NEWS BRIEFS FOR THE WEEK OF SEPT. 29, 2005

NEWS BRIEFS FOR THE WEEK OF 
SEPT. 29, 2005Autographed Toolbox Auctioned 
for American Red Cross

COLUMBUS, OH (Sept. 26, 2005) -Mac Tools is auctioning a driver-autographed toolbox for ten days, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the American Red Cross to assist in the hurricane relief efforts.o Launched yesterday, Sept 29, the Mac Tools toolbox is up for bid on the online auction site Ebay. 

The red toolbox includes a top and bottom chest (Product Number MB8800 and MB8810) containing 13 drawers for storage and providing more than 27,000 cubic inches of space. The toolbox is autographed by all 64 NHRA drag racing drivers of the four professional classes (Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, Pro Stock Bike) that qualified for the race that took place Aug. 31 through Sept. 5, 2005. Drivers who autographed the box include John Force, Brandon Bernstein, Larry Dixon and Doug Kalitta.

"Auctioning the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals box for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts is one of the many things Mac Tools is doing to help those who lost everything in this terrible natural disaster," said Roger Spee, director of marketing. "We know that any NHRA race fan will jump at the chance to own this piece of U.S. Nationals memorabilia, so why not give them the opportunity to collect this item and make a solid contribution to rebuilding lives."

The link for the auction site also is posted on the Mac Tools Web site. 

U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Criticizes 
China's Trade Practices

WASHINGTON (Sept. 22, 2005) - Concerns about China's trade practices and insufficient protection for intellectual property continue to surface, fueling Congressional legislative efforts to deal with counterfeiting of manufactured goods and cope with unfair trade practices.

In its fourth annual review of China's performance regarding World Trade Organization (WTO) implementation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce called China's WTO commitments to protect and enforce intellectual property rights (IPR) and its unfair market access for American companies into Chinese markets matters of grave concern. 

The organization supports proposed legislation in the U.S. Senate and the Bush administration's international initiatives to protect the rights of American businesses amid growing concern over the counterfeiting and piracy of U.S. intellectual property. 

"China's IPR enforcement did not markedly improve for our companies in 2005. While we recognize increasing efforts and attention by China's central government to address this problem, current measures have failed to significantly reduce epidemic levels of piracy and counterfeiting," said Myron Brilliant, Chamber of Commerce vice president for East Asia. "China must demonstrate that its efforts to crack down on piracy and counterfeiting are yielding concrete results." 

China also has missed key implementation deadlines and is continuing to adopt policies that are more restrictive for U.S. companies than those in place prior to its WTO accession. Brilliant stated, "China should also take immediate steps to increase imports of legitimate products that are now distributed and used illegally." 

The report also cited specific areas of progress in China over the past year, including the relatively smooth acquisition of trading rights by foreign companies, approval of U.S. companies to conduct auto financing, and steady improvement in China's agriculture import management. 

(Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

NHTSA Helps DeMystify Tire Selection

WASHINGTON (Sept. 1, 2005) According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), passenger vehicle tire quality has improved since last year. NHTSA's 2005 ratings cover more than 2,400 lines of the most popular passenger vehicle tires sold in the United States.

What The Ratings MeanTraction: For consumers, stopping distances on a wet road can be important. NHTSA ratings are expressed in letter grades from "AA," the highest, to "C," the lowest permissible grade. Tires with a higher grade allow a vehicle to stop in a shorter distance on a wet road.Treadware: Tires with a higher treadwear rating should last longer. In grading for treadwear, tires are ranked numerically according to durability. The higher the number, the more durable the tire. Heat Resistance: Heat can increase the risk of blowout, Tires with the highest heat resistance are graded "A" followed by "B," or "C" (lowest). The "C" grade represents the minimum acceptable performance required in a high-speed test set by federal regulation.

