorly in Latin NCAP tests over a number of years, and ranks 8th out of 11 leading car manufacturers in the region. Only three Chinese brands averaged worse scores over a five-year period of Latin NCAP tests.

The groups’ letter noted: 

“Auto safety cannot only be for citizens living in wealthy countries; yet GM’s practice of providing some consumers with the best safety technologies, while not even providing airbags to others, strikes us as a morally indefensible decision.”  …. [I]n your capacity as CEO you have stated your commitment to auto safety technologies and doing right by consumers, and we think this is an issue that deserves your attention.”

The four American groups are aligned with Consumers International (CI) in calling for universal adoption of minimum United Nations Vehicle safety regulations by governments and voluntary compliance by car manufacturers as soon as possible. Cars scoring zero in NCAP tests fail these internationally recognized minimum safety standards.

Research commissioned by Global NCAP found that more than 380,000 deaths and serious injuries could be prevented by 2030 in Brazil alone if it adopted key UN regulations within a reasonable timeframe.

According to the World Health Organization:

  • 1.3 million people died and 50 million people were injured on roads in 2013. Unsafe cars are a major contributor to this statistic. Fifty percent of those affected were vehicle occupants. This disparity in access to safety technologies has real consequences, and contributes to unacceptable burden of road crash deaths and injuries highlighted by the World Health Organization and referenced by Consumers International in its letter. 
  • Road traffic deaths are now the 9th biggest killer globally, and are predicted to become the 7th biggest killer worldwide by 2030 unless urgent action is taken.

The groups also told Barra, “As CEO, you can demonstrate to all consumers concern for their safety and play a leading role in ensuring all vehicles comply with these safety standards regardless of where they are sold.” 

Photos of the test results are included below. 

 

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL’s visit to Corto Olive: An examination of true EVOO production – National Consumers League

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corto.jpgBy Ali Schklair, Linda Golodner Food Safety & Nutrition Fellow 

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a fairly recent addition to the American kitchen. Due to the popularity of the Mediterranean diet and the promotion of “healthy fats,” many consumers are now opting for EVOO as their primary cooking oil. Over the past few decades, olive oil producers worldwide have scrambled to keep up with increasing consumer demand. Unfortunately, the majority of “extra virgin olive oil” available to consumers is not truly EVOO.

Results of a 2010 UC Davis EVOO study found that approximately 69 percent of imported oil labeled “extra virgin olive oil” is mislabeled. An emphasis on imported oils is important for two reasons: one, imported extra virgin olive oil dominates 97 percent of the EVOO market in the United States; two, there are no federally mandated quality standards for imported products in the United States. As a result, we are left with an unregulated EVOO market that is inundated with low quality olive oil.

In this industry, fraud starts in the fields. This fall, NCL’s Linda Golodner Food Safety & Nutrition Fellow Ali Schklair visited Corto Olive, a family-run olive oil company based in Lodi, California. There was something distinctly different about the olive trees at Corto. Instead of large and looming, these trees were trim, contained, and steadied by lean trunks. Schklair later learned that the shape and positioning of these trees is the reason Corto is able produce such high quality oil.

Traditionally, olives were picked by hand, making the harvesting process tedious and time consuming. As imported EVOO gained popularity in the U.S., many of the companies abroad did not have enough labor to satisfy demand. Without time to inspect each olive, oil producers started waiting for olives to rot and fall to the ground. The fruit (and the dirt, sticks, and leaves along with it) could then be easily raked up and sent to the mill. To mask the rancidity, oil is often refined, mixed with small amounts of good oil, and even altered in color and consistency. Rotting fruit, refining, and the mixing of oils mean that this oil is no longer high quality EVOO. Still, the manipulated product is shipped off to the U.S., too often falsely stamped with the “extra virgin olive oil” label.

