WASHINGTON – New numbers from Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson show Florida has the highest national number of deaths and injuries from Takata airbags.
According to the data released Friday there have been three deaths and 83 injuries in Florida due to the airbags. The data also shows injuries in the state have risen by almost 400 percent since December 2014.
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration website says over 37 million vehicles across the United States are under recall because the bags can explode when deployed.
The data ranks Puerto Rico, Texas, California and Georgia as the states with the highest incidents related to airbags after Florida. According to the report, nearly three-fourths of Takata-related casualties in the U.S. occurred in those four states and Puerto Rico.
The report states the state-specific data is based on information from 19 automakers that use Takata’s non-desiccated ammonium nitrate-based inflators.
The report states all three Florida deaths and 55 of the injuries were in Honda vehicles with the defective airbags. Toyota is ranked second, with 13 Florida injuries.
News 6 previously reported an estimated 150,000 vehicles in the Orlando area have not had the Takata airbags replaced after a massive recall, according to the NHTSA. The new data shows 45 percent of recalled Florida vehicles had been fixed as of mid-April, which leaves 1.3 million recalled vehicles yet to be repaired.
Nelson said Floridians should heed the recall.
"Failure to do so could result in death or life-altering injuries," Nelson said.
Nelson spoke in Orlando Saturday afternoon about the findings.
Consumers can check if their vehicle is under an active recall at SaferCar.gov.