Correction and Addition: Safety Inequality in America

Roughly every 15 minutes 4 people are seriously injured in an automobile crash.

That means that during a roughly 4-hour Superbowl presentation, 16 people will die and 64 people will be seriously injured.  I read somewhere that each American has roughly 5 close family contacts.  If one were to consider those, nearly 500 Americans will be impacted by death or serious injury during the Superbowl (which focuses its advertising on automobiles and beer drinking).”

““It’s a difficult problem,” said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety in Washington. “If you look at the older vehicles, the recall rate can drop to less than 50 percent.”

More than 17 million U.S. vehicles have been recalled for potentially defective Takata inflators, according to Reuters. According to a government analysis of recalls from 2000 through 2008, about 65 percent of recalled cars each year get fixed within 18 months of the recall.

So if just 65 percent of the Takata-related vehicles are fixed, that would leave some 6 million or more vehicles on the road with potentially explosive inflators that could send deadly shrapnel at drivers and passengers.

For years, Ditlow said, he has suggested a law requiring dealers to complete all recalls before selling a used car. In private transactions, the buyer would have to complete the recall before registering the vehicle.”

See http://www.autonews.com/article/20141222/OEM11/141219835/older-vehicles-can-escape-recalls-nets