In 1990, farmers in Spain developed an alternative harvesting system that allows olives to be picked at peak freshness. The “super high-density method” has olive trees planted and pruned close together so a special harvesting machine-not able to fit around traditional trees-can easily fit between rows.  The best producers in the U.S., like Corto, have adopted this method in order to provide higher quality oil than their international counterparts.

Once olives are harvested, they are brought to the mill for sorting and washing. Unlike most mills, Corto uses a special sorting machine called the “optical sorter” to remove only undesirable materials from the batch. This technology is used in other aspects of food processing, but Corto is the first to use it for olive oil. Corto’s use of the high-density method and an optical sorter is unique and ensures their oil is fresh and authentically extra virgin.

Extra virgin olive oil has gained popularity in the U.S. because of its many health benefits, which are real and important. But with such high instances of adulteration, it’s safe to assume that most consumers aren’t really getting what they pay for. So, how can consumers know if the oil they buy is truly extra virgin? Unfortunately, it’s hard to know for certain because most of our palates are not trained to recognize the real thing.

Throughout Europe, especially in the Mediterranean, olive oil is used as commonly as salt and pepper in the U.S. Understandably, taste is very important. In the U.S., products labeled “extra virgin olive oil” are mostly used in cooking, making it easier for lower quality oil to fly under the radar. Tom Mueller, author of the book Extra Virginity, offers information and tips on his website to help consumers make more informed choices. Using resources like this, and by putting a higher value on taste, consumers can learn to shop for higher quality oil and actually reap the benefits they seek. There are a number of honest, high quality EVOO brands on the market, including Corto. Please see NCL’s EVOO testing results here.

Letter to Cordray calling on CFPB to investigate T-Mobile for abusive debt collection – National Consumers League

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December 10, 2015

The Honorable Richard Cordray
Director
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
1700 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20552

Dear Director Cordray:

As Executive Director of the National Consumers League, I wish to call your attention to a matter that might be of concern to your agency. A group named Change to Win (“CtW”) has recently issued a report alleging abusive debt collection practices by wireless carrier T-Mobile.[1]

NCL has reviewed some of the findings in the CtW report and while we haven’t done our own investigation, we think the matters discussed in the report warrant a close look by the CFPB. In particular, we are concerned with allegations, based on a review of consumer complaints and analysis of the company’s advertising, that T-Mobile may have engaged in the following business practices:

  • Targeting low income communities and communities of color with potentially deceptive advertising; and
  • Potentially abusive debt collection practices.

NCL is concerned that, if true and left unchecked, these business practices could become commonplace throughout the entire wireless industry. We also note that T-Mobile objects to the findings of the CtW report and argues that they are inaccurate.[2]

This makes it all the more important for the CFPB – as the expert agency with jurisdiction over consumer financial products – to review the evidence and determine whether CtW’s allegations have merit. If they do, we suggest the Bureau take steps to address any conduct that runs afoul of the Bureau’s regulatory scheme and/or consumer protection laws.

Thank you for your attention to our concerns.

Sincerely,

Sally Greenberg
Executive Director
National Consumers League

 

[1] Change to Win. “Groups Call for Federal Investigation into T-Mobile’s Deceptive Advertising and Abusive Debt Collection Policies,” Press Release. December 8, 2015. Online: https://callingouttmobile.com/press-room/

[2] Wang, Jules. “Legere attacks USA TODAY for reporting on alegations against T-Mobile,” Pocketnow. December 8, 2015. Online: https://pocketnow.com/2015/12/08/t-mobile-allegations

Groups call on General Motors to increase safety of cars sold overseas – National Consumers League

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December 4, 2015

Mary Barra
Chief Executive Officer
General Motors
300 Renaissance Centre
Detroit, MI 48265, 

Re: GM adding same safety technology to all vehicles made and sold anywhere per UN Car Safety Regulations

Dear Ms. Barra: 

We write as American consumer organizations with a history of working on auto safety. We wish to reference the recent letter you received from Consumers International, which is attached here.

