NYC HYBRID TAXIS UNFIT AND UNSAFE, SAYS REPORT

OCTOBER 2008 INDEX

NYC HYBRID TAXIS UNFIT AND UNSAFE, SAYS REPORT

Taxi Industry Demands Ford, Nissan, GM and Other Automakers Prove Crashworthiness of Hybrid Taxis

Danger to Public Safety Cited in Lawsuit Against City

New York, NY: A new report by a well known automotive engineer, who previously consulted for the City of New York and several major automakers, exposes the risks and dangers of riding in New York City’s hybrid yellow taxicabs. The report is the result of several months of analysis and concludes that hybrid taxis are unsafe and incompatible with the rigorous demands of New York City taxicabs that operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Hybrids will start to replace the stretch Ford Crown Victoria, a purpose- built taxi, and other taxis on October 1, 2008 if a City mandate requiring that all new taxis have a minimum city rating of 25 mpg is not halted. Citing public endangerment, the city’s largest taxi advocacy group urged a federal court on Monday to intervene.

According to the report’s author, C. Bruce Gambardella, P.E., “from an engineering standpoint vehicles have to be designed for the duty cycle they are likely to encounter and cannot feature modifications that will compromise their safety systems.” Hybrids strike out on both counts over and over again in virtually every category analyzed in the 43 page report. (See Attachment A for highlights from the report.)

The report concludes that hybrids are not designed to hold partitions which are mandated by the Taxi and Limousine Commission (“TLC”) to prevent drivers from being assaulted, robbed or killed. Partitions in hybrid taxis were found to compromise their safety systems by:

blocking side curtain airbags from deploying,
become easily dislodged in accidents,
restrict drivers from safely distancing themselves from front airbags, and
diminish backseat legroom so severely – as much as 10 inches less than in a stretch Ford Crown Victoria – that even belted passengers will hit their faces on the hard unyielding surface of the partitions in an accident. Mr. Gambardella took particular issue with the “L-shaped” partition which features sharp edges, presents a dangerously confined driver space and places passengers at great risk for injury.

Mr. Gambardella, who is the first engineer in the country to analyze and compare safety in both hybrid and conventional taxicabs in New York City, argues that “due to the mandatory vehicle modifications the TLC has, in effect, created its own vehicle design” and “as such, the TLC has an obligation to crash test the modified vehicles or require that the automakers crash test the vehicles as modified.” He writes, “it is completely unknown whether these modified cars would pass federal crash tests.” He also opined: “No automaker would put such an inadequately tested vehicle on the road, nor should the public or any federal regulatory agency stand for it.”

Furthermore, the report asserts that the TLC either failed to read, or blatantly ignored, explicit warnings in all hybrid vehicle owners’ manuals that expressly forbid modifications like partitions that could interfere with airbag deployment and other aspects of the safety systems. The report cites more than 75 separate manufacturers’ warnings in 5 different hybrids authorized for taxi use by the TLC. (See Attachment B: Sampling of Manufacturers’ Warnings.)

Mr. Gambardella calls the Crown Victoria the safest taxicab on the road. He cites its 25 years of experience as a taxi (6 years as a stretch model) and stresses that they are purpose-built for the police and taxi markets, anticipate partition installations and are built for heavy duty 24/7 usage. (Fleet taxis average 85,000 – 100,000 miles per year.) In contrast, hybrids are designed for non-commercial, private use where the average driver clocks well under 20,000 miles per year. Hybrid taxis have little experience as 24/7 taxis.

The Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade (“MTBOT”), the fleet trade association that commissioned the report out of concern for passenger and driver safety, instructed its attorneys at Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff and Abady LLP to send the report’s key findings to several hybrid automakers. In a letter, the firm requests explicit automaker certification and supporting documentation demonstrating that hybrid taxis, outfitted with partitions, are safe for commercial taxi use in New York City. The TLC was also provided with the letter and key findings. MTBOT has received no responses to date.

Ron Sherman, President of MTBOT, stated, “The City’s dangerously aggressive hybrid taxi mandate presents a public danger to our 240 million annual passengers and tens of thousands of taxi drivers as this report makes clear. MTBOT has desperately tried to work with the TLC and the Bloomberg Administration on a taxi policy that improves the environment without compromising public safety, but to no avail. We were left with no choice but to seek the court’s intervention to prevent the City from making a tragic mistake.”

On Monday, September 8, 2008, MTBOT and other parties concerned that passenger and driver safety was being compromised filed a complaint in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York urging an immediate halt to the mandate. The lawsuit, which maintains that the City’s mandate will cause irreparable harm to taxi passengers and drivers, argues that the City’s decision to mandate that all new taxis, as of October 1, 2008, have a city rating of 25 mpg or more is arbitrary and capricious because the City failed to follow its own long standing procedures requiring safety testing and a pilot program prior to the mandate of new vehicles. The lawsuit also argues that the City’s mandate is preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act as well as the federal Clean Air Act. The suit asks for the October 1st mandate to be annulled. Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff and Abady, LLP represents the plaintiffs.

