Across the Atlantic, there is a new automobile purchasing program that is catching on in France, Spain and most recently, Germany.

The new European initiative puts safer cars on the road and prevents hundreds of car accidents.  In the United States, nine years is the age of the average car some people are driving.  Some of these cars lack the safety features that newer cars have like standard airbags that are vital in preventing serious injuries like spinal cord injuries and wrongful death in car accidents.

Our car accident lawyers support any kind of program that makes the road safer for drivers.  If this program steers consumers to getting newer and safer cars, we see no problem with that.  Safer cars mean fewer car accidents which prevent serious injuries and wrongful deaths.

The premise involves trading in old cars in exchange for government subsidies towards the purchase of new cars.  The idea is building steam, and President Barack Obama hopes that such a plan can be implemented here.

Other benefits include the fact newer cars do not have the wear and tear on vital parts that cause car accidents due to inevitable manufacturing defects.

The program in Europe provides anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 Euros (or about $1,300 to $6,600) depending on the country for old cars towards the purchase of a trade-up to a newer model.  Car sales in Europe rose by 2 million since the start of the year.  A similar program operated in France from 1994 to 1996 that stimulated car sales, but a severe drop in 1997 and 1998 followed.

One representative of Credit Suisse, an international financial services group, says that if Washington pushed to emulate the plan in the United States, auto sales might rise to 12 million cars (still well below the 16 million sold in 2007).

Please feel free to call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or you can click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident attorney.  We have a large bilingual staff that can assist you in either English or Spanish.  No fee if no recovery.