They cost less than a couple of bucks apiece and seem like such a small thing but tire valve stems are pretty important to the safe operation of your car.

As important as they are — and as cheap as they are to produce — you’d think manufacturers could get it right and not make a defective product.

But, up to a quarter-million cars on the road in this country right now could have defective stems.

More than 200 complaints since 2006 about valve stems have led to an investigation by the National Highway traffic Safety Administration. In May, one distributor, Tech International, recalled 6 million valve stems that were distributed between August of 2006 and February of 2007.

The model numbers of the recalled valve stems are: TR-413, TR-413CH, TR-414, TR-415, TR-418, and TR-423. If you bought a new car or had your tires replaced since that time frame in 2006 and early 2007, you may be at risk.

It’s not quick and easy to find out if you have one of the recalled valve stems. You have to have the tires dismounted, because the model number is visible only from the inside of the wheel.

More worrisome is the fact that other manufacturers have not recalled their possibly defective valve stems.

The quickest and easiest thing to do is to check the valve stem by wiggling it from side to side and when you do, at the base where it connects to the wheel, just check for cracks.

A faulty valve stem could lead to a sudden blowout resulting in devastating car accident.

Booster seats are meant to do one thing — elevate children so that safety belts designed for adults are in the right position to restrain kids during a crash.

Thirteen of the 41 belt-positioning booster seats the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently evaluated with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute did such a poor job of improving the fit of lap and shoulder belts for children that the Institute doesn’t recommend them at all. Ten models are best bets and 5 are good bets.

Not-recommended boosters:
Boosters the Institute doesn’t recommend are the highback Compass B505, Compass B510, Cosco/Dorel Traveler, and Evenflo Big Kid Confidence; backless Safety Angel Ride Ryte; combination Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega, Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit, Cosco Highback Booster, Dorel/Safety 1st (Eddie Bauer) Prospect, Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch, Evenflo Generations, Graco CarGo Zephyr, and Safety 1st/Dorel Intera.

At least 2 of these models have been discontinued, hopefully replaced by better designs. Booster makers sometimes reuse names and even model numbers for new seats, so manufacture dates and model numbers are important.

Best bets and good bets:
The 10 best-bet boosters are the most likely to position not only lap belts but also shoulder portions correctly on many children in many vehicles. Best bets include 3 backless seats: Combi Kobuk, Fisher-Price Safe Voyage, and Graco TurboBooster. These may require plastic clips to correctly position shoulder belts.

Six highbacks are best bets: Britax Monarch, Britax Parkway, Fisher-Price Safe Voyage, LaRoche Bros. Teddy Bear, Recaro Young Style, and Volvo booster cushion. Another best bet is the combination seat Safeguard Go when it’s used as a backless booster. Combination seats convert to boosters by removing their built-in harnesses. At least 5 of the best-bet boosters have been discontinued but still are sold.

The 5 good bets provide acceptable belt fit in almost as many vehicle belt configurations. They are highbacks Combi Kobuk, Graco TurboBooster, and Safety Angel Ride Ryte, and combinations Recaro Young Sport and Safety 1st/Dorel Apex 65, when used as highbacks.

Child safety seat laws in 43 states and the District of Columbia include booster seat provisions, but until now there has been little information on how to pick one that provides proper belt fit.

A North Carolina man has been charged with murder following a fatal truck wreck earlier this month.

According to police reports, the man drove his tractor-trailer rig into an SUV, killing the female occupant. He was initially charged with driving while impaired and death by motor vehicle.

However, following the seizure of the rig’s autolog and the results of a blood-alcohol test, the charges were upgraded to second-degree murder. His blood-alcohol level at the time of the crash was .24, which is six times the legal threshold for the operator of a commercial motor vehicle.

Commercial truck accidents are considered the most expensive and deadly vehicle accidents that occur and rarely do law enforcement officials intervene as in this case. The ripple effects of a commercial truck accident can often be vast and devastating to victims, family members and friends.

If you have been involved in a commercial truck wreck, contact an attorney experienced with vehicle accident law for professional insight.