At last: Release issued announcing Lemon Law

It’s almost a month after it happened, but I’ve finally prepared and am distributing MY release about the passage of the Emergency Vehicle Lemon Law. You can see the release here.

The release talks about the importance of the new law, the unusual opportunity this challenge created to combine my love for public safety and my love for public affairs, and my true belief that this event showed that our form of government does work.

The legislators in the 24th District issued their release a month ago and the Daily Record (Parsippany) did a nice series of articles, including an editorial on Jan. 27 praising me! That was a first.

Anyway, thank you again for your help with this law. Feel free to pass this release on to anyone who might find it interesting.

Lemon Law for Emerg Vehicles Headed for Gov. Corzine’s desk

A set of bills that would bring emergency vehicles under the state’s lemon law today completed its legislative journey when the Assembly passed A3396 with the amendments inserted by the Senate. The set of bills now goes to Gov. Corzine. He must sign it by Jan. 19, his last day in office.

Making the trip to the governor’s desk is not a guarantee that he will sign the law. I need to ask you to write one last note. This one’s easy. First highlight and save this: Please sign A3396/S2304 into law. These laws provide Lemon Law protection to those who energency vehicle operators, adding another assurance that police cars, fire apparatus and ambulances will be ready when they’re needed.

Got it? OK, all you have to do is click on the link at the end of this sentence, select “Law and Public Safety” from the pull-down menu, the pick a topic from the next pull-down menu (I picked Consumer Affairs) then fill in the blank. At the bottom, you can paste in the sentence you highlighted and saved above , or you can write in  your own remark.  Got it? OK. Click here.

Then click send and you’re done.

Thanks. Let me know when you’ve said the note. And I’ll let you know what happens next.

Thanks!

NJ Senate to Vote on Lemon Law for Emergency Vehicles

The New Jersey State Senate will vote Thursday on the Lemon Law for emergency vehicles.

The two bills, A3396 and S2304, are on the calendar posted this morning. The Assembly passed the bill as submitted several months ago and sent it to the Senate. S23o4 underwent several changes after extensive negotiations with General Motors, Honda and other representatives of truck manufacturers. You can read the bill here. After reviewing the compromise language, the Senate Commerce Committee passed the bill to the Senate.

Thursday, the Senate will vote on both bills. The Assembly bill will be voted on with the new language. It must then go back to the Assembly for final passage so the identical bills are passed in both houses. The finished bill then goes to the governor for his signature.

Now is the time for you to shoot a quick email or make a quick phone call to let your senator know that he or she must vote in favor of this bill.  Click here to find out how to find out who your senator is and to send him or her a note.

Please send the email or make the call. It only takes a minute, but it can make a big difference. And please let us know that you’ve made the call or sent the email and share your thoughts with us. We’re so close. Get involved, please!

I wanted also to take a moment to remember two friends. Paramedic Randy Widdos,  MICP 1454, passed away on Christmas morning. He and I rode together on Medic-57  in Warren County. Randy knew the importance of getting involved and served on the governing body of his hometown and as deputy mayor.

On New Year’s Eve, Ed Vanderhoof passed away. Although he never worked in the field, he sold many of us ambulances and other vehicles over the years through different dealers. He understood what we do and was an enthusiastic supporter. He also stayed aware of and involved in politics in his home town because he understood the importance of the process.

Both men were in their early 50s; both men ended a long fight with cancer.

Lemon Law Update: Time to Lend a Hand

It’s time to make some noise and get Lemon Law protection from faulty emergency vehicles!

We’re getting very close to language that can go to the Senate floor, but we’re also getting very close to the end of the legislative session. We need you to get involved, or our attempts to gain protection for our emergency vehicles will die in committee.

I met again today with Senate staff and representatives of General Motors and Honda. While our opponents are being reasonable, they are still looking for ways to reshape the law to their advantage.  Results of the meeting include:

• A senate staffer will revist how we define the various companies that manufacture emergency vehicles. The definition is important to GM, who refuses to acknowledge that companies like Horton and E-One are manufacturers. I have no idea what else you’d call them, but I suspect we’re going to have three categories of organizations responsible for vehicles: manufacturers, i.e. GM, Ford, etc; co-manufacturers, i.e. companies that manufacture a major component and add it to the chassis, i.e. Horton, Braun, Pierce; and upfitters, i.e. the local dealer or converter who takes a completed chassis and modifies it to become an emergency vehicle.
• If the chassis manufacturer and other manufacturer can’t agree on who’s responsible for resolving the deficiency (legalese for problem), it’ll go to an already-existing arbitration process in the office of administrative law.
• Chassis manufacturers would not be held financially responsible for more than the value of their chassis.
• If an emergency vehicle is out of service for more than 20 days for the same issue, the Lemon Law would kick in. GM had wanted to move it to 45 days, similar to a motor home.

