In a perfect and negligent-free world, safety recalls concerning defective products would never occur.
Sadly, they do, and often only after innocent victims are seriously or even fatally injured through their interaction with a shoddy product, whatever it might be.
When it is a vehicle air bag, the implications are immediately apparent and, in an outsized way, ironical.
The reason why is obvious, of course: Air bags are a first-line item of defense in a vehicle’s arsenal of safeguards that protect drivers and passengers in the event of a motor vehicle accident. As such, their function is to minimize adverse accident-related outcomes and to save lives.
Which explains, of course, why the fallout concerning millions of air bags manufactured by the Japan-based company Takata is so intense.
To be succinct: They have on occasion deployed without rhyme or reason, shooting shrapnel at high velocity into vehicle occupants’ faces.
That summary deployment has been the confirmed catalyst in at least six air-bag related deaths reported in the United States.
And that propensity to explode when a vehicle is not involved in a collision amply underscores the rationale for the nearly 34 million vehicles that have been recalled thus far to fix such a frightening problem.
Many readers of this blog residing in Southern California are likely not hearing of Takata’s woes and the staggeringly large recall associated with them for the first time. Takata is a huge global manufacturer, with its air bags being installed on vehicles made by myriad auto companies.
The problem obviously needs to be fixed, and fast.
As always, we wish all our readers a safe and enjoyable driving experience.