Photo: Honda
A 17-year-old girl has died an untimely death in her 2002 Honda Civic due to a substandard airbag manufactured by Takata Corp. This is the 10th death connected to the defective airbag since Takata was forced to recall its inflators in 2013.
According to a report published by Automotive News, the crash happened in Texas, on March 31, 2016. Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Deputy Danny Beckwith declared that the victim ran into a Honda CR-V while the driver was waiting at a junction to make a turn.
Investigators reveal that the 17-year-old woman wasn't driving at excessive speed and she was wearing her safety belt. Although the crash resulted in moderate damage for the 2002 Honda Civic she was driving, Beckwith commented that “everybody should have walked away from this.” If it weren’t for that darn airbag, she would’ve done so.
Takata airbags have this nasty habit of rupturing and sending bits of shrapnel in the cabin when the inflator deploys and a high-pressure gas is injected into the gas pipe. The 10th Takata airbag victim lost her life because of a bit of shrapnel that sliced her carotid artery and her neck.
As sad as this is, the situation gets extremely disturbing if you consider that Honda has mailed the victim multiple recall notices, albeit she never took the car in for repairs. If the 17-year-old victim had had the faulty airbags replaced, her life wouldn’t have come to an end on such short notice.
Nine of the ten deaths attributed to faulty Takata airbags happened in Honda vehicles, with one case having occurred in a Ford. The latest death should come as a news flash for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and all automakers operating in the United States that the current recall efforts aren’t getting the job done. Thus far, 14 automakers have called back almost 24 million cars to replace about 28 million Takata airbags. I'm afraid that nobody knows if or when the completion rate will get to 100 percent.
Investigators reveal that the 17-year-old woman wasn't driving at excessive speed and she was wearing her safety belt. Although the crash resulted in moderate damage for the 2002 Honda Civic she was driving, Beckwith commented that “everybody should have walked away from this.” If it weren’t for that darn airbag, she would’ve done so.
Takata airbags have this nasty habit of rupturing and sending bits of shrapnel in the cabin when the inflator deploys and a high-pressure gas is injected into the gas pipe. The 10th Takata airbag victim lost her life because of a bit of shrapnel that sliced her carotid artery and her neck.
As sad as this is, the situation gets extremely disturbing if you consider that Honda has mailed the victim multiple recall notices, albeit she never took the car in for repairs. If the 17-year-old victim had had the faulty airbags replaced, her life wouldn’t have come to an end on such short notice.
Nine of the ten deaths attributed to faulty Takata airbags happened in Honda vehicles, with one case having occurred in a Ford. The latest death should come as a news flash for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and all automakers operating in the United States that the current recall efforts aren’t getting the job done. Thus far, 14 automakers have called back almost 24 million cars to replace about 28 million Takata airbags. I'm afraid that nobody knows if or when the completion rate will get to 100 percent.
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