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Driver hurt by air bag shrapnel as investigation drags on
Source: Associated Press
Driver hurt by air bag shrapnel as investigation drags on
By TOM KRISHER
February 20, 2019
DETROIT (AP) — Nearly four years ago, the U.S. government’s highway safety agency began investigating air bag inflators made by ARC Automotive of Tennessee when two people were hit by flying shrapnel after crashes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that 8 million Fiat Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia and General Motors vehicles in the U.S. use the company’s inflators. The investigation became more urgent in 2016 after a Canadian woman driving a Hyundai was killed by shrapnel from an ARC inflator.
But public records posted by the agency show little progress on the probe, which began in July of 2015 and remains unresolved.
Now another person has been hurt by an exploding ARC inflator, this time in a General Motors vehicle. Safety advocates say the slow investigation is a symptom of an agency that has done little to regulate the auto industry.
“That’s really unacceptable. NHTSA should have gotten on top of it sooner,” said Rosemary Shahan, president of California-based Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. “It’s just really painfully obvious that it’s a (safety) defect.”
-snip-
By TOM KRISHER
February 20, 2019
DETROIT (AP) — Nearly four years ago, the U.S. government’s highway safety agency began investigating air bag inflators made by ARC Automotive of Tennessee when two people were hit by flying shrapnel after crashes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that 8 million Fiat Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia and General Motors vehicles in the U.S. use the company’s inflators. The investigation became more urgent in 2016 after a Canadian woman driving a Hyundai was killed by shrapnel from an ARC inflator.
But public records posted by the agency show little progress on the probe, which began in July of 2015 and remains unresolved.
Now another person has been hurt by an exploding ARC inflator, this time in a General Motors vehicle. Safety advocates say the slow investigation is a symptom of an agency that has done little to regulate the auto industry.
“That’s really unacceptable. NHTSA should have gotten on top of it sooner,” said Rosemary Shahan, president of California-based Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety. “It’s just really painfully obvious that it’s a (safety) defect.”
-snip-
Read more: https://apnews.com/748a85a050d343a8af3de0aefdb820f3
FILE- This July 14, 2015, file photo shows the ARC Automotive manufacturing plant in Knoxville, Tenn. Nearly four years ago, the U.S. government’s highway safety agency began investigating air bag inflators made by ARC Automotive of Tennessee when two people were hit by flying shrapnel after crashes. A public records posted by the agency show little progress on the probe, which began in July of 2015 and remains unresolved. (Adam Lau/Knoxville News Sentinel via AP, File)