DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME SWITCH TOMORROW NIGHT!

Don’t forget, we change time at 2 AM on Sunday! While we spring forward and lose an hour of our weekend, our sunsets will be much later!

Return to Daylight Saving Time is a Good Time to Check for Open Repair Recalls on Cars, Trucks

Website identifies outstanding recalls for drivers to schedule free repairs

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 12, 2021) – The approach of Daylight Saving Time this Sunday serves as a handy occasion to do more than spring forward. Put fresh batteries in the smoke alarm. Replace air filters. Inspect gutters.

Here’s another to-do item: Check whether your car or truck has been recalled for a repair. It’s critical for safety, it’s easy, and the repairs are free.

“Check To Protect,” a campaign by the National Safety Council (NSC), allows drivers to search online for open repair recalls on their vehicles. Go to www.checktoprotect.org and enter the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The search will yield a list of potential open recalls.

Vehicle owners also can text “RECALL” to 99724 – or, for Spanish speakers, text “REVISA” to 99724 – and snap a picture of the license plate when prompted. Either way, if a recall is identified for the vehicle, drivers can call a local dealer to schedule a free repair.

“In Kentucky, we have 3.6 million motor vehicles on the road, and more than 1 in 5 – 21.7 percent – have recall repairs that need to be addressed,” said Jim Gray, Secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). “You don’t know if you don’t check. Unsuspecting drivers could be driving vehicles that pose a risk. Taking a few minutes to check whether your vehicle needs attention makes the roads safer for everyone.”

A check for vehicle recalls can be made at any time. But the approaching time switch makes for a natural reminder. To promote it, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration observed a Vehicle Safety Recalls Week from March 8-12.

KYTC was the first state transportation agency to partner with the NSC to promote Check To Protect in an effort to improve highway and driver safety.

“Don’t depend on others to notify you of a recall,” said Commissioner Matt Cole of KYTC’s Department of Vehicle Regulation. “Check To Protect is quick and easy. Checking often for open recalls helps you stay safe. But ignoring a recall order may lead to costly damage. With free repairs available for all open recalls, there’s no reason not to act if your vehicle needs a repair.”

The 17-character VIN can be found in the lower left corner of a car’s windshield, on the inside of the driver-side door or on a vehicle’s registration card and possibly on insurance documents.

Check To Protect focuses on educating motorists, particularly owners of older and used vehicles. According to the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Global Automakers, the recall compliance rate for vehicles up to four years old is 83 percent; the rate decreases significantly to 44 percent for vehicles five to 10 years old. The drop in compliance is attributed to the difficulty of tracking owners of older and used vehicles. Since drivers expect to receive alerts about recalls, they do not tend to check for themselves.

For more information on Check To Protect, visit www.checktoprotect.org.

Additional information is available here http://transportation.ky.gov/