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While vehicles are much safer today then they may have been in years past, design defects are perhaps still one of the biggest causes of car accidents. Auto defects typically occur in the design or manufacture of vehicles or in the parts on a vehicle.

By law, manufacturers are required to design and engineer cars that meet a minimum safety standard. However, even with federal safety standards and extensive testing, there are still a significant amount of defective cars on the road. Advancements are being made daily to improve the safety and efficiency of automobiles on the road.

How Auto Makers Handle Design Defects

Car manufacturers typically have one choice when dealing with a poorly designed auto defect: Recall the defective part/car and fix it. Otherwise, accident-related lawsuits will likely be the result.

Common Auto Defects That Lead To Car Accidents

While tires manufactured today are safer than years prior, defective tires may be more prone to tread separation, blowouts and flats that lead to car accidents.

Faulty brakes which can mean the brakes wear out too fast or the brakes are unresponsive.

Stuck accelerators, which was a major problem for Toyota which lead to 17 complaints of acceleration-related Toyota crashes involving 21 deaths between 2000 and 2009.

Seatbelts have been shown to reduce the number of serious injuries that occur during accidents, when properly designed. However, when they are not properly designed, seatbelts have been known to cause injuries themselves.

Defective airbags, like seatbelts, have been shown to save lives. But when they are defective and deploy too early, too late or not at all, they lead to serious injury and in some cases possibly even death.

All parts of a car are susceptible to defects, including gas tanks that may catch fire and more. This is by no means intended to be an exhaustive list of auto defects that lead to accidents, just some of the more common defects.

You can search for specific automobile defect information by visiting SaferCar.gov maintained by the NHTSA since 1972.

Highway Defects That Lead To Car Accidents

It’s worth mentioning that while there are several design defects that can cause an accident, there are also several known highway defects as well including: pot holes, uneven pavement, inadequate road markings and more.

The statute of limitations for a defective auto lawsuit varies in from jurisdiction. Therefore, if you have been involved in an accident or lost a loved one to due to a defective automobile, you should contact a product liability lawyer as soon as possible.

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