That ‘click it’ seat belt campaign drives motorists crazy

The federal government’s “click it or ticket” campaign to hand out citations to unbelted drivers doesn’t seem to be winning overwhelming support on the West Coast.

A recent column criticizing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s ticketing campaign drew responses from a wide range of people who generally think federal regulators should put more emphasis on fighting more serious violations, such as speeding, red-light running and drunk driving.

Volney V. Brown Jr. of Dana Point wrote, “Good for you, questioning the “nanny state” for punishing people for their own good. What’s next? Ban surfing? Hang gliding? Kissing strangers? They will do this to us if we don’t fight back.”

Michael Ronkin, a pedestrian and bicycle advocate, agreed that the message about New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine’s crash seems misplaced on his lack of seat belts. “My initial reaction was also ‘they were traveling at 90 mph and the lack of seat belt use got all the media attention?’ Side note: The governor was late for a meeting with Don Imus and the Rutgers basketball coach -- not exactly an issue of statewide importance in my book,” he wrote.

Peter Jacobsen of Sacramento observed, “For Gov. Corzine to pretend his sin was not protecting himself while endangering the rest of us galls. Five thousand pounds of 1930s technology [a Suburban] hurtling down the highway at 91 mph is so very wrong on so many levels.”

Kenny Morse, the host of Mr. Traffic, disagreed with much of the column, including the idea that unbelted occupants are jeopardizing only their own safety. “This is never true. The person who doesn’t wear a seat belt affects so many people other than their stupid selves. One of the big lies ever told is ‘I’m not hurting anyone but myself!’ ”

I agree with Kenny and I urge everybody to wear a seat belt. I just wish the federal government would put some law enforcement emphasis on crimes that most endanger other motorists. That point was taken up by Terry Schauer, who retired recently after 33 years with the Los Angeles Police Department.

“I was known as a very strict and high producing traffic enforcer. I wrote probably 50,000 ‘movers’ during my career, from which I recently retired. But I can count on one hand the number of seat belt violations I have written. And those that I wrote were added on to another violation for receiving an undue amount of ‘lip-service’ or bad attitude from a ‘customer.’ I just never saw the need to remind someone of his own stupidity. I think seat belt checkpoints are a waste of time and money. Here’s the deal: If the government is dumb enough to spend our tax dollars on this “click it or ticket” campaign, cities will jump at the chance to take it.”

Glass-ified information

A highway crash can send shards of glass flying through the inside of a car.

Federal highway safety regulations are supposed to minimize the risk of those flying daggers.

Earlier this year, I wrote about a problem that David Hickman, owner of a new Toyota Camry, had when a thief smashed his rear side window. I have continued to look into the matter and it now appears that Toyota may be violating federal rules that require safety rating disclosures.

The glass from the Camry formed sharp pieces about 2 inches long with knife-like points, Hickman said. The pieces were sharp enough to cut up his leather upholstery, requiring the seats to be replaced, he said. If flying glass can cut up leather seats, you can imagine what it would do to a baby in a rear seat carrier.

Every piece of glass in a car carries a series of markings, some of which are required by federal law. I have asked Toyota officials several times to help me decipher the codes on their Camry, but so far they have not provided the information.

The Camry front side windows and the windshield carry markings that say Temperlite and Lamisafe, Hickman said. Those are trade names of the Japanese glass manufacturer, AGC Asahi Glass. The names seem to imply that the windshield is laminated glass and the front side windows are tempered glass. (Attempts to contact the company’s headquarters in Tokyo were unsuccessful.)

But markings on the rear side windows are a bit of a mystery: Toyota United DOT 404 M452.

I asked one of the nation’s top independent experts on automotive glass to help figure out what is going on with these windows. Richard Van Iderstine spent his career at the NHTSA and is considered the guru of glass. He currently operates FMVSS Consulting LLC.

Federal rules require “a model number that can be used to identify the construction of the glazing material, the letters ‘AS’ or the words ‘American National Standards,’ plus the number designating the series of the test procedures with which the glazing material complies,” he said.

The AS numbers range from 1 through 16. AS1 has the most stringent impact, penetration and optical requirements and at the least is required for windshields. AS2 has somewhat lesser requirements and is required in all exterior glazing on the sides and rear in passenger cars (not trucks or SUVs). So, Toyota United DOT 404 M452 appears to have the manufacturer’s name and trademark, the symbol “DOT,” the DOT code mark, and the model number, he said. “It appears to be missing the AS marking, the AS test procedure number,” Van Iderstine said. “It is possible that the missing information is located somewhere else on the glazing or that it is mis-marked.”

He added, “The markings are there for regulatory purposes, and not for consumer education or identification.”

It remains unclear what tempering standard Toyota’s supplier used on the rear glass. Different methods of tempering glass can result in different behavior when it is broken. Ideally, the glass should be strong, clear and break into relatively harmless pieces.

ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com