Monday, May 8, 2017

Billerica Auto Auction Tragedy: Former employee says she voiced safety concerns before deadly auto auction accident





Condolences to those killed or injured by this tragedy and their family members. 

Vehicles have been BANNED by car washes because of the danger they pose.... 

The National Car Wash Association shares a list of DANGEROUS VEHICLES PRONE TO SUDDEN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION with its members to protect their liability. 

Do we know what vehicles are on that list to protect our families? 




Former employee says she voiced safety concerns before deadly auto auction accident


by: Kathryn Burcham Updated: 



BILLERICA, Mass. - The Lynnway Auto Auction is taking new safety precautions after a tragic crash killed three people last week.
But the safety barriers planned to protect crowds won’t be installed by Wednesday for the first weekly auction after the incident.
Boston 25 News has learned a former driver asked about safety changes years before the accident.
That driver worked at the auction for three years in a part time job, driving cars through the auction lanes.
The woman, who asked to be identified only as Anne, spent three years driving cars through the crowds inside the Lynnway auto auction. She said her safety concerns were ignored.
“It’s just a matter of time before something like this would happen,” Anne said.
Showing us her tax records to prove her employment, she sat down with Boston 25 News just days after three people were killed at her former job.
“I wasn't surprised because I was like, ‘one of these days, someone is going to get killed,” she said.
Anne says she received no formal safety training after she was hired through a temp agency called Labor Force.
“Not really much, you have a license, you can drive, you know,” she said.
Anne says many of the cars she drove had major mechanical issues and questions if they were safe to drive through the crowded lanes.
“I did worry about my own safety…one of the cars I was driving, the brakes went all the way to the floor,” she explained.
MassCOSH, a non-profit that monitors worker safety, is calling for more precautions at Lynnway; particularly for temporary workers like Anne, or Leezandra Aponte -- one of the victims of last weeks' crash.
“Temp workers are seen sadly as disposable, they're treated like second class employees,” MassCOSH’s Jeff Newton told Boston 25. “We will be following the OSHA investigation to see if the company took any shortcuts that put anyone in needless danger.”
A spokeswoman for Lynnway told us all drivers attend an instructional safety meeting before every auction and that drivers are instructed if there's any mechanical problem, they should stop the vehicle.

The company also plans to add more safety monitors and lane barriers.
Spokeswoman Jill Reilly also said Lynnway does have a tow truck on site and that if any driver feels their car isn't safe to drive, they are told to stop it immediately and call for the tow truck.
According to Reilly, Lynnway is planning to install bollards as soon as possible, but they won’t be installed by Wednesday. However, they are going to put Jersey barriers in place, until the bollards are ready to be installed.
[Anne] was not a Lynnway employee, she worked for Labor Ready. [Anne] had an uncooperative attitude and Labor Ready was asked not to send her any more. During the time she worked as an auction day driver, she was required to attend the safety meeting and handed a copy of the safety instructions every single time she came on Wednesdays to work as a driver.
Discrediting workers is typical when companies attempt to defend their actions. 

  • All drivers (regardless of how long they have worked at Lynnway) are required to attend an instructional and safety meeting held in the morning before every auction.
  • The drivers are instructed that if they notice any mechanical problem (especially brakes) they are to stop the vehicle wherever it is and turn off the engine.
  • Lynnway has a tow truck on site which tows vehicles through the auction lane. Drivers are specifically told that they will not get in any trouble or be in any way criticized if they stop any vehicle and call for the tow truck.


http://www.fox25boston.com/news/former-employee-says-she-voiced-safety-concerns-before-deadly-auto-auction-accident/520599453




