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NHTSA is advising owners of vehicles affected by recent Toyota recalls, including the Prius Hybrid shown above, to contact their local dealership if they detect a problem. For more information, consumers should visit www.nhtsa.gov or call the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at (888) 327-4236.
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NHTSA Launches Formal Investigation into Toyota Prius Safety Issues
WASHINGTON, D.C., (SLFP.com), February 4, 2010 - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it is opening a formal investigation of the Toyota Prius Hybrid model year 2010 to look into allegations of momentary loss of braking capability while traveling over an uneven road surface, pothole or bump.
The Office of Defects Investigation has received 124 reports from consumers, including four reports alleging that crashes occurred. Investigators have spoken with consumers and conducted pre-investigatory field work.
"Safety is our top priority," said Secretary Ray LaHood. "That is why in recent weeks NHTSA has also issued a consumer advisory on the recall of several models of Toyota vehicles and the Pontiac Vibe involving pedal entrapment and sticky accelerator pedals. We will continue to monitor these issues closely."
Late Wednesday, Secretary LaHood spoke with Toyota president, Akio Toyoda, who reassured him that Toyota takes U.S. safety concerns seriously and puts safety at the top of the company's priorities.
Consumer complaints about possible safety problems are one of NHTSA's most important sources of information about vehicles. Officials review each one within a single business day and analyze the information to ensure trends are detected early.
Of the 100 investigations NHTSA opens every year, there are currently 40 open defect investigations, three of which involve Toyota. NHTSA has the most active defect investigation program in the world, opening or closing an investigation almost every week. Over the last three years, NHTSAÕs defect and compliance investigations have resulted in 524 recalls involving 23.5 million vehicles.
NHTSA is advising owners of vehicles affected by recent Toyota recalls to contact their local dealership if they detect a problem. For more information, consumers should visit www.nhtsa.gov or call the NHTSA Vehicle Safety Hotline at (888) 327-4236.
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Missouri Receives Millions for High-Speed Rail Projects
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), January 31, 2010 - On Thursday, Missouri was awarded $31 million for high-speed rail projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
In a release, Brian Weiler, director of Multimodal Operations at the Missouri Department of Transportation, said they were very pleased. "This is the best news we could have hoped for given the extreme competition for rail funding. We are excited to have funding for additional projects that will support jobs and carry on the momentum of building a faster and more reliable passenger and freight train service in Missouri and a stronger rail corridor across the Midwest." See related story: High-Speed Rail to Have Major Economic Impact on Region
The recovery act funding will be used for three shovel-ready projects that will support approximately 190 direct jobs:
- A second rail bridge over the Osage River that will eliminate delays caused by a bottleneck, plus additional crossovers that will reduce maintenance flexibility;
- a universal crossover near the Kirkwood Amtrak station that will ease the flow of passenger train into and out of the St. Louis area; and
- safety improvements at several rail crossings, primarily west of Sedalia.
It will also fund preliminary engineering on six future improvement projects worth approximately $100 million, including double tracks between Lee's Summit and Pleasant Hill, a passing siding at Kingsville, a grade separation at Strasburg, a passing siding extension at Knob Noster and universal crossovers - a device that allows trains to crossover to another track in either direction - at Bonnots Mill and Hermann.
Missouri's success was part of a larger Midwest regional effort that, as a whole, captured $2.6 billion of the $8 billion in ARRA funds available for high-speed rail corridor improvements. The state consortium, known as the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative, is involved in an ongoing effort to develop and expand access to an improved passenger rail system in the Midwest. Besides Missouri, other participating states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
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Tech Support Callers May Be Identity Thieves
ST. LOUIS, MO, (SLFP.com), January 31, 2010 - St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office has released a fraud bulletin concerning identity thieves who may be calling as tech support.
The AARP Bulletin recently issued a report of an opportunistic new fraud targeting individuals concerned with protecting their computers from harmful software.
In this scam, criminals posing as representatives of security software vendors such as Microsoft, McAfee, or Norton directly contact homeowners. These thieves claim that the homeowner has inadvertently downloaded a virus that is stealing his or her stored personal data and files. The victim is urged to defeat the "virus" by immediately going online to download software to stop the transfer of information.
In fact, warns Paul Aziz, an internet security instructor at Oregon College, this software gives the thieves remote access to your computer and everything on it, including banking information.
Other variations on this clever scam direct a computer user to the website
www.logmein123.com. This website also grants a criminal remote access to your
computer. A victim might even be asked directly for her user name and password.
To avoid this scam:
Always keep virus protection software updated and only download security software from an authorized vendor. Be suspicious if you are notified by telephone or e-mail that your computer has a virus. If an actual virus is detected you should receive a security update or warning directly on your computer.
Be wary of any caller who tells you to go online to "fix the problem." Contact your security software vendor directly to verify this claim.
If you believe you have been victimized by a tech support scam, contact a com-
puter repair service to end the hacker's remote access. Notify your bank and
credit card companies and monitor your statements for any unauthorized charges.
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