The number of Americans killed while walking along or across streets reached a 40 year high in 2022:
The causes for this awful increase have been hard to discern, but more recently researchers and advocates have been disentangling and identifying root causes.
A recent post on Reddit caught my eye, as it's related to addressing one of these particular causes. According to "MammothPassage639," the Alameda Police Department has been mailing letters to local owners of Kia and Hyundai cars. APD wants to encourage their owners to take advantage of a factory recall in which dealers will fix a security vulnerability for free.
Between 2011 through 2022, those two automakers didn't equip their cars with engine immobilizers. That vulnerability combined together with online social media, enough crooks, feckless youth, and the backdrop of the pandemic led to a "perfect storm" of auto thefts and followed by extremely dangerous driving. At least one fatality on Alameda's roadways (in 2023) is directly attributable to this exact combination of factors.
In a previous blog post titled "Stolen Kia and Hyundai vehicles are a unique threat to traffic safety" I described the problem, provided links to multiple articles in national news outlets, and suggested that the Alameda City Attorney join or start a lawsuit against Kia and Hyundai.
Given this context, I wanted to learn more about what I read on Reddit...
APD's letter to Alameda residents with Kia or Hyundai vehicles
With all due respect to "MammothPassage639," I figured I couldn't just go based on a random comment on Reddit on this blog, so I contacted the City of Alameda's Communications & Legislative Affairs Officer, who confirmed that yes in fact APD staff have mailed out letters. Here's a scanned copy of the letter:
APD mailed this letter to "all Hyundai and Kia owners in Alameda – a total of 2,400 people."
The Communications & Legislative Affairs Officer adds that "We are out of steering wheel locks at the moment but have requested more!"
I appreciate this systematic effort by APD to reduce the odds of thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in Alameda. Fewer auto thefts are good for everyone — including the people whose vehicles targeted — and also for everyone who uses our streets. "Joyriding" sounds cute — but it's a genuine public safety hazard in the 21st century.
It's not too late to sue 'em
Two current members of City Council have read that previous blog post and remarked to me that it sounds like a useful way to have the City Attorney's office support the city-wide effort of improving traffic safety. Whether the City Attorney has actually looked into the topic is unclear to me.
It's not too late. Alameda's office of City Attorney should still look into legal options related to the death of a senior at Willow St and San Antonio Ave in 2023 (which was caused by teens who had stolen a Kia/Hyundai vehicle) and into legal options related to many other Kia/Hyundai vehicles that have been stolen from Alameda residents.
There are many factors that have led to such a high number of Americans being killed on our roadways — some of them may be intractable, but this one has a clear set of business entities that are responsible for a root enabling cause. Sue 'em!