Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades reassured motorists on Tuesday that, despite Monday's mass recall, the risk of people driving cars with dangerous airbags was "very low."

"The recall is the only measure that removes the risk for owners. Not all airbags are defective. The reason manufacturers do not immediately take these vehicles out of service is because the risk is very low. This will be checked when the airbag is removed and deployed and it will be determined whether it was defective or not," he told radio station CyBC.

“ This does not mean that all airbags manufactured by Takata are dangerous. ”

On Monday, he ordered the recall of over 80,000 cars equipped with potentially deadly Takata airbags. All of them are to be replaced within eight months. Exactly 276 vehicles were immediately taken out of service and their vehicle tax and MOT certificates were withdrawn.

Owners of recalled vehicles not on the list of 276 vehicles will be allowed to continue driving them without restrictions, but will need to make an appointment with their car manufacturer's Cyprus-based distributor within eight months to have their airbags replaced. Their road tax and MOT certificates will remain valid .

Some of these drivers have received a text message asking them to “contact a representative.”

The Department of Transportation "recommends" that owners of recalled vehicles avoid using them and instead use other vehicles and modes of transport. However, people are not required to follow this recommendation, nor do drivers risk being fined for using their vehicles.

Drivers can check on the Ministry of Transport’s website whether their vehicle is affected by the Road Traffic Act.

A special notice is aimed at Saab owners whose cars are affected by recalls after the Swedish automaker went bankrupt in 2016. They have been advised to "contact an auto electrician".

Meanwhile, a proposal is due to be presented to the Cabinet on Wednesday to allow the owners of the 276 decommissioned vehicles to travel by bus for free.

The replacement of airbags in all 80,000 cars will be paid for by the car manufacturers, even if the cars were privately imported from abroad.

Vafeades said anyone who had their vehicle's airbags replaced should contact the Road Traffic Authority at recalls@rtd.mcw.gov.cy "so that we can remove them from the list".

The goal of replacing all airbags is “ambitious,” but “it has to be done.”

"We are immediately contacting all dealers to work out a plan for the recalls, to check their capacities, to see how they can help, what scope they have for ordering spare parts, how many free human resources they have at their disposal and what, for example, the government can do," he said.

He added that the government "wants to help" and that "the meetings we will have will make clear what it can do."

The chairman of the consumer protection association, Marios Drousiotis, expressed his general satisfaction with the status of the recalls so far later in the day.

"In the circumstances and given our starting point, we are satisfied with the measures [taken by Vafeades] and have no doubt that further decisions and orders will be issued to fill the gaps and difficulties that will arise from the implementation of these orders," he said.

He added that someone in Vafeades' situation "could not do anything else" and that "there are no measures that would completely defuse the situation."

He further said that “human life must be protected at all costs.”

“The financial difficulties that consumers or vehicle owners will face cannot be placed above the safety and protection of human lives.”

However, he noted that the matter should have been addressed sooner, saying: "We have let things slide for so many years."

“If we had acted ten years ago, we would not have the current problems,” he said.

He also expressed concern about the problems that could arise for those whose cars were immobilised, saying: " Public transport will not solve the problem ."

"The gaps and problems that will arise - and there will be many - will be addressed with other measures that solve the individual problems," he said.

He added that companies "will struggle" with the eight-month timeframe set by Vafeades, saying he had "no doubt" that "the eight months will turn into 18 before the problem is solved."

Takata airbags have a defect related to exposure to high heat or humidity , which means they are prone to exploding when deployed under such conditions .

This explosion causes the metal airbag inflator to be ejected outward toward the person it is designed to protect, which can cause further injury or, in some cases, death.

The problem of faulty Takata airbags has been around for over two years, and the death of 24-year-old Kyriakos Oxynos in January 2023 is believed to have been partly caused by a faulty airbag .

It is now believed that the death of 19-year-old Styliani Giorgalli in October may have been caused by a defective Takata airbag.

Source:CyprusMail.com

Author: Tom Cleaver