Takata refuses US regulator demand for airbag recall

The Japanese airbag manufacturer Takata has refused a request by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to expand a recall of cars containing its faulty airbags.

The current recall applies only to cars in high-humidity states.

In a letter to the NHTSA, Takata insisted that was sufficient.

The NHTSA can now fine Takata up to $7,000 (£4,460) per day for each unrecalled car on the road.

The airbags - which can explode with

Bad roads account for N300bn on vehicle maintenance in Nigeria yearly

The deplorable condition of roads in the country has continued to take a toll on human lives and other resources, with an estimated N300 billion spent yearly on maintenance of cars damaged by the roads, BuysinessDay investigations have shown.

According to the 2007 figure from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), NIGERIA currently has about  seven million registered vehicles on the roads, with four used vehicles for every new one registered yearly.

Of this figure, heavy duty trucks and other articulated vehicles and commercial buses account  for 50 percent of the total annual expenditure.

The frightening figure of seven million vehicles and N300billion spent on yearly repairs and spare parts replacement, along with the near collapse of the rail system and the high COST of air travel, have put a lot of pressure on the nation’s road transport industry, which accounts for