Two months after recalling 144,000 Ford F-150 Pickup Trucks over concerns that the air bags might deploy inadvertently, Ford Motor Co. has expanded its recall to 1.2 million pickup trucks. Our Washington DC car accident lawyers are pleased to see that the automaker has decided call in these additional vehicles, a move that had been called for by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Following the original recall, NHTSA said that the recall of the 144,000 vehicles wasn’t enough to address the air bag safety issue, which had resulted in at least 269 inadvertent air bag deployments and about 98 injuries. Ford, however, insisted that only those vehicles were affected by the problem, which involves a possible short-circuit that could cause the safety device to suddenly go off. The wiring needs to be replaced. In addition to more F-150 pickup trucks (model years 2004, 2005, and 2006), Ford is now also recalling a number of Lincoln Mark LT trucks (model year 2006).
Air Bag Safety
Air bags are there to protect occupants during a DC car crash. They are supposed to deploy during accidents to prevent the people in the car from hitting the interior of the auto or objects outside. There are sensors that are supposed to measure when a collision is serious enough to warrant air bag deployment. According to the NHTSA, as of January 1, 2009, air bags have saved over 28,000 people.
That said, injuries can also result if an air bag doesn’t deploy when it should, inflates too quickly, or deploys when there is no need for an air bag. Injuries may include minor scrapes and bruises, eye injuries, hand and finger injuries, chest injuries, internal injuries, head injuries, or other serious injuries.
Our Washington DC auto products liability lawyers represent clients who have suffered serious injuries because of auto defects.
Ford expands recall of F-150 pickup truck to about 1.2 million vehicles, Los Angeles Times, April 15, 2011
Ford F-150 recall greatly expanded: safety regulators, Reuters, April 14, 2011
Related Web Resources:
Air Bags, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Air Bags, NHTSA
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Preventing Traffic Crashes: NHTSA Unveils Enhanced 5-Star Safety Rating System for New Vehicles, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, October 5, 2010
Catastrophic Car Accident Victims and Their Families Ask Capitol Hill to Guarantee Products Liability Payments from Bankrupt General Motors and Chrysler, Maryland Accident Law Blog, June 4, 2009
NHTSA Examines 2.7 Million General Motors SUVs and Trucks for Potential Fire Hazard, Maryland Accident Law Blog, June 27, 2008