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 may be prevented if previously owned vehicles were required 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, used vehicles should be required to display a safety report that was performed by a licensed mechanic. The report will also be filed with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles as 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 automatic emergency braking system that applies the brakes in order to prevent collisions. This will reduce the number of accidents that are caused by senior citizens.

Driving While Impaired

   Offenders of drunk driving should be required to have alcohol ignition interlock devices installed 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 public that should be corrected nationwide.

Engine Safety (New Engine)

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

Engine Safety (Fuel Treatment)

   Oil companies should be required to add fuel stabilizers that extend the life of gasoline 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 it is purchased by consumers. In such situations, customers are essentially buying a defective product for their vehicles.

   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 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 the sensors to be properly calibrated. Not everyone may be comfortable with this requirement, 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.