According to the NHTSA, in 2012 the government issued over 650 safety recalls involving more than 17.8 million motor vehicles, child safety seats, and auto equipment. The auto regulatory agency was instrumental in affecting the recall of over 9 million of the autos and 60,000 vehicle equipment products, including tires. Other recalls occurred because of consumer complaints.
The NHTSA said it received 41,912 complaints over possible auto safety defects, which is significantly less than the 49,417 that it received in 2011. According to NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, consumers are key in causing auto recalls to go forward. He described consumers as the recall process’s “lifeblood,” with many recalls happening after the government has looked into consumer complaints.
While it is obviously a positive that the government takes an active position toward investigating consumer complaints regarding possible auto defects, in an ideal scenario, motor vehicle crashes, child car safety seat failures, and auto equipment failures wouldn’t have to happen first before probes were instigated and recalls initiated—in a perfect world they wouldn’t be happening at all.
At the Gilbert Law Group, our auto defects attorneys represent victims and their families that have suffered serious personal injury or wrongful death because of auto failures and other motor vehicle-related safety issues. Do not hesitate to contact our auto products liability law firm right away to request your free case evaluation.
Top 10 Auto Recalls of 2012 (Per Number of Vehicles Involved):
• Toyota Motor Company: 12 recalls, over 5 million vehicles
• American Honda Motor Company: 16 recalls, over 3 million autos
• General Motors: 17 recalls, nearly 1.5 million vehicles
• Ford Motor: 24 recalls, nearly 1.4 million autos
• Chrysler: 13 recalls, 1.3 million autos
• Subaru of America, 4 recalls, 960,000 vehicles
• BMW of North America, 15 recalls, 561,000 vehicles
• Mazda North America Operations, 2 recalls, nearly 270,000 vehicles
• Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center, 5 recalls, 261,500 vehicles
• Kia Motors, 3 recalls, approximately 240,000 vehicles
Certain types of auto defects can cause catastrophic car crashes, which often involve others outside of the affected vehicle. There could be multiple parties that should be held liable, such as a negligent driver, the auto manufacturer, the maker of a faulty auto part, and others.
Among the more serious auto defects:
• Tire defects
• Sudden unintended acceleration
• Seatback collapse
• Brake defects
• Engine failure
• Seat back defects
• Fire hazards
• Door defects
• Conversion van defects
• 15-passenger van safety issues
• Structural problems
• SUV rollover-related safety issues
• Roof crush
It is just as important that the safety restraint systems in place in a vehicle do their job to protect auto occupants in the event of a car accident. The same can be said for car seats, which are supposed to minimize the chance of serious injury to a baby, toddler, or child during a collision.
Even with child safety seats, car crashes continue to be the one killer of kids under age 16. One reason for this is that not all car seats that are sold are free from safety issues, and in the last 22 years, millions of child safety systems have had to be recalled. Common types of child car seat safety issues:
• Buckle and harness flaws
• Poor plastic shell design
• Ill-fitting straps
• Buckle restraint failure
• Inadequate assembly, installation, and operating instructions
• Manufacturing defects
Contact one of our car seat injury lawyers today.
—————————————————————————————————————Source:National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Source: Motor Vehicle Recalls