Let me say GM and Honda and everyone involved is working constructively.  But everyone is also trying to protect their own interests.

You have to understand that we’re at a critical juncture and we need support from emergency vehicle operators…NOW.

Everybody and their brother is trying to push through last-minute legislation. When the legislature goes  home later this month, it’s all over. We start from scratch in January and who knows what forces will come out to try to stop this bill: emergency vehicle dealers and manufacturers, other motor vehicle associations and manufacturers….it won’t be pretty.

So now’s the time that you need to start talking this up with your colleagues. If you’re a member of an emergency services group, please make sure that group is aware of these bills and is talking about them. You can start to let your legislators know this bill is coming and you want to see action.

Elsewhere on this blog are directions for finding out who your legislator is and writing to them. It’s very easy.

And if you’re in one of these towns, please pay special attention:

 Allendale, Allentown, Alpine, Bordentown, Bordentown City, Chesterfield, Clark, Clifton, Closter, Creskill, Demarest, Dumont, East Orange, Elizabeth, Emerson, Fanwood, Farmingdale, Fieldsboro,  Glen Ridge, Green Brook, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Hohokus, Howell, Jackson, Kenilworth, Lakewood, Linden, Middlesex, Montclair, Montvale, New Hanover, New Milford, North Plainfield, Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan, Oradell, Park Ridge, Plainfield, Plumsted, Rahway, Ramsey, Robbinsville, Roosevelt, River Edge, Rivervale, Rockleigh, Roselle, Saddle River, Scotch Plains, Union Township, Upper Freehold, Upper Saddle River, Waldwick, Washington (Bergen), Westwood, Winfield, Woodcliff Lake and Woodland Park (West Paterson)

Your state senator is on the Senate Commerce Committee. You need to write him or her and let him or her know that this bill is important to you, that you are an emergency provider and that you vote (you are registered to vote, aren’t you?) and that you want him or her to vote this bill out of committee with a recommendation that it be passed.  It’s as simple as a quick email or a quick phone call.

If we don’t do these things, if we don’t get involved, the bill won’t get out of committee. It doesn’t matter how important it is or how noble our cause.  Legislators respond to squeaky wheels. It’s time to get really squeaky.

If you’re not sure how to find out who your legislator is, send me a note (just hit the comment section) and I’ll get the information back to you.

If there’s one thing firefighters, EMTs, medics and cops rarely are, it’s quiet. Don’t change now: Let’s make some noise.

There are Lemons Out There!

It’s been an interesting last week and a half!  First a public relations conference in San Diego, then an EMS conference in Atlantic City,  N.J.  In both places, I heard stories about vehicles that just won’t stay in service.

What’s scary is that some of those vehicles are ladder trucks, among the most expensive, specialized and complicated vehicles on the road! One is a Sutphen tower truck in the Atlanta area. The second, which I’m still getting info on, is another tower in Arizona and a third is one I’ve got check out in New Jersey.

Not only are ladder trucks specialized, but because they are so expensive, many towns only have one or count on another town to send theirs if needed. So what if that truck is needed and has a problem functioning so it either can’t get to the scene  or can’t perform a rescue, help protect an exposure or ventilate  a roof. What if it’s the third or fourth time the truck misses a job?!

These tell me we’re right to work on this law. We need to get it passed. We need to get it to the governor’s office. All this despite GM’s concerns and despite the fact that we only have a few weeks to do this.

Currently, we’re waiting for General Motors to get back to us with comments and perhaps another iteration of language that would prevent them from being responsible for problems not of their making in the conversion. I’m OK with that with two cavaets:

First, we need to see the language very very soon.

Second, we need a process that kicks in when everyone involved with the vehicle points their finger while calling out loudly, “Not my problem.” Unless we can find a better way, it could fall back on the dealer who actally sold the unit.

Please, please, please: Send us stories of your emergency lemons and pass the word to everyone. We need the stories and we need your support.

Help Wanted: Going Back to Basics for Support

It’s time to start letting legislators, especially those on the Senate Commerce Committee, know that those of us who count on vehicles to save lives and property need protection from defective vehicles…or Emergency Lemons. I’ve used this blog to try to get the word out, but only a few people have visited.  We need more people…

• …to let me know that they support this effort so I can tell the assembly representatives and senators trying to help us that Lemon Law protection for emergency vehicles is important to members of the emergency services community. I’m a nice guy, but nobody’s going to pass a law just for me, especially if big donors like General Motors and Honda are telling legislators, “Don’t do it!”
• …to share stories about Emergency Lemons. They really do exist, but the manufacturers will tell you how quickly they repair them. We need to compile a list to show there’s a problem.
• …to write to their state assembly representatives and state senators.

These things aren’t hard or expensive, but I haven’t heard from too many people. When I tell folks about this, they’re really excited and encouraging, but that’s when it ends.

