A campaign to encourage drivers to check for and repair any car safety recalls has kicked off in Fort Worth.
According to the National Safety Council, there are 1.2 million cars being driven on Texas roads with safety recalls. In North Texas, about 300,000 cars have recalled Takata airbags. Takata, the auto supply company whose airbags have been blamed for at least a dozen deaths and hundreds of injuries worldwide, filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
The long-running recall has affected millions of cars.
“The reason we’re so concerned and focused in Texas is because of the Gulf Coast. High heat and humidity have been shown to cause inflators to be defective, to crack,” explained Lonny Haschel, program manager with Check to Protect. “If that airbag deploys and has a defective, faulty airbag inflator in it, that can break into pieces of metal, which then get pushed into someone’s face. It can be very dangerous.”
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The campaign began Friday in the parking lot of Scarborough-Handley Field as parents and students filed into the stadium for the match-up between O.D. Wyatt and Polytechnic. Community outreach included car canvassing and informing people how to check whether their car had a safety recall.
Sam Blocklyn, a Fort Worth ISD employee who was there to assist in game night operations, found out his car had a recalled airbag.
“I get little notices in the mail all the time, and I have to be honest with you, I kind of ignore them. So, they were helpful tonight. I think I’m going to get it done,” Blocklyn said.
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According to Fort Worth District 8 Councilman Chris Nettles, the campaign was brought to the city council in response to the large number of unrepaired airbags in North Texas.
“I mean, take it seriously. They go through real rigorous checks to make sure these cars are safe and anytime we get a recall, even if it’s your key fob…or your seatbelt…you want to get that checked as soon as possible,” Councilman Nettles said.
ONLINE: To check whether your car has an open recall, click here.
