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When consumers look to purchase a new vehicle, they very often are interested in vehicles with new technologies such as automatic braking systems, blind-spot warning alerts, rear-view cameras, lane-departure warning alerts and forward-collision warnings. 

When owning a vehicle, most people take care of routine maintenance including oil changes, tire rotations and tire treads to ensure their vehicles are safe to drive for their families and themselves. 

However, what many vehicle owners do not do is pay attention to recall notices advising of flawed and sometime dangerous vehicle parts. They do not take their vehicles to their dealerships to get the defects fixed. 

More than 100 million vehicles have been recalled in the United States by automakers over the last two years, according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). NHTSA estimated that 20 to 30 percent of these recalled vehicles are not brought back to dealerships for the free repairs. 

According to NHTSA chief, Mark Rosekind, the NHTSA is frustrated by this failure of many American motorists. This frustration has led to a political-campaign-style swing through southern states from Miami, Florida to Fort Worth, Texas to push for better vehicle maintenance when it comes to recalls. This campaign is called “Safe Cars Save Lives.” 

This past August, employees of NHTSA, Toyota Motor Corporation and a tire industry trade group embarked on a bus tour of the southern U.S. to ask motorists to repair their vehicles, install their child safety seats correctly and spread the word about the Takata air bag recall. 

All of the above issues are important issues, but the Takata air bag recall is particularly disturbing. 

In 2015 there were close to 900 recalls affecting 51 million vehicles nationwide, including the nationwide recall of air bag inflators supplied by Takata. Takata inflators have a safety defect that may cause the inflator to rupture during air bag deployment and propel metal shrapnel into the passenger compartment. Defective Takata inflators have been tied to 10 deaths in the United States. 

The Takata air bag recall is the result of a NHTSA safety defect investigation that was opened in 2014, and was based on reports of six inflator ruptures in vehicles located in Florida and Puerto Rico. 

The “Safe Cars Save Lives” tour is being conducted in the southern U.S. because the inflator ruptures are far more likely in vehicles that have spent significant periods of time in areas of high absolute humidity, particularly Florida, Texas, other parts of the Gulf Coast, and southern California. 

NHTSA reports that certain model-year 2001-2003 Honda and Acura vehicles show a far higher risk (up to 50 percent) of rupture. Eight of the ten confirmed U.S. fatalities due to Takata ruptures were in this population of vehicles. 

Don’t Ignore a Recall 

Boston.com reports that, “When your car is subject to a recall, your manufacturer must fix the problem for free. If you wait around, however, financial compensation could become an issue. So as your car ages, it becomes more likely something will go wrong related with the flaw, and your shot at a free fix lessens.” 

A recall means that there is a definite safety issue with the car. Ignoring a recall notice or not staying up to date on the recall status of your car could have dangerous consequences to you and others on the road. It is easy to find out whether your car has an unresolved recall repair. Consumer Reports says to use your vehicle identification number (VIN), and go to your automaker’s website or to NHTSA’s site, at safercar.gov; put in the VIN number, and see whether recall work is pending. 

“The recent ‘Safe Cars Save Lives’ visit to our area is a reminder to all of us to pay attention to vehicle recalls and have our vehicles repaired. If injured in an accident with a recalled vehicle, contact our Auto Accident Attorney team for assistance,” said Attorney Randall Spivey of Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A. 

Naples Vehicle Accident Attorney,Randall L. Spivey is a Board Certified Trial Attorney – the highest recognition for competence bestowed by the Florida Bar and a distinction earned by just one (1%) percent of Florida attorneys.  He has handled over 2,000 personal injury and wrongful death cases throughout Florida.  For a free and confidential consultation to discuss your legal rights, contact the Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A., in Lee County at 239.337.7483 or toll free at 1.888.477.4839, or by email to Randall@SpiveyLaw.com.  Visit SpiveyLaw.com for more information.  You can contact Spivey Law Firm, Personal Injury Attorneys, P.A.in Charlotte County at 941.764.7748 and in Collier County 239.793.7748.