Airbags may be controversial when they don’t work correctly, but when properly installed and working the way they were intended, they can save lives. After receiving 19 complaints, including one involving a frontal crash that injured the driver, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation into the possibility of airbags not deploying in 2008 Honda Accords. The problem involves a module that controls deployment of the airbag. According to the NHTSA, a malfunction of the airbag control module may prevent airbags from deploying in the event of a crash. The airbag failure problem could affect approximately 384,000 2008 Accords in the United States.
According to the Detroit News, a malfunction causes the airbag status indicator lamp to illuminate and the airbag system remains disabled until repaired. In addition to complaints involving the airbags’ failure to deploy, complaints also reported Honda dealers not fixing the problem in a timely fashion and charging high rates to fix the problem.
The airbag failure may be the result of a faulty Supplemental Restraint System or SRS control module. Automotive News reported that the NHTSA has a real concern over the faulty modules and their failure to communicate because it raises concerns about the readiness of the entire supplemental restraints system. The SRS is designed to deploy in an accident involving a moderate to a severe frontal collision. Once deployed, they must be replaced.
Honda’s newest airbag failure problem comes on the heels of the Takata airbag recall, which affected more than 24 million Honda vehicles. At least eight deaths have been linked to the faulty Takata airbags, which spewed metal and plastic shards into the vehicle, injuring many drivers and passengers.
In it’s Traffic Safety Facts Data released earlier this year, the NHTSA found that in 2013, an estimated 2,388 lives of those 13 and older were saved by frontal airbags. Airbags can only save lives when they deploy correctly. The NHTSA estimates that there are more than 200 million air-bag equipped passenger vehicles on the road.
Pennsylvania is a dangerous state when it comes to traffic crashes. The 2014 Pennsylvania Crash Facts and Statistics book reported that each day 332 reportable traffic crashes occurred in Pennsylvania, injuring 219 and killing 3. Of the entire population of Pennsylvania, 1 out of every 46 people was involved in a reportable traffic crash. In 2014 in Pennsylvania, there were 121,317 reported vehicle crashes resulting in 1,195 fatalities and 79,758 injuries.
With this large number of vehicle accidents, it is imperative that airbags are in proper working order every day. Driver and front seat passenger airbags have been required in new passenger cars since 1998. Remember, airbags are supplemental protection and all drivers and passengers must still use seat belts.
If you have a 2008 Honda and believe you may have a faulty airbag, contact your dealer immediately to have it repaired or replaced. More than 30 million vehicles in the U.S., made by ten different automakers were recalled to replace defective Takata airbags. You can search by VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) to see if your car has been a part of a safety recall at.
If you have been injured in a crash involving a faulty airbag or any other car or truck accident, contact the injury lawyers at Fellerman & Ciarimboli in Philadelphia at 215-575-9237 or talk to a lawyer in Wilkes-Barre at 570-714-HURT.