Auto Safety Expert and Car Accident Lawyer Todd Tracy shows how using lightweight material in cars to meet EPA standards is sacrificing vehicle safety and costing lives.
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When you look at a restructure, you know, everything is nice and shiny and you got plastic pieces and you got trim pieces, the problem that you see happening with roof structures for example is what is underneath that non one can see. We call it the invisible defect because when you start, when you take off the paint, when you take off the plastic trim pieces, you see entire panels that have these large holes or you have just a few welds together instead of having a continuous weld or having multiple levels of steel upon steel upon steel.
Why do they do that? Well the more steel that you have, the more layers that you have, that is going to add weight. Weight is the big enemy of the vehicle industry. Since the 70s when Richard Nixon was the president, there has been a rule in this country called the cafe requirements, the corporate average fuel economy. And basically it says that all vehicle manufactures have to have a certain mile per gallon for their entire fleet.
Well to do that, heavy trucks and the smallest vehicles, they have to have a very high mile per gallon. Well, the heavy trucks, they weigh so much, they are not going to get as good of fuel economy so how do you get them to get a better fuel economy. Well, you make them lighter. How do you make them lighter? You take out big sections; big chunks of steel, areas that you and I can’t see but if you ever put a vehicle up on a rack and you look at the frame, there are holes throughout the entire frame. No some of those are access holes, some of them are not. A lot of those are built in intentionally removed places to save weight. When you save weight you decrease safety.
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If you, a family member, or friend have suffered a traumatic car accident injury or they were killed in an auto accident, there may be grounds for a product liability lawsuit against the car maker. The victim’s or family members of the deceased person may be entitled to significantly more money in damages than just a negligence case about the cause of the accident.
The Tracy Law Firm focuses on “Who Caused The Traumatic Car Accident Injuries or Death” — not who caused the accident.
Whether you were at fault or not in the cause of the accident, car companies are required by federal motor vehicle safety standards to make vehicles that will protect the driver and passengers from catastrophic injuries or death.
Contact Todd Tracy directly to request a complimentary catastrophic accident case review at the Vehicle Safety Firm.
Or call the Tracy Firm for a consultation at 214-324-9000.
The Tracy Law Firm is a nationwide law practice dedicated to making cars safer for the public.
