News of a 50-year-old woman killed by a Takata air bag has spread like wildfire across the nation. In this case, the death was particularly tragic because the woman was driving a Honda car that had been recalled, and it would have been possible to get her dangerous and defective air bag fixed for free.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the woman’s Takata-caused death represents the 11th in the United States so far. She was driving a 2001 Honda Civic at the time of the crash — a vehicle that was originally recalled for air bag repairs nearly a decade ago in 2008.
Defective Takata air bags are particularly vulnerable to problems in humid and hot environments that cause the breakdown of a chemical used to inflate the bags. The chemical breaks down in these instances to become more explosive than it should be. This result in the air bag inflating too fast, and the air bag housing explodes dangerous and deadly metal fragments throughout the vehicle cabin. Essentially, it’s like a small bomb going off inside the vehicle compartment.
In the United states Takata air bag recalls are said to affect over 69 million air bags. Furthermore, a 100 million inflators have been recalled across the globe.
There is no rational reason why any Virginia Beach County resident should delay getting their Tacata air bags repaired. Furthermore, the issue represents a real liability risk for the owners of unrepaired vehicles. If failure to repair a recalled air bag results in a serious injury or death, for example, the vehicle owner might be liable for damages related to the incident.
Source: NBC Los Angeles, “Woman Killed by Takata Air Bag Inflator in California: Officials,” Jason Kandall, Oct. 20, 2016