NHTSA rates tires using the Uniform Tire Quality Grading System, which evaluates tire traction, treadwear and their ability to resist heat. 
"Higher quality tires, along with good maintenance, provide consumers a greater margin of safety. The tire grading system is a big help in the often-confusing process of selecting tires," NHTSA said.

According to the Agency, nearly 90 tire lines received the highest possible rating for traction this year. Also, five tire brands (Big-O, Goodyear, Michelin, Bridgestone and Cordovan) produce tire lines that received exceptional ratings for tread durability. This year, nearly 700 tire lines were given the highest grade ("A") for heat resistance.

Technicians and consumers can view tire ratings for passenger cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles and light pickup trucks on NHTSA's Web site.

(Source: NHTSA)

NTSB's Most Wanted List

WASHINGTON (Sept. 20, 2005). - In an effort to reduce highway deaths, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made a number of recommendations for states to consider adopting. The NTSB cannot make rules on its own volition; rather, it can only recommend that states do so. To that end, the NTSB's "Most Wanted List" for highway safety centered on five primary areas:

* Promoting Youth Highway Safety - This issue resulted in most of the NTSB's recommendations. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for young drivers, 15 to 20 years old. From 1995 to 2004, about 64,000 young people died in traffic crashes - more than 122 each week. While young drivers do only 20 percent of their driving at night, more than half of their crash fatalities occur during nighttime hours. 

The board urged the states to prohibit inexperienced teenaged drivers from using wireless communications devices while they are learning to drive. Restricting the number of passengers under age 20 for young drivers with provisional licenses for at least six months was another request. In addition, the NTSB asked for a three-stage graduated licensing system for young drivers, including passenger restrictions during the provisional stage.

Two prior recommendations were removed from the official list by the NTSB, due to nearly total acceptance by the states. The NTSB still wants remaining states that haven't yet done so to enact drinking age (age 21) laws that prohibit persons under age 21 from attempting to purchase, purchasing, publicly possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages, as well as prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages to persons under age 21. Also, remaining states were asked to restrict nighttime driving privileges for young drivers, especially between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. 

* Reduction of Infant Fatalities - Between 1995 and 2004, more than 3,800 child automobile occupants were killed in traffic crashes. About 86 percent of the children killed, age four though eight, were unrestrained or improperly restrained in adult-sized seat belts. The NTSB is asking states to require the mandatory use of child restraint systems for children up to eight years old.  * Primary Seat Belt Enforcement - Almost 31,700 people died in automobile crashes in 2004; 55 percent of those killed were unrestrained. The NTSB called for state legislation allowing law enforcement to cite people for not wearing seat belts even when no other violation is evident. The recommendation also calls for seat belt violations to include driver's license penalty points and appropriate fines.  * Eliminate Hard-Core Drinking and Driving - In 2004, there were 16,694 alcohol-related traffic crash fatalities, and 54 percent of those fatalities involved har-core drinking drivers. A hard-core drinking driver is a repeat offender with a prior driving-while-intoxicated arrest within the past 10 years, or an offender with a blood alcohol content of 0.15 percent or greater. Thr NTSB recommended that states to establish a comprehensive 11-point program designed to prevent hard-core drinkers from driving.  * School Bus/Train Grade Crossing Safety - Although school bus grade crossing accidents are infrequent, the results are disastrous when they do occur. The NTSB wants states to implement programs to install stop signs at crossings, enhance bus driver training and require noise-reducing switches. 

"Clearly, the board's advocacy efforts have been extremely successful. There have been 238 safety improvements in the states since these recommendations were issued," said Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker. "Each one contributed to a reduction in accidents, injuries and fatalities in their respective states. I ask all the states to work with us to make transportation safety a priority for all our citizens." 

(Source: NTSB)

Aftermarket Black Box Immobilizes Vehicles With Late Payments TEMECULA, CA (Sept. 23, 2005) - Payment Protection Systems, a California-based microprocessor firm, has developed an aftermarket black box that will automatically immobilize a vehicle if payments aren't received on time, every time.