So much for social media and casual discussion.

Tonight I sent emails to 10 different organizations representing paramedics, police chiefs, fire chiefs, police officers and firefighters asking for their non-financial support. If you’re a member of such an organization, let me know so I can make sure I send them information.

I’m looking forward to the responses from these organizations. Let’s see what happens now. I’ll keep you apprised.

GM: A reasonable request, maybe…

As we reported here earlier, the Senate version of the proposal to update the state’s vehicle Lemon Law to protect emergency vehicles has met with some opposition from General Motors, Honda and alliances of vehicle manufacturers. Sens. Oroho and Buono are standing firm with public safety providers, but we are obligated to engage in a discussion with GM and their allies. Wayne Blanchard, of Saint Clare’s Hospital EMS, and I met with them a few weeks ago.

General Motors’ main concern was being held responsible for problems in parts of the vehicle they didn’t make. OK, I  accept that…when the source of the problem is clear. My concern is when the source of the defect isn’t clear.

GM, Honda and their alliances proposed some language to Sen. Oroho, who has shared it with me. After some consideration, I’ve responded with these main thoughts:

• No manufacturer, whether it’s of the chassis or the vehicle modifier (the company that makes the chassis into an emergency vehicle), should be held responsible for defects they clearly didn’t create. Ford shouldn’t responsible for a problem in the ambulance module and Braun should be responsible for a problem in the chassis.
• It should not be the responsibility of the consumer — that’s us — to determine where the problem is. There also should be procedures in place to ensure that we don’t get caught in a finger-pointing game. I’ve suggested some ideas to encourage rapid diagnosis and fixing of the problem or suggested that all parties be held responsible for the refund or replacement of the vehicle.
• What happens when a modifier — that’s what the bill calls the company that makes a chassis an ambulance or pumper or rescue truck — creates a vehicle that’s too heavy for the chassis? Currently, the chassis manufacturer has no responsibility for that. Should they? I’ve posed that question, but candidly, I’m not sure it’s the right forum.
• The Lemon Law posts circumstances under which the law is triggered. One of those is total amount of time the vehicle is off the road from the time it’s delivered. Among those rules, if the during the first 24,000 miles or two years from delivery, a car is off the road for 20 days, the law is triggered. If a motor home is off the road for 45 or more days, the law is triggered. GM has proposed the longer period. I’ve suggested that usually a motor home is a vehicle for casual use, and that an emergency vehicle should fall under the 20-day standard.
• I’ve suggested that if a vehicle has a variety of  defects that show a pattern that points to the same source — for instance an overweight vehicle –the law should go into effect.

Next step is more meetings as we negotiate this language and send it back to the Senate Commerce Committee for discussion and a vote. I hope it’ll be passed by the committee. There will have to be a conference committee to examine the differences between the Assembly and Senate bills, then that bill has to be approved and sent to the floor of both chambers for a vote.

We’ve got a long road ahead of us. I need your help.

Elsewhere on this blog, I tell you how to find and write your representatives in the General Assembly. I also told people in certain towns they need to write their senators now because they sit on the Commerce Committee. And I need your support, your stories and your encouragement.

Please  help get this bill through. We’ll all be safer. The people we protect will be safer. And the hard-earned dollars we sink into vehicles and apparatus will be better spent.

Working Fire in Flanders

We had a working fire this morning. Here’s the news release: http://bit.ly/mRI0E  What if our apparatus couldn’t make it because of persistent mechanical problems? That’s we need to get this law through. Please let me hear from you.

Emergency Vehicle Lemon Law Proposal Is Alive and Needs Your Help!

All that dust in the air is from me, blowing it away from this blog as I renew my efforts to ENERGIZE you to help protect our ambulances, MICUs, fire apparatus and police cars from shoddy manufacturing!

The proposed Emergency Vehicle Lemon Law (A3396 and S2304) is alive and pretty well, but there’s a threat on the horizon.

To bring you up to date:

The Assembly Bill has been approved by the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee with a recommendation that it be passed. There were no changes to the bill and nobody asked me to come and explain. My thanks to Assemblyman Gary Chiusano and Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose for introducing that legislation and shepherding it through the committee. Further thanks to the members of that committee for unanimously approving the bill.

In the Senate Commerce Committee, however, we’ve run into a glitch. General Motors has objected to the bill as written. Sen. Nia Gill asked Sen. Steven Oroho, who introduced the legislation along with Sen. Barbara Buono, to set up a meeting between GM and me and negotiate compromise language.

We had that meeting three weeks ago. General Motors actually sent someone from Detroit, as well as a professional lobbyist from one of the area’s most powerful lobbying firms. In addition, Honda sent a representative as did two associations that represent vehicle manufacturers. These were all lobbyists and attorneys. I had no representation, although Wayne Blanchard of Saint Clare’s turned his schedule upside down so he could come with me and show his support.

