Why Checking for Safety Recalls Should be on Your Winter Driving Checklist

Winter is upon us and an important part of safe winter driving is maintaining your vehicle. We have all experienced an inoperable vehicle at one time or another and it always seems to happen at the most inconvenient time. Routine maintenance on such an important piece of equipment is essential, but an often overlooked piece of maintenance is checking for vehicle safety recalls.

We check the brakes, change the oil and check the tires, but many of us don’t think about a vehicle safety recall as a maintenance item. The National Safety Council has a program dedicated solely to encouraging drivers to check for and repair open vehicle safety recalls: Check To Protect. CheckToProtect.org is a free and easy way to check vehicles for open safety recalls.

What is a vehicle safety recall?

The first question you may have is, “What is a vehicle safety recall and why is it important?” A recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle or equipment creates an unreasonable safety risk or fails to meet minimum safety standards. Most decisions to conduct a recall and remedy a safety defect are made voluntarily by manufacturers prior to any involvement by NHTSA.

Automakers send out notices to the vehicle owners they have on file – but for older or previously owned vehicles, these notices may not be received. Vehicle safety recalls affect all years, makes and models. There are currently approximately 50 million vehicles on the road with open safety recalls: that’s about one out of every five vehicles in the U.S.

Though rare, some of these recalls come with urgent warnings like “Park Outside” or “Do Not Drive.” One example is the Takata airbag recall. When exposed over time to heat and humidity, recalled airbags can transform from lifesaving devices into life-threatening ones. Even in a minor crash, a defective airbag can rupture and spray sharp metal fragments into the vehicle – which can and has led to injuries and even deaths. There are still millions of vehicles on the road today with unrepaired, defective airbags. We are urging vehicle owners with recalled airbags to get them fixed immediately. It is free to get them repaired, and it may end up saving a life.

Getting a recall fixed is free and easy

It is free and easy for everyone to check and see if a vehicle has an open safety recall – and to get one repaired. Go to CheckToProtect.org  and enter your license plate number, a picture of your license plate, your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) or a picture of your VIN. This is a quick way to learn about any safety recalls on your vehicle(s). You can even sign up for a calendar reminder to check back in a few months since a safety recall could be issued at any time. If there is an open safety recall, we encourage drivers to take the next step by calling a local authorized dealer, scheduling the repair, and taking the vehicle in for a free repair.

Check To Protect also has free downloadable social media content, one-pagers, talking points and a press release template in English and Spanish to help spread the word about vehicle safety recalls. Simply click the resources link at the top of the page on CheckToProtect.org.  

In addition, Check To Protect has its own Facebook page and routinely promotes vehicle safety recall awareness. This makes it easier to share messages, create interest and promote events. Please visit the page by searching @CheckToProtect.org and like/follow us.

For questions about the campaign or information about how to become more involved, please contact Lonny Haschel, Program Manager for Check To Protect.