We were surprised and disappointed to learn from our consumer colleagues in Latin America of the poor performance of General Motors’ (GM)  in auto safety tests conducted by the New Car Assessment Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (Latin NCAP). These results are directly related to GM’s failure to provide the same safety technologies on cars sold in Latin America as the company provides as standard equipment in cars sold in the US market. We are specifically referring to basic safety features, such as airbags, but also newer life-saving technologies like electronic stability control and pre-tensioned seat belts, all of which are fitted as standard on GM vehicles in the US.

Indeed, the Chevrolet Aveo received a zero rating in Latin NCAP’s most recent independent crash test results, and was described as representing a “high risk of life threatening injury” in Latin America. In addition, the Chevrolet brand has shown the poorest performance of all the major global car manufacturers tested by Latin NCAP since 2010.  The basic model of the Aveo available to consumers in Latin American countries – such as Mexico (where the car is both manufactured and the top-selling model)- lacks even basic safety features, such as airbags, putting occupants at great risk. We find that information shocking.

As American consumers, we appreciate the enhanced protections these technologies provide in saving lives and preventing injuries in the US. But we find it hard to fathom that GM would not provide all consumers – no matter where they live around the world – with these same protective technologies.

Auto safety cannot only be for citizens living in wealthy countries; yet GM’s practice of providing some consumers with the best safety technologies, while not even providing airbags to others, strikes us as a morally indefensible decision. Ms. Barra, GM is not alone in this practice, but in your capacity as CEO you have stated your commitment to auto safety technologies and doing right by consumers, and we think this is an issue that deserves your attention.

Just last month, on the occasion of the 2nd Global High Level Conference on Road Safety, governments from around the world adopted a declaration for all new motor vehicles to meet minimum safety regulations:

“Promote the adoption of policies and measures to implement United Nations vehicle safety regulations or equivalent national standards to ensure that all new motor vehicles meet applicable minimum regulations for occupant and other road users protection, with seat belts, air bags and active safety systems such as anti-lock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC) fitted as standard.”

At this propitious time, we are calling on each of the world’s largest car manufacturers to commit to comply with the UN Vehicle Safety regulations for all new cars, regardless of where they are sold.

This is particularly relevant to General Motors, as Latin NCAP has ranked it 8th out of 11 leading car manufacturers in Latin America, in terms of safety, and is the worst performing of any global manufacturer.

This disparity in access to safety technologies has real consequences, with an unacceptable burden of road crash deaths and injuries highlighted by the World Health Organization and referenced by Consumers International in its letter.  

The WHO has reported that:

  • 1.3 million people died and 50 million people were injured on roads in 2013. Unsafe cars are a major contributor to this statistic. 50% of those affected were vehicle occupants. This disparity in access to safety technologies has real consequences, and contributes to unacceptable burden of road crash deaths and injuries highlighted by the World Health Organization and referenced by Consumers International in its letter. 
  • Road traffic deaths are now the 9th biggest killer globally, and are predicted to become the 7th biggest killer worldwide by 2030 unless urgent action is taken.

The top ten car manufacturers accounted for 78% of all cars produced in 2013. It is clear that manufacturers like GM have an essential role to play in reducing traffic fatalities and injuries. 

The US is today one of the world leaders in providing consumers access to state-of-the-art safety equipment on all of our cars. As CEO, you can demonstrate to all consumers concern for their safety and play a leading role in ensuring all vehicles comply with these safety standards regardless of where they are sold. Applying these regulations voluntarily will help increase trust and confidence worldwide in the safety of your cars, and most importantly, save many thousands of lives. 

Thank you for your attention to our concerns. We would be happy to discuss further with you or your staff.

Yours Sincerely,

Ellen Bloom
Director, Federal Policy and Washington Office at Consumers Union
Consumers Union

Robert Weissman
President
Public Citizen

Jackie Gillan
President
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

Sally Greenberg
Executive Director
National Consumers League