Large reminder in Guadeloupe, where one in ten vehicles is « potentially dangerous » – Liberation
The Guadeloupe prefecture launched on Wednesday June 4 a large recall campaign for « Accelerate withdrawal » Takata defective airbags in the archipelago, stating that a in ten vehicle in circulation is « Potentially dangerous ». « We had identified 40,000 cars that still circulated with these airbags on the territory, (…) It’s huge »explained the prefect of the overseas department, Xavier Lefort. Some 20,000 vehicles must still change their airbags, he added.
Because of a badly aged gas, Failed Takata Airbags risk exploding by projecting parts in the drivers’ face. Their degradation is accelerated under hot and humid climates. The scandal of these airbags has been shaking the automotive sector since 2014, forcing many manufacturers to immobilize hundreds of thousands of vehicles around the world, in order to replace this security equipment. Several car manufacturers are targeted by complaints, including BMW, Toyota, Mercedes and Volkswagen.
In Guadeloupe, the prefecture has set up a green number (1), and launched an important communication campaign to inform motorists dangers they run And encourage them to change their airbags.
The authorities wish « Facilitate verification as well as making appointments for replacement » equipment. The prefecture indicated that it has also unveiled, in connection with the Grouping of Automobile Dealers of Guadeloupe, a list of vehicles « Concerned by an ongoing recall campaign or to come according to the analysis of the risks carried out by the manufacturer ». According to this list, 30 brands are concerned, for more than 200 models, in the Guadeloupe archipelago. The brands with the most dangerous models are BMW (26 models) and Volkswagen (21 models).
In April, the Chancellery asked for the grouping of the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Paris of all the surveys carried out on the consequences of these airbags, especially those relating to manslaughter. A new death linked to the triggering of a defective airbag had been recorded at the end of March in Guadeloupe. And until the announcement of this new death, the Ministry of Transport had identified 29 accidents that caused eleven dead overseas and one in mainland France.