[Jeep Car Wash SUA Information]
---------------------------------------------------------
Runaway Jeep crashes into pole after
exiting Lititz car wash
CHRISTOPHER PRATT | Staff Writer
Feb 5, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------
Local car wash not accepting Jeep Cherokee’s
due to safety issue
BY SANDRA JONES
POSTED 11:43 PM, OCTOBER 16, 2015
(with 2:10 min video segment)
------------------------------------------------------------
No injuries in the latest Jumpin' Jeep
escapade
Not all the incidents of apparent
unintended acceleration have ended
so luckily
By James R. Hood
08/04/2015 | ConsumerAffairs
----------------------------------------------------------
Runway Jeep traverses several lanes on Highway
101
Bay City News
Published: August 3, 2015, 11:38 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Runaway Jeep Grand Cherokees have
led to crashes, car wash owners say.
Updated: MAY 11, 2015 — 1:12 AM EDT
by John Moritz, Inquirer Staff Writer
---------------------------------------------------------
Video: Car-wash chain won't clean older
Jeep Cherokee models over sudden
acceleration fears
BY MICHAEL ROBERTS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2013 AT 6:02 A.M.
(2010 or before Cherokee/Grand Cherokee)
--------------
(excerpts):
This is not a new issueWay back in 2006, the International Carwash
Association issued an advisory on Jeep Cherokee models based on sudden-
acceleration reports. The document doesn't recommend banning such vehicles,
but it does list five procedures to be employed when they're being cleaned for
safety reasons:
1. Handle Jeep Cherokees and Jeep Grand Cherokees with extreme caution
2. Allow only specially trained car wash employees to handle these vehicles
3. Notify all car wash employees when one of these vehicles is on the property
4. Move the vehicle using both feet - left foot on the brake and right foot on
    the accelerator
5. Instruct employees and customers to never walk in front of
     one of these vehicles
©2017 Denver Westword, LLC. All rights reserved.
=============================================
=============================================
Jeep sudden acceleration accident at auction 
#4395327 - May 3, 2017 at 10:15 AM
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(page 2)
friendly_jacek
Registered: 05/04/03
Posts: 6537
Loc: southeast US
Quote:   ConsumerAffairs for a 2011 posting 
Jeeps seem to have acquired an especially fearsome reputation among car wash operators, like Dan of Palmyra, Pa.
"My family has owned and operated automatic car washes for nearly 50 years. Over the past 10 years, we have had
half a dozen incidents with Jeep Grand Cherokees accelerating out of control," Dan said in a 2011 ConsumerAffairs
posting. "Every time it has happened, our employees have maintained that the vehicle took off on them and they
could not stop it. The first few times it happened, we assumed it was driver error but not anymore. There is case after
case of this happening and nobody at Chrysler will do anything about it.
---------------------------------------------------------
Jeep Grand Cherokee May Suddenly Accelerate
A 52-year-old man was run over and killed by a
Grand Cherokee in a Connecticut car wash
06/13/2006 | ConsumerAffairs |  Jeep Recalls
By Joe Benton
--------------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: No charges in runaway SUV case
POSTED 6:46 PM, JULY 10, 2014
BY WAYNE COVIL
(with 2:20 min video segment)  (Ford SUV)
--------------
(excerpts):
Witnesses told police that a car wash employee went to move the SUV
forward, when the vehicle suddenly accelerated.
The employee was able to miss two parked cars before trying to slam on
the brakes to no success.
After crossing Dupuy Avenue, the SUV hit the curb, knocking the driver
out of the seat and onto the ground.
Sheriff Todd Wilson said the SUV never slowed down and continued
almost the length of a football field before slamming into the large green
power box on the north side of the courthouse.
The employee was slightly injured and required medical attention at the
hospital.
Bob Schrum, the owner of Flagstop Car Wash, said his employees are
provided a list of cars, trucks and SUVs that have been proven prone to
unintentional acceleration. In fact, he said the instances have been well
documented by the National Car Wash Association.
Schrum said about a month ago that all 120 of his employees took part in a
safety seminar provided by his insurance company, which touched on
sudden unintentional acceleration.


VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2010 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [6]

http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2010/jeep/grand_cherokee/vehicle_speed_control/problem.aspx

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2009 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [9]


Vehicle Speed Control Problem on the 2008 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [23]
http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2008/jeep/grand_cherokee/vehicle_speed_control/problem.aspx

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2007 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [52] 


VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2006 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [46]


VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2005 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [76]


VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2004 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [72]


VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2003 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [29] 


VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2002 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [34] 


VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2001 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [34] 



VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 2000 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [50]


VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL PROBLEM ON THE 1999 JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE [61]