The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now looking into whether or not seat heaters pose an "unreasonable risk to safety," according to USA Today. The government agency is currently shuffling through dozens of reports of burns associated with overactive heaters, and Johnson Clifton Larson & Schaler, an Oregon law firm, says that it knows of at least 150 people injured by the convenience feature.
According to the report, those with lower-body sensory defects are in danger of being burnt by the seat heaters without their knowledge, and doctors have petitioned the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers to disconnect the feature on vehicles owned by those with the sensory issues.
In one case, a paraplegic man was severely burnt after sitting in a Chevrolet Silverado with the seat warmers on high for two and a half hours. He accidentally turned on the heaters while attempting to roll down the window.
General Motors, meanwhile, says that it began printing warnings on seat-heater operation in its owners manuals in 2010, and all 2011 vehicle manuals now have the warning.
[Source: USA Today | Image: Damon Lavrinc/AOL]
According to the report, those with lower-body sensory defects are in danger of being burnt by the seat heaters without their knowledge, and doctors have petitioned the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers to disconnect the feature on vehicles owned by those with the sensory issues.
In one case, a paraplegic man was severely burnt after sitting in a Chevrolet Silverado with the seat warmers on high for two and a half hours. He accidentally turned on the heaters while attempting to roll down the window.
General Motors, meanwhile, says that it began printing warnings on seat-heater operation in its owners manuals in 2010, and all 2011 vehicle manuals now have the warning.
[Source: USA Today | Image: Damon Lavrinc/AOL]
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