Auto product safety has become a much-talked-about issue after the massive Toyota sudden acceleration recall, which resulted in nearly 10 million vehicles being recalled worldwide. With the spotlight on auto product defects these days, the American Association for Justice (AAJ) has released a report: “Driven to Safety: How Litigation Spurred Auto Safety Innovations.” This report explains that since the 1960s, design defect litigation has not only enforced safety standards, but also revealed previously concealed defects and regulatory weaknesses. Auto defect litigation has also helped deter auto makers from cutting corners on safety to boost profits, the report states.

Toyota Vehicles Could Become Safer

The report basically reminds us that “runway Toyotas” are in the limelight today, but the problem of design defects and manufacturing defects in vehicles has been existent for several decades. Millions of Toyota vehicles have been recalled for sticky gas pedals, faulty floor mats and defective brakes. If history repeats itself, Toyota vehicles will become safer after this episode, the AAJ report states. Many examples can be cited where auto safety litigation was instrumental in making automobiles safer.

For example, the AAJ report points out that lawsuits played a vital role in forcing American car makers to install safer power window controls after multiple deaths of children. That’s only one example. Other safety improvements included in the AAJ report that were heralded by the civil justice system include life-saving repairs to vehicle gas tanks, seatbelts, side impact design, roof strength, tires, door latches, airbags, seatbacks and electronic stability control.

The Civil Justice System Works

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has failed to step up and initiate these much-needed changes over the years. NHTSA has been a political animal rather than an advocate for consumer safety. It has lacked the staffing and the enforcement power to do the job it set out to do – make vehicles safer. As a result consumers and auto products liability lawyers had to take matters into their own hands. The civil justice system was not only the sole recourse for consumers injured by vehicle defects to get compensation. But as it turned out, it was pretty much the only way to hold auto manufacturers accountable for the defective products they put in the market.

What auto product defects are you most concerned about? Where would you like to see improvements made?