MTBOT and the report’s author C. Bruce Gambardella, P.E. plan to testify at the New York City Council Transportation Committee’s oversight hearing, “Green Taxis: Are They Safe” on Wednesday, September 10th at 1 pm in City Hall. This is the Committee’s second oversight hearing. The TLC refused to testify at the Council’s June 3 2008 hearing leaving many safety questions unanswered.

MTBOT is the country’s largest taxi fleet association. It represents 27 yellow medallion taxi fleets in New York City and over 3,500 medallion taxicabs – approximately 25% of the taxi industry. MTBOT members have operated more than 30 different vehicles over several decades including minivans, Compressed Natural Gas vehicles and hybrids. MTBOT advocates on behalf of its members, its 14,000 drivers and the riding public.

C. Bruce Gambardella is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York, Michigan and Connecticut and has worked as an accident reconstruction expert full time since 1982. Clients have included the City of New York, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, NYC Transit Authority, the New York Attorney General’s Office and numerous major insurance companies and private attorneys. He has inspected more than 3,000 vehicles and performed more than 1,300 detailed accident reconstructions.

Attachment A: Highlights

“Comparative Analysis of Occupant Protection and Overall Passenger and Driver Safety Between Purpose-built Commercial Yellow Taxicabs and Standard Passenger Hybrid Yellow Taxicabs in New York City” by Bruce C. Gambardella, PE (Sept. 4, 2008)

All things being equal, larger and heavier vehicles are safer vehicles. A comprehensive inspection of a 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid that was totaled in a rear end collision revealed that the g-load (force or acceleration) that an individual would experience in a collision would be 40% greater in a Ford Escape Hybrid than it would be in a stretch Ford Crown Victoria. A 40% reduction in the peak g-load during a crash is highly significant and will dramatically reduce the potential for injury.

The Ford Crown Victoria Long Wheel Base (or stretch) is the safest taxicab available. Produced exclusively for the police and taxi markets, the Crown Victoria is a big-heavy-duty commercial with large crumple zones. It is engineered to withstand serious collisions and 24/7 commercial usage. (Fleet taxis average 85,000 to 100,000 miles per year, while private drivers average less than 1/5th that amount.)

Hybrids are non-commercial passenger vehicles that were never intended to hold partitions or be rigorously used in 24/7 operation.

Partitions in hybrid taxis may block the vehicle’s side curtain airbags. Hybrids like the Ford Escape and Nissan Altima require greater safety support including side curtain airbags to compensate for their small size and light weight. Partitions are necessary in New York City taxis to prevent drivers from being assaulted, robbed or killed. The partitions in the hybrids inspected were mounted flush against the side curtain airbags and therefore may block their deployment. Partitions and hybrids, the report finds, are incompatible. As a result, hybrids are inadequate and unsafe taxicabs.

Frequent and severe facial injuries will occur in small hybrid taxis due to inadequate space between the partition and passenger. The Ford Escape Hybrid, for example, has 8 to 10 inches less rear seat occupant space than the stretch Ford Crown Victoria. In hybrid taxis, even belted rear seat occupants of average stature are very likely to hit their heads on the partition in an accident. “The significant difference in rear seat occupant space between a Crown Victoria and a small hybrid vehicle like the Escape, Highlander and Altima is the difference between striking and not striking the partition in an accident.”

The L-Shaped partition is particularly dangerous due to its prominent hard surfaces and sharp edges – an anomaly in an automotive industry that strives specifically to avoid hard surfaces and sharp edges. “This crude modification changes the entire interior environment and takes us back about a half a century in automotive safety,” writes Mr. Gambardella.

The L-shaped partitions cannot be securely mounted in hybrid taxis. In a Crown Victoria, the full width partition is affixed securely to the Bpillars on either side of the vehicle. There are no side curtain airbags in the Crown Victoria. However, in a hybrid taxi, the L-shaped partition must be affixed to whatever available plastic exists near the center console increasing the risk of it being dislodged in an accident as it was in a crashed 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid inspected for this report.

Taxi drivers are at great risk of injury in hybrid taxis.

Small hybrids with L-shaped or full width partitions do not permit drivers to recline their seats to create distance from the front airbags. Manufacturers warn that sitting too close to the front airbags could result in injury or death in an accident. Drivers face a dangerous glare on the right side of the L-shaped partition. Drivers are boxed in with the L-shaped partition and may have trouble escaping from an accident.

Hybrid components like the battery and engine never have an opportunity to cool down when driven 24/7 and may not function properly.

Ford Escape Hybrids and other SUVs have higher rollover rates than Crown Victorias which are not known to rollover. The 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid has only a 3-star NHTSA rollover rating which drops to a low 2-star rating when the car is fully loaded with passengers as many taxicabs are. Crown Victorias have a 5 star rollover rating.

