Much to the dismay of industry watchdogs, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has delayed its new roof crush standard and has gone back to the drawing board.

The NHTSA has not updated its roof crush standards in 35 years, and a study released earlier this year that found that there is a lower risk of injury to vehicle occupants when the roof of the vehicle is stronger has spurred their revision.

Watchdog groups say most American cars barely meet the new standard and, even so, it is to blame for nearly 10,000 deaths from car and truck rollovers each year.

Currently, a vehicle’s roof only has to support 1.5 times the vehicle’s weight. The proposed update would require roofs to support 2.5 the weight of the entire vehicle, but Congress and consumer advocate groups say the 2.5 standard isn’t strong enough. They claim that most new vehicles already conform to a 2.5 standard and that the proposed standard should be raised to 3.5.

Watchdog groups also object to a provision in the proposed rules that would prevent consumers from suing manufactures after death or injury in a rollover.

According to a story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, a state official has said that two of every five charter bus companies in Texas have been ordered off the road in the past two years.

In the last year alone, 201 companies had their authorization revoked, leaving about 300 companies with permission to operate in Texas. However, some of the grounded companies have changed their name and returned to the bus industry—information that has come into view after a fatal bus accident that killed 17 people in August.

The Houston-based company changed their company name after being shut down for safety violations. Since the crash last month, two other bus companies in Irving and Houston have been shut down because of affiliation with revoked companies.

Even though motor coach safety is mostly under federal law, the state Transportation Department is trying to make it easier for the public to have access to bus records. Later this month, the state will begin posting complaints filed against bus companies, results of investigations, and other helpful documents at www.txdot.gov <http://www.txdot.gov> .

There’s another safety warning out of the Chinese assembly lines, and this time it involves your car.

There are at this time approximately 36 million Chinese-made tire-valve stems on cars in the United States. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) is investigating claims that the rubber, foreign air-valves sold between September 2006 and June 2007 crack prematurely, causing tire failure. Complaints of tire failure include reports of fatal car accidents and rollovers.

According to auto-safety consultant Sean Kane, cracks in the rubber near the rim hole of the tire-valve could appear in as little as six months. The defect is most likely caused by the improper mixing of the rubber compound used to make the valve.

The NHTSA has yet to complete their investigation and issue a national alert. Until then, you can protect yourself and your family by continuing to regularly check your tire pressure. If you routinely come up with low pressure, take your vehicle to a trusted mechanic and request an inspection.