Serious or fatal motor vehicle accidents, including deadly semi-truck crashes and serious bus accidents, are often attributed to driver error caused by a number of things (e.g., speeding; fatigue; distraction). However, safety agencies and advocates for accident victims and their loved ones are well aware that a great many of these preventable tragedies are caused by mechanical or product issues of the machine itself. Simple issues like an under-inflated tire can have fatal consequences. See: Tires and Fatal Auto Accidents: Duty of Care for Tire Upkeep and Maintenance.
Duty to Make Sure Vehicle is Road-Ready
Of course, the driver and others who have possession or control of the vehicle have a legal duty to make sure that things are road-ready before anyone takes the wheel. Drivers of passenger cars need to make sure tires are in good order, for instance. Commercial motor vehicles may have fleet managers who have a responsibility to make sure their big rigs, semis, buses, delivery vans, taxis, etc., are properly maintained. For more, read our earlier discussions in: Winter Weather Accidents Caused by Negligent Fleet Management and Trucking Companies Liable for Semi-Truck Crashes in Indiana and Illinois.
This legal duty can be argued to include checking for vehicle safety recalls as reported by the federal government, and making sure that any recall is repaired before the motor vehicle is driven on the roads of Indiana and Illinois.
The failure to repair a vehicle part or product that has been recalled by its manufacturer can cause the catastrophic injury or death of the vehicle’s driver, as well as its passengers and the occupants of any other vehicles involved in the collision.
NHTSA Online Motor Vehicle Recall Information Databases
Since 1966, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has compiled vehicle recall information where (1) there is a dangerous defect or (2) there is a discovered failure to comply with federal safety standards. This data can be searched online without cost in the following federal databases:
The federal government has also set up a special recall website, CheckToProtect.org, where individual vehicles may be checked for possible recalls. The information can also be found by texting “RECALL” to 99724. A fleet manager, for example, can check on the recall status of any tractor-trailer truck before it is released to a trucker for transporting cargo by going to the recall website and entering the truck’s state license plate number or its 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
Huge Number of Vehicles Subject to Recall Every Single Week in This Country
The blatant number of defective products released into the American marketplace by motor vehicle manufacturers is shocking and infuriating to those who know that some of these defects will undoubtedly result in a preventable accident where people are hurt or killed. Nevertheless, each week’s news reports continue to contain fresh new recalls of vehicles and equipment that are acknowledged to be dangerous.
Consider the motor vehicle recalls reported by NHTSA as curated by USA Today for a single day (March 9, 2022), where key components like brakes, tires, air bags, and fuel systems are involved:
- FREIGHTLINER (22V101000 ) – Electrical System:Software | Service Brakes
- AUDI ( 22V102000 ) – Equipment:Other:Labels
- MCLAREN ( 22V103000 ) – Air Bags
- KEYSTONE ( 22V105000 ) – Tires
- TEMSA ( 22V106000 ) – Fuel System, Diesel:Fuel Injection System:Fuel Rail
- TOYOTA ( 22V107000 ) – Forward Collision Avoidance: Sensing System: Radar
- TOR ( 22V108000 ) – Fuel System, Diesel:Fuel Injection System:Fuel Rail
- FORD ( 22V109000 ) – Engine And Engine Cooling:Engine:Hard Parts Internal/Mechanical
- YAMAHA ( 22V110000 ) – Vehicle Speed Control:Throttle
- NISSAN ( 22V111000 ) – Seats:Critical Fasteners
- MERCEDES-BENZ ( 22V112000 ) – Electrical System | Structure:Frame And Members
- LEGEND MANUFACTURING ( 22V113000 ) – Equipment:Recreational Vehicle/Trailer | Trailer Hitches
- VOLVO ( 22V115000 ) – Structure:Critical Fasteners
- PIERCE ( 22V116000 ) – Equipment
- CROSSROADS ( 22V117000 ) – Electrical System
- FREIGHTLINER ( 22V118000 ) – Service Brakes, Air:Drum
- BMW ( 22V119000 ) – Engine And Engine Cooling:Exhaust System:Emission Control:Crankcase (Pcv)
- AEBI-SCHMIDT ( 22V120000 ) – Fuel System, Diesel:Fuel Injection System:Fuel Rail
- JAYCO ( 22V121000 ) – Tires:Valve
- KAWASAKI ( 22V122000 ) – Electrical System:Horn.
Of importance, the above listing does not include another, significant recall by BMW on March 9, 2022, where an inexcusable number of its makes and models – which are currently on the road – may catch fire because of a dangerous component (positive crankcase ventilation valve heater).
Almost a million vehicles are involved in this one BMW recall – some having been subject to two prior recalls before this one was announced.
Read, “BMW Recalls Over 900,000 Cars and SUVs for Fire Risk,” written by Keith Barry and published by Consumer Reports on March 9, 2022 and “BMW Recalls More Than 900,000 Vehicles Over Engine-Fire Risk, Most for the 3rd Time,” written by Tim Levin and published by Business Insider on March 9, 2022.
Claims for Justice After Motor Vehicle Accident Caused by Recalled Part or Product
Despite the continued media scrutiny, many people in Indiana, Illinois, and the rest of our country are unaware of how pervasive the danger is that they face on our roadways as they drive alongside motor vehicles with unrepaired, dangerous defects. For more on the risk of a severe or fatal recall product crash, read our earlier discussions in:
- Unrepaired Recalls in 25% of the Cars on Our Roads Today: Legal Duty of Manufacturer versus Owner of the Vehicle in a Fatal Car Crash; and
- Millions of Recalled and Unrepaired Vehicles Drive Indiana and Illinois Roadways Today.
Fleet managers, as well as owners of passenger vehicles, have a duty to check for recalls in any motor vehicle that is about to be driven. This is a legal responsibility that exists in tandem with the duty of care and safety placed upon automotive manufacturers to provide products that are safe for their intended use.
There is a duty to issue a recall when a defective part or product is discovered in any motor vehicle that has been sold or released into the marketplace. Moreover, that legal duty includes a requirement that the manufacturer provide a proper and reasonable description of the recall itself and the safety concern.
The failure to comply with these legalities can result in the vehicle manufacturer being found legally negligent in the recall itself or in the failure to warn of the risk.
In any fatal or serious motor vehicle accident in Indiana or Illinois, the accident victim has the right to investigate the crash for both the potential negligence of the driver (e.g., speeding, distractions, etc.) and for the likelihood that a defective and dangerous part or product in the vehicle contributed to the accident and its consequences. If so, legal liability may lie not only with the driver but with the vehicle’s owner and its manufacturer, the distributor, as well as other third parties.
For more on fatal crashes and defective products, read:
- Defective Parts in Fatal Car Crashes: Fight to Make Auto Makers Keep Records of Safety Defects
- Defective Car Parts Liability for Fatal Crashes and Serious Injuries in Illinois and Indiana
- Car Recall Crisis: Millions of Defective Recalled Vehicles On the Road: What Happens After a Serious Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
Indiana and Illinois roads are filled with drivers operating motor vehicles with defective parts subject to recall that have not been repaired or replaced, or that are dangerous and have yet to be subjected to recall. Please be careful out there!
