April 24, 2018—Honda says there are more than 60,000 people still driving vehicles equipped with a specific air bag related to the massive Takata recall, M Live reports.
This detail came out in an exclusive from The Washington Post asking the question why 62,307 people in the U.S. are "still driving around with explosive devices in their cars." The Washington Post article came to this finding while highlighting the story in the death of Jewel Brangman, who was killed 10 years ago in a "relatively minor crash" when her fatal air bag exploded with metal shrapnel and severed her carotid artery.
Brangman's 2001 Honda Civic was a rental car, and was equipped with an air bag that has a 50-50 chance of exploding with metal shrapnel in crashes, known as "Alphas." The Washington Post reports says they are the most deadly of the air bags in the massive recalls, and that they are typically found in older Honda models.
The Takata recall is already the largest in U.S. automotive history, and has resulted in more than 20 deaths around the world. Across the world, 19 different automakers have recalled around 100 million inflators around the world. In the U.S., the 69 million recalled inflators represents the largest automotive recall in the country's history.
