How safe is the vehicle a person is driving or riding in? While one may think the vehicle is perfectly safe, it could be subject to important safety recalls. In fact, in 2022, there were 1,050 safety recalls affecting more than 31 million vehicles and motor-vehicle related equipment in the United States. Fortunately, it’s easy to check to see if one’s vehicle is among those affected by safety recalls.
Safe Cars Save Lives. West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are reminding drivers about important safety recalls. A person can visit nhtsa.gov/recalls and enter a vehicle’s 17-digit Vehicle Identification Number to find out if the vehicle has open safety recalls. The VIN can be found on the lower part of the car’s driver’s side windshield. The VIN is also on the car’s registration card.
“Getting unsafe vehicles off the road is a key ingredient to safety and saving lives,” said Jack McNeely, GHSP director. “A recall means that something about the product presents a danger to the safety or health of the consumers who have it.”
Drivers should check for vehicle recalls twice a year. They should add “check for safety recalls” when a person turns the clocks ahead or backward, when they do other important things like check smoke detector batteries. One can also sign up for recall alerts on the NHTSA website. A person will get an email if one’s vehicle is part of a future recall.
The NHTSA’s SaferCar app, which tells one about recalls and directs a person to local dealerships who can do the vehicle repairs, can also be downloaded. Once the app is downloaded, one can put in the vehicle’s VIN, and information about the tires, car seats, and other automotive equipment. NHTSA will send one an alert about any safety recalls. The app is available for iOS and Android.
Even though vehicle manufacturers send out alerts and warnings by mail and email, millions of recalled vehicles never get fixed. That puts drivers, passengers, and others at risk. Drivers who think their vehicle has a safety-related defect that isn’t covered by a current recall can contact NHTSA online at nhtsa.gov or by calling the agency’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236. Sometimes, one complaint can spark a safety recall.
These agencies remind everyone that Safe Cars Save Lives. It’s important to get safety-related repairs done immediately to keep oneself and others safe on the road.
