Category Archives: General Motors

NHTSA Orders GM To Recall 5.9 Million Vehicles

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) announced this week that General Motors is to recall up to 5.9 vehicles due to a defect in the Takata airbags in many of their lines of vehicles.

The NHTSA states that GM must recall their 2007-2014 model year trucks and SUVs because the inflators in the airbags “are at risk of the same type of explosion after long-term exposure to high heat and humidity as other recalled Takata inflators.”

The defect, which leads in rare instances to air bag inflators rupturing and sending potentially deadly metal fragments flying, prompted the largest automotive recall in U.S. history of about 63 million inflators. Worldwide, about 100 million inflators by 19 major automakers were recalled. The vehicles in the recall includes some Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra and GMC Yukon vehicles built over an eight-year period.

GM has denied that the airbags are defective and that the do not pose a risk drivers. Regardless, they have stated they will comply and make the necessary changes.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured in a Chicago auto defect accident or Chicago truck accident, then call Chicago injury lawyer, Aaron J. Bryant for a free legal consultation at 312-614-1076.

GM Denies Reuters Report Linking Them To 74 Traffic Deaths

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Time reported today that General Motors
(“GM”) is standing by its’ initial stance that their faulty ignition
is only responsible for 13 traffic fatalities. This statement was made in
response to a report from Reuters, which concluded that the faulty ignition in
GM vehicles was actually responsible for the wrongful deaths of at least 74
individuals.  Reuters
calculated its number using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a
government database that contains traffic accident reports from U.S. law enforcement
agencies. GM, however, says it uses more detailed information when
investigating accidents.

GM and Reuters both looked at accidents wherein drivers or
passengers in the front seat were killed in head-on vehicle collisions with one other
vehicle during which the GM vehicle’s airbag did not deploy.

GM recalled 2.4 million vehicles over the past several months
after it was discovered that a problem with their ignition switch caused cars
to shut off while driving, disabling power steering, anti-lock brakes and airbags.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did not
comment on the Reuters figures, but it previously said the final number of
deaths will likely be higher than 13.

I will be following this story closely to see if additional
wrongful death lawsuits arise as a result of GM’s faulty ignition. GM is also
looking at consumer protection class action lawsuits based on the recalled
products.

If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a
Chicago car accident was a victim of an auto defect accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant, for a free legal consultation at
312-614-1076. 

Are Self-Driving Cars The Wave Of The Future?

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The Uk-Telegraph reported
today about an interesting development by auto-makers such as General Motors
who have announced that self-driving cars could be on the market within the
next ten years. Nady
Boules, General Motors’ director of electrical and controls integrated
research, stated that most of the requirements for semi-autonomous driving are
already in place. Those features include Radar, Lidar and camera systems, which
provide modern safety features such as blind-spot recognition, lane-departure
warnings and collision mitigation, could go most of the way to equipping a car
that could drive itself on motorways. Boules stated, “ If you combine these elements and take each of
them to an extreme, we could have a car that can’t crash and a car that can
drive itself.“

According
to Boules, fully autonomous self-driving cars could be in the market within the
next 10 years as well. Boules mentioned that the benefits of fully
autonomous self-driving cars are in easing congestion, eliminating traffic
lights and conventional road junctions, as cars will guide themselves through
while avoiding traffic, and the reduction of weight as these “crash-proof”
vehicles will not need crash-safety structures.  

What
I want to know is whether this will it lead to less car accidents. Also, are
people willing to give up the thrill and enjoyment of driving even if it is
safer to let the computers take over.  I think the answer to this is probably not.
Further, GM and other auto makers need to consider the aesthetics of these
vehicles. I think people take more pride in the car they drive and the way it
looks versus the novelty a mini-machine that is run by computer chips. Regardless,
this is an interesting development to follow, especially any research involving
road safety and vehicle accidents. 

Another issue to consider is what would happen if something in the computer system fails, which causes a traumatic car crash that leads to serious injuries that is of no fault to the driver? Most likely, the auto-makers would be on the hook for the damages based on a product liability claim. Would the auto-makers try to point the finger at the driver in these situation? No doubt this could become an issue and a claim could be tied up in Court while the injured party is left waiting to be compensated for his or her injuries. 

If
you or someone you love has been involved in a Chicago car accident or Chicagotruck accident, then call Chicago personal injury attorney, Aaron Bryant for a
free consultation at 312-588-3384 or go to the firm website at
www.blgchicago.com.  style=”font-size: 12pt; font-family: ‘Times New Roman’, serif; “>