"Made in China" or car safety ko lekar jo old thinking hai, woh kaafi dangerous combo ban gaya hai. Itna serious ki past 3 years mein
(May 2023 se), US roads par 12 accidents mein 10 deaths isse linked batayi ja rahi hai. Sab cases mein airbags fail ho gaye the, or sab ek Chinese manufacturer ke the, bilkul same waisa hi scene lag raha hai jaise Takata scandal mein hua tha.
Lagta hai ki yeh jo 12 accidents hue, unmein General Motors or Hyundai ki cars involved thi. Normally agar safety systems properly work karte, so damage itna serious nahi hota.
Image Courtesy: Motor.es
But problem yahi thi, airbags ne properly work hi nahi kiya or wo original bhi nahi the. Yeh cheap replacement airbags the, jo kisi Chinese manufacturer ke the, or illegally United States mein import kiye gaye the.
Substandard Chinese airbags result in fatalities during accidents
Yeh saare accidents DTN ke manufactured airbags ki taraf point karte hai, jinke products USA mein law ke through already banned hai. But phir bhi, yeh airbags thousands of cars mein lagaye gaye hai, woh bhi dealer network se bahar aane ke baad, or yahi cheez ise infamous Takata case se different banati hai.
Actually, estimate yeh hai ki around 10,000 cars (different brands ki) is issue se affect ho sakti hai.
Airbags ko safely work karne ke liye 20 milliseconds se bhi kam time mein deploy hona padta hai. Itni fast inflation basically passenger ki movement ko immediately rok deti hai, front ya rear collision mein front or rear wali movement, or side impact mein side wali movement. Isse log steering wheel ya dashboard se hit hone se bach jaate hai, otherwise serious injuries ya fractures ho sakte the. Best case mein ya toh sirf internal injuries hoti hai, ya phir ideally koi physical damage hi nahi hota.
Airbags that ruture and release metal shrapnel
Image Courtesy: Motor.es
Instead, yeh airbags impact hote hi deploy ho gaye, or under metal ke small pieces kar diye. Yeh pieces car ke cabin ke under spread ho gaye or direct passengers ke neck, chest ya face ki taraf chale gaye. Isi wajah se yeh 10 deaths hui hai, whereas situation itni dangerous honi hi nahi chahiye thi.
The first case May 2023 mein record hua tha, or after that this year tak aise several cases saamne aaye. Most recent case 16 February ko hua, jahan ek 2020 Chevrolet Malibu mein unsafe/defective airbag ka issue dekha gaya.
Authorities suspicions regarding these illegal airbags
NHTSA ko lagta hai ki yeh cars second-hand purchase ki gayi thi, or pehle se accident mein damage ho chuki thi. Repair ke time pe paisa save karne ke liye Chinese company DTN ke airbags laga diye gaye. Problem ye hai ki khud manufacturer bhi bolta hai ki unke products US mein allowed hi nahi hai.
Future mein aiseincidents ko rokne ke liye, NHTSA recommend karta hai ki jo bhi used cars hai jinka accident history raha ho, unko properly inspect karna chahiye. Aisi cars mein chances hote hai ki airbags ko replace kiya gaya ho, or kabhi-kabhi wo low quality ya illegal bhi ho sakte hai. Ideally, jo new airbags installed hote hai, unki quality wahi honi chahiye jo original airbags ki hoti hai, jo factory assembly line pe install hote hai.