Automotive Safety

Used Car Sales

   Purchasing a used vehicle with undisclosed mechanical issues may pose a risk to public safety (e.g., rusty undercarriage, faulty brakes, drivetrain issues, etc.). This endangerment to the community may be prevented if a certification process was required for all previously owned vehicles to disclose any safety issues prior to the sale of the vehicle (as a color-coded certification report).

   Similar to a window sticker for new vehicles, all used vehicles should be required to display a safety report that was performed by a licensed auto mechanic. The report will also be filed with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and will be a requirement for the title to transfer to the new owner.

Senior Citizens

   All elderly drivers (age 60+) should be required to operate vehicles with an emergency braking system that will automatically apply the brakes to prevent collisions. This will reduce the number of accidents involving senior citizens.

Driving While Impaired

   All offenders of drunk driving should be required to install alcohol ignition interlock devices in their vehicles. These are portable breathalyzers that prevent the vehicle from starting if the driver's blood alcohol level exceeds a certain safe limit. Some areas of the country require this restriction, while others don't, and some only require it for repeat offenders. This inconsistency affects the safety of the entire community.

Engine Safety (New Engine)

   Auto manufacturers should be required to treat all new engines with an engine block sealer to repair any microscopic cracks and defects that may have occurred during the manufacturing process. This will extend the life of the engine and may reduce the chances of a catastrophic failure that poses a risk to public safety.

Engine Safety (Fuel Treatment)

   Oil companies should be required to add fuel stabilizers to their gasoline that will extend the life of their product to a year or longer before it may degrade. The reason is that the fuel from some gas stations, depending on how popular their location is and how often they refill their reservoirs, may already be decomposing by the time that it is purchased by consumers. In such situations, customers are essentially buying a defective product for their vehicle.

   Combining stale fuel from a gas station with the partially decomposed gasoline in a vehicle's tank can cause gum deposits and varnish in the fuel line (which is a safety concern). To prevent this, oil companies should be required to add fuel stabilizers that extend the life of their gasoline to a year or longer at no cost to the consumer. Or, be criminally charged for selling a defective product that endangered public safety.

Vehicle Emissions Inspections

   Vehicle emissions inspections are required to reduce pollution, however, a portion of the test also requires operating the vehicle at highway speeds (for sensors to be properly calibrated). Not everyone may be comfortable with this especially the elderly or disabled who may endanger their lives or other motorists if they were forced to drive on the highway. For public safety, this requirement should be removed from the emissions test.