The TLC cannot rely on federal safety ratings to assert the safety of rear seat occupants in hybrid taxis. The National Highways and Transportation Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (“IIHS”) do not conduct front or rear end crash tests on rear seated adults – the vast majority of taxi passengers. In addition, neither NHTSA nor IIHS nor the TLC has ever conducted crash tests on modified hybrid taxicabs. It is completely unknown whether these modified cars would pass federal crash tests.

The TLC has either ignored or didn’t read the hybrid owners manuals which all warn against modifications like partitions. (See Attachment B.)

The TLC has a history of ignoring warnings and placing the public in danger. The TLC ignored warnings about after market vinyl seats such as: “Do not modify or replace the seats or upholstery with side impact airbags. Such changes may prevent the side airbag from activating correctly.” (Toyota Highlander Hybrid manual, p. 94)

Until last month, the TLC mandated that all hybrids have vinyl seat coverings. After being contacted by concerned automakers, on August 4, 2008 the TLC instructed medallion owners to remove the vinyl seats because they “will prevent the front seat airbags from deploying or limit the force of deployment” and “may prevent the seat installed side/thorax airbags from working properly.”

Attachment B: Sampling of Hybrid Manufacturers’ Warnings

Below are direct quotes from the owners manuals of a number of the hybrids approved by the Taxi and Limousine Commission.

Ford Escape Hybrid

Do not put anything over the airbag module. Placing objects on or over the airbag inflation area may cause those objects to be propelled by the airbag into your face and torso causing serious injury. (Page120)

Do not place objects or mount equipment on or near the headliner at the side rail that may come into contact with a deploying Safety Canopy. Failure to follow these instructions may increase the risk of personal injury in the event of a collision. (Page 131)

Do not attempt to service, repair, or modify the Safety Canopy system, its fuses, the A, B, or C pillar trim, or the headliner on a vehicle containing a Safety Canopy. (Page 131)

Any alteration or modification to the front passenger seat may affect the performance of the front passenger sensing system. (Page 128)

Toyota Camry Hybrid

A wide variety of non-genuine spare parts and accessories for Toyota vehicles are currently available on the market. You should know these parts are not covered by Toyota warranty and that Toyota is not responsible for their performance, repair, or replacement, or for any damage they may cause to, or adverse effect they may have on your Toyota vehicles.

This vehicle should not be modified with non-genuine Toyota products. Modification with non-genuine Toyota products could affect its performance, safety or durability and may even violate governmental regulations. In addition, damage or performance problems resulting from the modifications may not be covered under warranty. (Page 16)

Do not attach anything to areas such as the door, windshield glass, side door glass, front and rear pillars, roof side rails or assist grip. (Page 99)

Do not use seat accessories which cover the parts where the SRS side airbags inflate as they may interfere with inflation of the airbags. (Page 99)

Do not modify or remove the front seats. (Page 105)

Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Do not use seat accessories which cover the area where the side airbags inflate. Such accessories may prevent the side airbags from activating correctly, causing death or serious injury. (Page 51)

Do not modify or replace the seats or upholstery of the seats with side impact airbags. Such changes may prevent the side airbag system from activating correctly, disable the system or cause the side airbags to inflate accidentally, resulting in death or serious injury. (Page 94)

Toyota Prius Hybrid

Do not use seat accessories which cover the area where the side airbags inflate. Such accessories may prevent the side airbags from activating correctly causing death or serious injury.

Do not modify or replace the seats or upholstery of the seats with airbags. Such changes prevent the side airbag system from activating correctly disable the system or cause the side airbags to inflate accidentally resulting in death or serious injury. (Page 53)

Do not disassemble or repair the front and rear pillars and roof side rail containing the curtain shield airbags. Such changes may disable the system or cause the curtain shield airbags to inflate accidentally resulting in death or serious injury. Failure to follow these instructions can result in death or serious injury. Consult your Toyota dealer about any repair and modification (Page 53)

Nissan Altima Hybrid

This vehicle should not be modified. Modification could affect its performance, safety or durability and may even violate governmental regulations. In addition, damage or performance problems resulting from modifications may not be covered under Nissan warranties. (Page1-45)

Do not make unauthorized changes to your vehicle’s electrical system, suspension system or front end structure. This could affect proper operation of the supplemental front air bag system. (Page 1-45)

Do not place any objects near the seat back of the front seats. Also do not place any objects (an umbrella, bag, etc.) between the front door finisher and the front seats. Such objects may become dangerous projectiles and cause injury if the front set mounted side impact supplemental airbag inflates. (Page 1-47)

[Making unauthorized changes to the vehicle’s electrical system, suspension system or side panels] could affect proper operation of the seat mounted side impact supplemental airbag and roof mounted, curtain side impact supplemental airbag system. (Page1-47)

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