Automotive Safety

Used Car Sales

   Purchasing a used vehicle with unknown mechanical issues may pose a risk to public safety (e.g., rusty undercarriage, faulty brakes, drivetrain issues, etc.). This may be prevented if a mandatory 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, used vehicles should be required to display a safety report that was performed by a licensed mechanic. The report should 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 emergency braking system that automatically applies the brakes to prevent collisions. This will reduce the number of accidents involving senior citizens making it safer for the general public.

Driving While Impaired

   Offenders of drunk driving should require 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 safe limit. Some areas of the country require this restriction, while others don't, and some only require it for repeat offenders. This inconsistency should be corrected since it affects the entire nation.

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 may reduce the chances of catastrophic engine 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 their 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 that it is purchased by consumers. In such circumstances, 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 in some parts of the country to reduce pollution, however, a portion of the test requires operating the vehicle at highway speeds (for sensors to be properly calibrated). Not everyone may be comfortable with this requirement, especially the elderly or disabled, who may endanger their lives and other motorists if they were forced to drive on the highway. For public safety, this requirement should be removed from the emissions test.