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The “Cash for Clunkers” program has hit international auto markets by storm. By providing money to people who replace aging, pollutant-spewing vehicles with environmentally friendly models, the program’s aim is to get cars that are more likely to cause pollution and car accidents off the roadways.
And yet while this program has been beneficial to the U.S., in other countries it has been just the opposite. Cars that were supposed to have been destroyed are instead finding their way to auto markets in Africa and Eastern Europe.
This new revelation is undermining the goal of the program. If the same old cars are in new countries emitting the same old pollutants this will cause new injuries in more individuals or have the old wheels, leading to potential tire blowout sometime in the future.
Furthermore, another aim of the plan was to have people buy new cars since new cars are safer and less likely to cause injury if you should happen to be in a car accident. But now car accidents that cause injuries could possibly be on the rise in these foreign countries.
We — as car accident lawyers — know that newer technology in newer cars has saved many lives. We also know that older cars in fact cause more car accidents as they tend to be more likely to break down. While the Cash for Clunkers program is indeed beneficial stricter regulations are needed in order to ensure it’s efficiency.
According to an expert with the Association of Criminal Investigators, up to 50,000 clunkers have risen from the automotive graveyard and found new life elsewhere. This could be due to the fact that Germany neglected safety standards like the ones adopted in the U.S., which require dealers to destroy old engines. Instead dealers were required only to drop off the old cars at junkyards.
The lack of regulations coupled with current economic times has all amounted to junk-yard business owners selling the cars to organized crime dealers who then export the clunker cars across European borders. Sometimes the clunker cars are even then re-crossed into Germany and registered there.
What this amounts to is more car accidents that in fact cause significant injuries. We — as car accident lawyers — know the tragic aftermaths of car accidents as they cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and even wrongful death. These injuries are life-altering.
If everyone knew the horrendous facts of what happens in a car accident, perhaps stricter regulations would be implemented in the foreign auto program.
Call us now at 1-858-551-2090 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident lawyer to find out how we may help you. We look forward to providing good advice to help you make smart decisions about your case in either English or Spanish. No fee if no recovery.
SENIOR PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY & FIRM FOUNDER
Michael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who graduated from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in 1987. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes how insurance companies work and how they decide how much to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael’s inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents. Learn more about Michael Pines