Some faulty seatbelts still on the road

By ELISA HAHN / KING 5 News

Nov 26, 2002

SEATTLE - What you don't know about your seatbelt could put your life in danger.

Most highway patrol officers will tell you that it's always best to wear your seat belt. But some older seatbelts may not protect you in a crash.

In some cases, the seatbelt in your car may have been recalled, but you never learned about it. That’s even more likely if you’re driving a used car.

Another popular belt is the subject of litigation after a pair of fatal crashes in Arizona.

Arizona resident Kristen Smith, 14, was killed in a crash while riding in a 2000 Dodge Caravan.

Police reports said that Smith was not wearing a seat belt, but her family's lawyer says bruises show she was. He claims the seatbelt unlatched during the crash.

"The buckle clearly is designed, unfortunately, so that one could … bump the red tab that comes up above the buckle itself and release it,” said attorney Larry Coben.

Coben says the same thing happened to 37-year-old Seung Ho Park.

"He was thrown out the passenger door and unfortunately where he was thrown out was at the canal and he was thrown into the canal and he drowned,” Coben said.

The problem, says Coben, is that release buttons that protrude above the assembly make them prone to unlatching when they are needed most.

The buckles in question are called the Takata, which were recalled in 1995. The belts were in 8.7 million 1986-91 models made by 11 manufacturers including Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan and Subaru.

And in July, a Texas judge certified a class action suit against Daimler-Chrysler on behalf of the owners of as many as 14 million Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles equipped with the Gen 3 belt.

"The problem is the government's not doing anything about it because the government doesn't have a standard to deal with it,” Coben said.

In Europe, there is such a standard that a small cylinder run over the buckle latch must not cause the belt to release.

Now, both the Smith and Park families are calling for tougher testing standards in the U.S.

"Kristin died and it's a terrible thing and I just want other people to be aware that loss... you can't get that back,” said Smith’s aunt, Shelly Lingo.