The meeting went well. The manufacturers’ objection is that they don’t want to be responsible if it’s part of the conversion that’s a problem. In other words, if there’s a persistent electrical short in the ambulance module mounted on a GM chassis, GM doesn’t want to be forced to shoulder the entire burden. That’s reasonable, I guess.

The lobbyist representing GM promised to propose new language within a week. We still haven’t heard from him.

To me, one issue is that GM doesn’t monitor who’s using its chassis for what. I’m guessing neither does Ford or any other manufacturer. So the debate comes when Ace Rescue Vehicles (stick whatever name you want in there) buys a GMC Savannah cutaway with a gross vehicle weight rating of 9,500 pounds and proceeds to mount a module on it that brings the GVW to 9,600 pounds. Then you load it with equipment and the truck is at 11,000 pounds and you’re having constant transmission problems. Who’s fault is that?

I’m happy to discuss language with GM and their cohorts. But, as I told them, at the end of the day we need a law in place that gives us recourse against a manufacturer of a vehicle that doesn’t work and that endangers the lives of responders and community members by being unable to respond. Right now, if  that the manufacturer and its dealers cannot or will not fix that vehicle, the only thing an agency can do is sue them. That’s not acceptable.

With GM and a whiff of controversy in the picture, we all now need to get involved. Although they have powerful lobbyists that will work to dilute the proposed law until it’s next to useless, we’re a pretty powerful group ourselves. Here’s what you can do:

First, do you live in one of these towns?

 Allendale, Allentown, Alpine, Bordentown, Bordentown City, Chesterfield, Clark, Clifton, Closter, Creskill, Demarest, Dumont, East Orange, Elizabeth, Emerson, Fanwood, Farmingdale, Fieldsboro,  Glen Ridge, Green Brook, Harrington Park, Haworth, Hillsdale, Hohokus, Howell, Jackson, Kenilworth, Lakewood, Linden, Middlesex, Montclair, Montvale, New Hanover, New Milford, North Plainfield, Northvale, Norwood, Old Tappan, Oradell, Park Ridge, Plainfield, Plumsted, Rahway, Ramsey, Robbinsville, Roosevelt, River Edge, Rivervale, Rockleigh, Roselle, Saddle River, Scotch Plains, Union Township, Upper Freehold, Upper Saddle River, Waldwick, Washington (Bergen), Westwood, Winfield, Woodcliff Lake and Woodland Park (West Paterson)

If so, your state senator is on the Senate Commerce Committee. You need to write him or her and let him or her know that this bill is important to you, that you are an emergency provider and that you vote (you are registered to vote, aren’t you? There’s a rather significant election coming up in a few weeks…) and that you want him or her to vote for this bill.  It’s as simple as a quick email or a quick phone call.

If you’re not in one of those towns, please keep an eye on things here. At the appropriate time, we’ll need you to let your assembly representative and state senator know that you want them to vote for these bills. You can tell them now, but you also should tell them later.

There are directions elsewhere on this blog on how to find out who your asssemblyperson and senator are and how to write them. If you’re not sure, just reply to this with your email and where you live and I’ll look it up for you.

Also, please send me your stories about problems with emergency vehicles and let me know how I can reach out to you.  We need to assure the members of the General Assembly that this is a real problem.

Finally, if you’d like to help me with this battle, please let me know.

I know this isn’t as exciting as a working fire or a complicated vehicle extrication, but if we can’t get the apparatus there, we can’t work.  Not to be melodramatic, but people can die…and some of those people might be members of service.

Please: Your safety and that of the people you serve and protect are at stake here, not to mention our precious financial resources. Please give this effort your support.

 

Legislation introduced — Now we need to support it!

Great News! Legislation has been introduced in the New Jersey General Assembly that would protect us against lemon-y emergency vehicles. State Sen. Steven Oroho and State Sen. Barbara Buono have introduced S2304, and it has been sent to the Senate Commerce Committee.  State Assemblyman Gary Chiusano and State Asemblywoman Allison Littell McHose have introduced A3396, which has been sent to the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee.

I’ve posted the bills’ content in a separate page (still learning this blog thing — I hope that’s the best way to do that for you). You can track the bills yourself at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/bills0001.asp.

I want to thank the legislators from the 24th District and Sen. Buono for listening to me explain the issue, doing their own investigation and then introducing this legislation. I also want to thank Jeff Spatola, who is the chief of staff in the 24th Legislative District office for his support.

Now we have to spread the word and let our legislators know that we need this law passed.

You can find out who your legislators are by going to http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp and following the directions there (if you still can’t figure it out, write me here and I’ll hook you up).  It’s easy to send them an email telling them they should support these two pieces of legislation.

And please us know you’ve written and let us know if you’ve had a situation in your department where you could have used this law.