joe80

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/30/h...o-fa/#comments

Sarah Goodner was killed in Texas in 2007 when her 2005 Hyundai Tucson rolled over and she was thrown out the back window. The culprit for that odd circumstance – even though she had her seat belt fastened – was her seat, which was reclined so far back that she was able to slide out of it.

Stuart Goodner, Sarah's father, sued Hyundai claiming that the Tucson was unsafe because the seat could be reclined too much. A jury agreed, kind of, awarding Goodner a $1.8 million judgment against Hyundai, but also deciding that Hyundai was only 45% responsible for Sarah's death. Stuart said, "We want people to know how dangerous it is to drive with the seat reclined, [and] we're calling the auto industry out to correct this design defect so that no other family has to bury one of their children."

Forty-five degrees was determined to be the maximum amount of recline before driving became unsafe. And the issue isn't new: The NTSB and NHTSA debated the issue in 1988 and couldn't come to an agreement. Of course we can't make light of this – a young woman has died. But we do wonder why it's Hyundai's responsibility to make sure you don't drive your car in an unsafe manner. We suspect we haven't heard the last of this...



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Now I know why the seat doesn't recline too far on cars.. I always wanted these seats to recline flat so i can sleep better whenever i had sleep in the car in a long trip.

too bad that she died, but I really don't think this was hyundai's fault..

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

can I sue [insert car company] if I sit too close to the airbag and causing injury to my beautiful face when I rear end someone?

geez, the amount of stupidity and suing for your own mistake

blake0387

iTrader: (1)

They don't deserve a dime for that.

joe80

Anyway, I read the link and the woman who died was a passenger.

also, in Tucson's manual

To minimize risk of severe injury in the
event of a collision or a sudden stop, both
the driver and passenger seatbacks should
always be in an upright position while the
vehicle is in motion. The protection provided
by the seat belts and airbags in a
frontal collision may be reduced significantly
when the seatbacks are reclined.
There is greater risk that the driver and
passenger will slide under the seat belt
which may result in serious injury if a crash
occurs when the seatbacks are reclined.
The seat belt and airbags cannot provide
proper protection to an occupant if the seat
back is reclined.

mmarshall

Sometimes front seats have to recline a little to allow tall people to adequately fit in under low rooflines or sunroof housings, which, in the average, rob between 1 and 1.5 inches of headroom. Being tall, I've had to do this a few times myself. But, First, I can't think of any reason why, outside of some intimate things with the passenger that are better done in the bedroom, or a need for a tired driver to pull over in a remote area take a quick nap, for a drivers' seat to have to go back 45 degrees or more. And, Second, the Tucson, being a classic small SUV, has a high enough roofline even with a sunroof, that almost nobody outside of the tallest NBA guys should have to significantly lean the seat back to get a good seating position.

Still, even though we don't know all the circumstances here, I have to give Hyundai the benefit of the doubt. To drive with the seat at a 45-degree angle is not only silly but, IMO, irresponsible and asking for trouble. If you have to sit with the seat that far back, then you should probably choose a different vehicle to drive. High-performance fighter-planes (and some racing cars) have seats with extreme rake-angles for G-force tolerance, but, again, that is not necessary in everyday driving. In most everyday vehicles, the belt/harness assembly and air bags are designed to protect properly belted occupants sitting in a reasonably upright manner. Deviate way off from that, and I don't see how it should be the company's fault. I think Hyundai has significant (if not good) grounds for an appeal.

mmarshall

There you go.

"Upright", of ourse, does not necessarily mean park-bench or church-pew vertical, but it does mean something reasonable.

svntwosix

iTrader: (3)

This just shows how the judicial system is all messed up. People suing and winning for their own faults. This just reminds me of the woman who sued McDonalds for spilling hot coffee on herself and suing them.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

You mean I shouldn't lean this far back when I drive?

mmarshall

Also remember this.........who ultimately pays for big, jury-awarded settlements? We all do, in higher vehicle prices.

IS350jet

The good new is, it will be caught up in appeals for years. The plaintiff is unlikely to ever see a dime.

-J-P-L-

This is the worse lawsuit since the hot coffee suit won.

ALL car seats (with a back seat) recline nearly flat mainly for those that enjoy a nice nap in their car. If someone is stupid enough to drive laying down, then they deserve what may happen.

I wouldn't buy a car if the seat didn't recline past about 60°.

madoka

I wonder when Toyota is going to get sued for the lazy boy seats in the Sienna.

darkdream

Auto manufacturers better start making seats that can not recline. HaHa I do not get how these lawsuits win.

lobuxracer

iTrader: (2)

I'm waiting for one of the idiots I see frequently with feet on the dash to lose his/her feet when the passenger's front airbag deploys and smashes their feet against the windshield. I really marvel at how people completely fail to comprehend the dangers of airbags and out of position passengers.

I'm certain it will be a big lawsuit.

Thermactor

iTrader: (1)

What a ridiculous lawsuit.