One in Five U.S. Cars Has Open Safety Recalls
Product recalls on car parts are a serious matter. When a manufacturer finds a vehicle product defect and issues a recall, owners of those vehicles must be aware of them and should replace the product as quickly as possible.
For the federal government to issue a recall, the defective part must pose a serious safety issue. If one of these recalled parts fails while a car is in use, the results can be catastrophic. Dealerships fix recalled vehicles at no cost, so vehicle owners have no reason not to have their cars made safe.
Vehicle Recall Statistics According to Carfax
Sadly, many owners are unaware of open recalls on their vehicles. Carfax, a leading provider of used-car histories, recently issued a report stating one in five cars driven today has an open recall. The total number of cars driven while under a recall is roughly 47 million – a number that rose 27% from last year.
Family-oriented minivans have the highest percentage of recalled vehicle models, with one out of every 4.6 having a serious unfixed safety issue. Sport utility vehicles have the second highest at one out of 5.1, and one out of every 5.5 pickup trucks and cars have open recalls.
Texas is the state with the most recalled cars on the road. Mississippi, Alaska, Utah, and West Virginia follow.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Statistics and Campaigns
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that there were almost 900 recalls issued in 2015, affecting 51 million vehicles – a record high. According to the NHTSA, roughly 25% of all vehicles with recalls are never repaired.
In the wake of a defective ignition switch problem in General Motor (GM) vehicles, which led to at least 100 deaths, the NHTSA has been campaigning for stronger enforcement of vehicle recalls and greater owner education on the recall process.
NHTSA regulators say GM knew about the defective ignition switches as early as 2001 but did nothing about them until 2014. “GM withheld information, failed to provide timely responses to NHTSA’s requests, and used evasive techniques to distract NHTSA from potential defects,” regulators reported.
To improve the percentage of vehicles brought in and repaired after a recall, the NHTSA has been running the Safe Cars Save Lives campaign, which aims to inform vehicle owners that they can check their car for open recalls by entering a vehicle identification number on the website.
Rosekind’s Plans to Increase Automobile Safety
Mark Rosekind, current NHTSA administrator, has taken an aggressive stance on vehicle recalls. He recently issued the largest single recall in American history, intended to address an issue with Takata Corp airbags.
Rosekind also heightened scrutiny of the recall practices at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and announced his creation of a team composed of outside experts who will advise the NHTSA on implementing necessary reforms. He also unveiled a new program that will attempt to give the agency more power to address security issues by removing bureaucratic barriers.
However, Rosekind stated that he thinks the NHTSA severely lacks resources. The agency has only 90 safety enforcement personnel to oversee more than 265 million vehicles in America. He pointed out that the Federal Aviation Administration has more than 6,000 such personnel and that the Federal Railroad Administration employs roughly 680. Congress should vote to provide additional funding to the NHTSA, in Rosekind’s opinion. This would allow the organization to improve automobile safety drastically.
Automobile recalls are issued only when a defective part poses a serious risk to vehicle owners and passengers. Vehicle owners can find out about recalls easily using Carfax and the NHTSA’s websites, and dealerships fix recalled cars at no charge. There is absolutely no reason for owners to be driving vehicles with such defects.
If you or a loved one were injured or killed in a car accident or from a defective product, call to schedule a free consultation with our San Diego personal injury lawyer.