The Takata airbag recalls continue with more vehicles expected to be recalled through 2019. However, there are still thousands of vehicles that have yet to be repaired and some members of Congress are calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ramp up efforts and get with automakers to come up with a plan of action. One of these lawmakers is a Senator from Florida, who says that state leads the nation in death and injuries caused by the faulty airbags.
Senator Bill Nelson-D, from Florida, wants the NHTSA to require all automakers to have a plan for repairing faulty Takata airbags by June 30th. He wants the automakers to promise rental vehicles or alternate transportation as necessary to get owners who need repairs into the dealerships.
Nelson said that only 45% of Florida vehicles that need their airbags repaired or replaced have been fixed. Some 1.3 million vehicles still need to be repaired.
Those vehicles have been responsible for 3 deaths and 82 injuries in Florida alone, the highest in the nation. The Takata airbags deteriorate faster in hot, humid climates, of and the Florida climate is both.
The three deaths were in Honda vehicles along with 55 of the 83 injuries. Toyota vehicles accounted for another 13 injuries.
Texas has another 3 deaths and 37 injuries. California has seen 3 deaths as well and another 20 injuries. Georgia has not had any reported deaths where Takata airbags have been responsible but has reported 15 injuries linked to the faulty airbags.
Takata airbags can explode with too much force, sending deadly shrapnel flying into the driver and passenger areas of cars and small trucks.
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