SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Although vehicle recalls have dominated the automotive headlines in the first half of 2010, it's not necessarily cause for significant alarm, according to Edmunds.com.

In fact, the site suggested that recall issues were more problematic in the past.

And in the wake of heavy news coverage, automakers and consumers, alike, have been more attentive in identifying any possible hiccups in their vehicles' safety, the site said.  This careful attention to detail has largely been the key driver to the influx of recalls.

"Recall numbers have been remarkably high since the mid-'90s when car technology really began getting complicated, but this year they've been far more publicized," suggested Ray Zhou, senior analysts for Edmunds.com.

"Thanks to recent headlines this year drivers are more alert to any potential safety issues and more likely to report any potential flaws and perhaps even pay closer attention to recall news," he added.

Looking at raw numbers, Edmunds indicated that, as of early June, there has been 81 recalls so far this year. In recent years, the industry has seen an average of 164 per year, the site pointed out.

So, it appears the recall pace of 2010 is on target with has been a typical yearly rate, as of late.

That said, with this year's recalls impacting a little more than 10 million total units thus far, analysts indicated that 2010 could "slightly" exceed what has been the norm for actual vehicles under recall each year in the past decade (an average of 18.1 million units per year).

But, again, this is no reason for panic.

"The level of vehicle recall activity simply doesn't suggest any greater reasons for concern by consumers," stated Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing at Edmunds.

"In fact, automakers as a whole have become increasingly diligent not only about safety and reliability but also about reporting problems with their vehicles and, in many cases, recalling them more quickly than in the past," he added.