The Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched a new public awareness campaign this week called “Safe Cars Save Lives”. The program is focusing on ways to encourage drivers to regularly check for open recalls and to get them fixed as soon as possible. According to NHTSA statistics, last year there were close to 900 recalls affecting 51 million vehicles nationwide, with an average 25 percent of recalls left unrepaired.

The Safe Cars Save Lives campaign features online banner ads urging consumers to get into the habit of checking their vehicle identification number (VIN) at least twice a year and a collection of safety videos to help inform consumers of how to check their VINs, how recalls and investigations work, and information on what vehicle owners should know.

According to NHTSA officialts, “Safe Cars Save Lives” is a critical effort for building public awareness of recalls and is the first national campaign aimed at empowering vehicle owners. An informed consumer is one of our strongest allies in ensuring recalled vehicles are repaired.