An accident involving a man from South Carolina sent chills down the spines of millions of drivers nationwide.
The crash involved a 2006 Ford Ranger that crashed into a cow in the road before it hit a fence. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the air bag in the Ford Ranger had an inflator that exploded. Since the metal shrapnel struck the man’s neck, he died as a result of the crash.
If it wasn’t for the air bag, reports show, the accident would have been a moderate one that would probably produce minor injuries.
The air bag used in the Ford Ranger involved in the accident was produced by Takata. The company that, last year, recalled about 18 million vehicles nationwide.
Since Takata uses ammonium nitrate to cause a small explosion in order to create gas to inflate the air bags, long exposure to heat and humidity may cause the chemical to burn too fast. As a result, the mental canister used to keep the explosion contained may rupture. This rupture will then translate into metal shrapnel flying into the air.
So far, ten people have died due to this issue in America and abroad. Over 100 people have been injured.
In order to address the issue, companies are struggling to find enough replacement parts to fix all of the millions of vehicles fitted with the potentially deadly air bag inflators. After the NHTSA reported on the 10th fatality linked to the Takata air bag problem, Ford added 391,000 vehicles to the recall list.
Impacted units include the 2004 through 2006 Ford Rangers sold in the United States and Canada. Ford will begin contacting impacted consumers on February 22. While the firm has a few replacement parts at hand, it’s still waiting for other suppliers.
After the NHTSA pressured Takata to launch a nationwide recall, the parts supplier added millions of vehicles its list of cars fitted with the recalled and potentially deadly inflators. While consumers with recalled vehicles who live in humid and hot states are more vulnerable, vehicles fitted with the recalled inflators everywhere in the country are being urged to contact the manufacturers to learn more about how they should proceed to have the issue addressed.
If you own one of the recalled vehicles that have been added to the list of recalls by Ford, follow this link to read more or contact Ford directly to obtain more information on this recall campaign.