Automakers have recalled millions of motor vehicles over the last 10 years due to potentially deadly Takata airbags. These defective airbags have resulted in 22 deaths throughout the world in addition to countless injuries because they can explode — even in minor accidents — shooting metal shrapnel throughout the vehicles that the airbags are supposed to protect.
It’s excellent that automakers have instituted “Do Not Drive” notices on cars with the most dangerous Takata airbags. It’s excellent that automakers have offered to repair these vehicles for free. The problem is, millions of vehicles have yet to be repaired because owners don’t know their cars are affected, or because they have yet to take their automobiles in for a repair.
60,000 unfixed Hondas have a 50 percent chance of exploding in a collision
According to Honda, 60,000 of it’s most at-risk cars have yet to be repaired in the United States. These cars, classified with the most dangerous threat level of “Alpha” have Takata airbags with a 50 percent chance of exploding in a fender-bender. The drivers of these cars either never received the warnings related to the vehicles or they ignored the notices mailed to them.
Honda is even going door to door to contact Honda owners directly, visiting them in their homes in some cases, to deliver a recall notice in person and urge the vehicle owners to get their cars fixed before another fatality occurs.
According to the former Justice Department prosecutor assigned by the federal government to supervise the Takata recall process, the Takata airbags contained in the 60,000 unfixed Hondas are like ticking time bombs. He compared them to a grenade inside vehicles just waiting to explode and kill the occupants inside.
Check your vehicle for recalls now
Takata airbag recalls have affected so many cars that it’s difficult to keep track of which car models have been recalled so far. No matter what kind of make and model vehicle you have, you may want to contact your vehicle manufacturer to ensure that your vehicle doesn’t have a dangerous airbag that needs to be replaced or repaired. If just one person avoids an accident and injuries — or an unnecessary death — by following this advice, then the writing of this article was certainly worth the effort involved.
