A 28th Death Recorded Worldwide in Connection with Faulty Takata Airbags
It's been a while since we've heard about those infamous faulty Takata airbags, but the death last month of the driver of a 2006 Ford Ranger pickup truck in Florida following a minor accident has put the faulty components back in the news.
Those Takata airbags, recall, were equipped with a faulty inflator that could explode in the event of a collision, sending shrapnel that could seriously injure or even kill the person supposedly being protected. The death of the 23-year-old man is the 28th fatality worldwide, and the 19th in the United States.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said last Thursday that it is working to confirm the details of the crash before deciding whether further action is needed.
Some 67 million vehicles have already been recalled and repaired worldwide, but unfortunately, millions of vehicles equipped with the faulty airbags are still on the road. And the older the airbag, the higher the risk.
At the time, Takata used ammonium nitrate to create the small explosion that inflates the airbags in an accident. The problem is that the chemical can become more volatile over time when exposed to moisture in the air and repeated high temperatures. The explosion can shatter a metal canister and send shrapnel into the passenger compartment.
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