. >> nhtsa granted the study two years ago but just days ago nhtsa ordered an engineering analysis of the vehicle. in this office of defects investigation resume, nhtsa reports that 48 people died in fiery rear-end crashes. but nhtsa officials pointed out that not all of the people who died were in a jeep grand cherokee. some were in the vehicle that struck the suv. it is one of the key factors that convinced nhtsa to upgrade its safety defect investigation. chrysler's response is that the jeep grand cherokee is no riskier than its closest competitors. >> what would you tell people who have this vehicle? >> i would tell them, if at all possible, get another vehicle. >> chrysler says 1.1 million of these vehicles are still out on the roads. ditlow wants all of them recalled. auto experts say the problem is where the plastic fuel tank is positioned. behind the rear axle. you can see is it right here in this jeep grand cherokee. in the 1993 to '98 model the fuel tank looks like a spare tire well, but this plastic tank, filled with gallons of fuel, literally hangs down, exposed with no pr

back in 2009, the center for auto safety asked nhtsa to investigate the problem. nhtsa did. last week they expanded their probe. and in this nhtsa document, the safety agency says that rear impact-related tank failures and vehicle fires are more prevalent in the jeep grand cherokees than in nonjeep peer vehicles. sheridan observed the crash tests you see here. they were performed by a california engineering firm and paid for by the center for auto safety. in this test when a ford taurus strikes the jeep grand cherokee, you see what's called an underride. the taurus bumper is lower to the ground and does not line up with this cherokee's bumper. instead it goes under the vehicle striking the gas tank and creates a fire risk. chrysler takes issue with these tests. they maintain their cars met the federal standard for the grand cherokee at the time it was manufactured, which is true. and that their vehicles are safe. >> it's been known in the industry for many, many decades so when this vehicle was actually delivered to the public, it wasn't that the underride accident scenario

nhtsa says the recall affects rio cars from the years 2006 to 2008.a sensor in the front passenger seat can crack and not detect whether a child is sitting in the seat that means the bag can inflate in a crash and injure the child no injuries reported and the cars are designed so air bags don't inflate if a child is in the front seat if it sends the child there. kia will replace the senator for free starting next month. >>> new study by uc davis researchers found mothers who have fevers during pregnancies were more than twice as likely to have a child with awe -- with autism or a developmental delay than mothers who didn't have a fever or took medication to bring down their temperatures. the study is believed to be the first of its kind. >> green bay packer wide receiver donald driver was already famous gained more fame when he won "dancing with the stars." this is video of driver sunday at a charity softball game in milwaukee, he's starting to throw parts of his uniform to fans he threw his shoe the woman wrestled the cleat away from the boy. when dr

nhtsa says the recall affects rio cars from the years 2006 to 2008.or in the front passenger seat can crack and not detect whether a child is sitting in the seat that means the bag can inflate in a crash and injure the child no injuries reported and the cars are designed so air bags don't inflate if a child is in the front seat if it sends the child there. kia will replace the senator for free starting next month. >>> new study by uc davis researchers found mothers who have fevers during pregnancies were more than twice as likely to have a child with awe -- with autism or a developmental delay than mothers who didn't have a fever or took medication to bring down their temperatures. the study is believed to be the first of its kind. >> green bay packer wide receiver donald driver was already famous gained more fame when he won "dancing with the stars." this is video of driver sunday at a charity softball game in milwaukee, he's starting to throw parts of his uniform to fans he threw his shoe the woman wrestled the cleat away from the boy. when driver l

nhtsa. >> reporter: avis/budget repaired only 53% that quickly. was even worse with only 34% repaired within 90 days, now afc/budget says we do not and will not rent a vehicle which is subject to an -- >>> we apologize. apparently we're having some trouble with that piece there. >>> we've got much more ahead on "news4 at 4." >>> some creative people bring soapbox derby races to a whole new level. >> plus a high school student doesn't have to worry about getting a check every week. his lottery luck tale is coming up next. >>> coming up on "news4 at 5:00" a special ade teacher arrested. >>> a warning for parents about a popular social networking app. one mother is sharing her story, hoping to keep others safe from child predators. >>> coming up at 6:00, while >>> quell come to the wacky race in estonia where speed doesn't matter. 22 people took part in this crazy soapbox race over the weekend. there was no prize for the car that finished first, but there were lots of prizes for style and create activity. this was good news for some racers, since som

should be allowed to rent or sell a car without fixing the car first to specifications approved by nhtsa>> my daughters died instant any a fireball. we need this to be a law. we can cot on the industry to do the right thing. >> boxer is calling on rental car companies to sign a pledge not to rent or sell cars that have safety recalls. after confronting the rental car companies, boxer says hertz is the only company of the four major rental car businesses in the u.s. to sign that pledge. >>> okay. america's largest wireless company is asking its customers with a what they want to see in a wireless plan and verizon wireless used the research and decided to revamp the way it sells its data plans. verizon wireless calls it share everything plans. it is a way to buy one data plan and use it with up to ten different mobile devices such as phones, tablets, notebooks. the verizon plan includes unlimited shared minutes and messages but there are monthly fees for the data and all the wireless services that you use. here is how it is supposed to work. figure out how many wireless deviceses you have,

consumer without being fixed first to the manufacturer's specifications, which have been approved by nhtsa. >> a government study found enterprise repaired only 65% of vehicles in 90 days. budget, 353 that quickly. hertz was even worse with only 34% repaired in 90 days. now avis says we do not and will not rent a vehicle which is subject to a recall. enterprise and national says the same thing. as for dollar thrifty, it says, "we have never had a serious personal injury arise from a failure to timely address a safety recall." and it repairs all safety recalls from its fleet. customers should beware. >> what consumers going to a rental company will ask for a vehicle with an outstanding recall on it. they want a safe car. they don't want one that's waiting to break down on the road. >> reporter: hertz has also made a pledge, hertz will not rent or sell a vehicle if it has been involved in a safety recall until that vehicle has been fixed. that from hertz. so as you make your summer travel plans, the best advice may be to know what your rental car company's policy is on repairing rentals invo

my amendment would do that by directing nhtsa to use this opportunity to help those states become more effective in preventing these tragedies. it wasn't the only one that has become of significance in my state. 11-year-old justin bradfield of janesville, iowa, was tragically killed in 2011 after being struck by a school bus. that's why earlier this year i introduced caden's act in the house, the bill would encourage states to toughen their penalties for those found guilty of passing a stopped school bus. i'm honored to have the subcommittee chairman as a co-sponsor of that legislation. host: that my colleagues will support this -- legislation. i hope that my colleagues will support this amendment and i urge them to work to pass both these bills, to make it safer for our kids to get to school and back. and with that i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa rise? mr. latham: i thank the chair. i would like to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. latham: i thank the chairwoman. i apprec

as the gentlemen are aware the national highway transportation safety administration, nhtsa, has been working on a public -private research program known as the driver alcohol detection system for safety, or dads, that would develop a path of technology to detect if a driver's blood alcohol content is above the legal limit. i would urge the chairman to consider funding for the dads program as this bill moves forward and i yield to the gentleman from virginia. mr. wolf: i thank the gentleman from maryland and rise to support his initiative. mr. chairman, too many times a mother or father or loved one has gotten that dreaded call in the middle of the night that someone has been killed in an accident involving a drunk driver. i appreciate my friend from maryland raising the dads program and also urge my good friend, the chairman, to look at this program as the bill moves forward. mr. sarbanes: i yield to the gentleman from iowa. mr. latham: i thank the gentlemen from maryland and virginia. i appreciate their taking the time to raise this very important issue. i will be mindful of their c