Manufacturers have a duty to the American public to issue a recall when a dangerous product is put into the marketplace. Manufacturers know that failing to do so could result in serious legal liability. This is likely why Honda has decided to be safe instead of sorry by issuing its latest recall.

The manufacturers of Honda motor vehicles have recently issued a recall of 304,000 cars worldwide because of concerns about the safety of the airbags. Examinations of the defective product indicated that during a crash, the air bags were prone to inflating with such severe pressure as to result in deaths and injuries, as well as flinging plastic and metal pieces into the air, endangering vehicle occupants.

Honda Motor Co. has acknowledged receiving reports of 20 accidents arising from the defective air bags to date. The accidents included two fatalities occurring in the United States two years ago.

The recall, announced Dec. 2, includes 2003 Pilot an Acura 3-2 CL vehicles, 2002 and 2003 CR-V and Acura 3.2 TL cars, 2001-2003 Civic and Odyssey models and some 2001 and 2002 Accords.

The bulk of the cars recalled, approximately 273,000, were sold in the United States, with 27,000 having been sold in Canada.

Approximately 2,000 recalled vehicles were sold in Japan, with a total of 2,000 in a number of other countries, including 200 in Germany, 158 in Israel and one in England. Honda also recalled air bag service parts it sold to be placed in 912 vehicles needing part replacements after accidents.

The latest recalls were a follow up of recalls previously announced for similar air bag defects announced by Honda in 2008 and 2009. Collectively, approximately 2 million cars globally are covered by the three recalls. The company attributed the reason for the current recall to an incorrect chemical mixture utilized in operating the air bags.

Source: CBS News, "Honda announced global air-bag recall," Dec. 2, 2011