U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters Launches New Service to Automatically E-mail, Instant Message Safety Recall Information

Consumers Now Able to Sign Up for Safety Seat and Tire Recall Information

Consumers will be able to get important safety updates about child seats and tire recalls automatically e-mailed or sent to their PDA devices as part of a new federal government notification service, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters announced today.

“Signing up for this service is one of the easiest things you can do to help protect yourself and the lives of your children,” said Secretary Peters. “We can’t afford to let safety get lost in the mail.”

The Secretary noted that the new system focuses on safety seat and tire recall information because fewer consumers have historically responded to these important safety updates. For example, less than one-third of affected consumers respond to the tire recalls, while less than half of affected consumers respond to child seat recalls.

“When a product is defective, we want to do everything to get those unsafe products off the market,” said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Deputy Administrator James F. Ports, Jr.

Ports urged consumers to visit www.safercar.gov and click on the “E-mail” or “RSS” option to register for the new notification service. However, he also reminded consumers that they should continue to register their safety seats and tires with manufacturers, even if they sign up for the new notification service. Ports explained that registering child seats and tires helps manufacturers contact purchasers about recalls in a timely fashion and allows them to provide additional details and instructions about the recalls.

Ports added that the Department has even added a feature to its “safecar.gov” website to make it easier for consumers to register safety seats directly with manufacturers. Consumers should click on the “Register your child restraint online” link and take advantage of this service.