B2 – Upper Intermediate
Seatbelts are considered as integral part of the basic safety equipment installed in all modern vehicles. Some people wear their seat belt the moment they get into the car while others need that constant reminder to wear them.
In case of a collision, the risk of injury is much higher if the passengers of the vehicles are not wearing this safety strap.
In the US, Tesla has had to recall more than 120 thousand vehicles over a malfunction in its seat belt warning system.
Let’s read the article and know more about a malfunction in these Tesla vehicles and the company’s solutions to the problem.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/31/business/tesla-recall-faulty-seat-belt-warning-system/index.html
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does the phrase “audible chime” mean? “The regulator said the vehicles failed to comply with the federal safety requirements as their seat belt warning light and audible chime may not get activated when the driver is unbelted.” Use it in a sentence.
- What does “to fail to comply with” mean? “The regulator said the vehicles failed to comply with the federal safety requirements as their seat belt warning light and audible chime may not get activated when the driver is unbelted.” Use it in a sentence and give two synonyms.
- What does “to get lodged in” mean? “It also recalled 3,878 Cybertrucks in April to fix an accelerator pedal pad that could come loose and get lodged in the interior trim.” Use it in your own sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What is the problem with those Tesla vehicles?
- What steps will Tesla take to remedy this malfunction?
- How do you think these series of recalls affect Tesla?
- Talk about another company that failed to comply with the federal requirements that led to a recall of their products from the market.
- How can a company manage a successful product recall procedure?