Takata Airbag Death Toll Reaches 22

Just this past week hundreds of thousands of vehicles were added to the massive Takata airbag recall list. Tragically, another name was also added to the list of victims from these exploding airbags. Following a crash in Malayasia, it was announced that the total death toll from recalled Takata airbags has reached 22. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) timeline will continue to announce the expanding recall.

Vehicles effected by the recall are from carmakers worldwide and include, but are not limited to, Honda, BMW, Toyota, Ford, and Volkswagen. The NHTSA provides a running list of vehicles and their announced timeline of repairs. Currently, repairs to recalled vehicles are prioritized by age and region (“danger zones”) that the vehicles are located. The NHTSA also announced that Takata is facing a December 31, 2019 deadline to prove that the damaged PSAN inflators in their airbags are in fact safe and will not cause harm to drivers, especially upon impact.

As always, automakers and auto-part manufacturers are responsible for creating the safest product possible. It it’s the automobile manufacturers’ and their supplier Takata’s responsibility to prevent future deaths or injuries and provide a safe product for consumers.