Automobile Industry

Science Friday • Ralph Nader Reflects On His Auto Safety Campaign, 55 Years Later • Podcast Addict

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Science Friday • Ralph Nader Reflects On His Auto Safety Campaign, 55 Years Later • Podcast Addict

It’s hard to imagine a world without seatbelts or airbags. But five decades ago, it was the norm for car manufacturers to put glamour over safety.

“It was stylistic pornography over engineering integrity,” Ralph Nader, prolific consumer advocate and several-time presidential candidate, tells Science Friday.

This winter marks the 55th anniversary of Nader’s groundbreaking investigation, “Unsafe at Any Speed,” a damning look at how little auto safety technology was in vehicles back in the 1960s. The book had a massive effect on auto safety in the U.S., setting the groundwork for laws about seatbelts, and the creation of the United States Department of Transportation.

Nader joins Ira to discuss what’s happened over 55 years of auto safety advances, and what kind of work is needed to make sure new technology, like self-driving cars, have the safety checks they need before going out on the roads.

If you think Ralph Nader would be fading away quietly of advanced age, 55 years after Unsafe at Any Speed, you would be wrong, especially after listening to this interview.

Avoid Driving

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Despite my many road trips, I have driven only 8,000 miles over the past year.

During most of the year, I do all I can to avoid driving. There are many weeks when I will only drive one day a week – on Sunday. Where I currently live that is a realistic lifestyle choice, as I have access to public transit and a fairly walkable neighborhood. Even when I could drive somewhere, I often ask myself is there way I could get their on foot or by public transit? Is their an alternative activity I could do that doesn’t involve motoring?

Walking is much healthier then driving. It involves physical activity, not sitting in the plush seat of an automobile. Walking, especially on sidewalks and trails doesn’t pose the health and safety risk that driving around in an automobile does. I used to hike in more remote country, but now I’ve come to the conclusion that hiking in the wilderness – just as a day trip – really doesn’t make sense when you can walk near you home, get all the physical benefits of walking without the carbon emissions or cost of fuel and automobile maintenance.

There is nothing wrong with spending time in the wilderness – you have to go there hunt, fish, camp – but when you just want a carbon-free stroll, nothing beats visiting places you can walk to from your neighborhood. Maybe the woods and trails nearby aren’t as pristine or interesting as the great wilderness, but you save a lot of money, and aren’t producing much carbon by walking.

Sure, I like my big truck with the camper shell. It’s wonderful for camping and doing activities in the wilderness. But I much rather reserve it for special occasions, and use my own two feet and public transit system whenever possible.

2023 Chevy Colorado OTA Update Drains Batteries by Leaving the Infotainment On

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2023 Chevy Colorado OTA Update Drains Batteries by Leaving the Infotainment On

As covered by GM Authority, a defective software update for 2023 Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon models may be causing problems out in the wild. Owners have been complaining on social media that their pickups have suffered from flat batteries, with a flurry of reports surfacing on social media in the past few days. Notably, both pickups are equipped with over-the-air update capabilities.

An explanation for the problem has been circulating through various GM message boards. A user, claiming to be a GM technician, stated that the issue is related to the infotainment system. Reportedly, a recent software update causes the system to get stuck in recovery mode, where it will continually drain the battery even when the car is off.

The user advised that the issue could be avoided by turning off the "download updates in the background" and "download updates via Wi-Fi when available" settings in the car's infotainment system. This would stop the update from occurring, thus avoiding the battery drain problem.