Canadian and American authorities have been trying to deal with the serious problem of fake airbags in used cars.
Most cars sold in first world markets have airbags but, in Canada, authorities have been trying to deal with the serious problem of fake airbags in used cars that have endangered lives.
According to the , in a car being renovated for sale, a common substitute for an airbag is styrofoam, covered by a plastic shell. This has become a major problem in the United States too.
Police say "fakes" — or dummy bags — are big business because new airbags sometimes cost thousands of dollars, whereas a shell costs just a few hundred.
A recent survey in Los Angeles found that, of 1 200 vehicles that had replaced airbags, 66 were fake.
"If you spread that nationally, even between the US and Canada, that’s one in twenty-five cars that have a fake bag. You can imagine the potential for these cars getting into an accident and somebody getting seriously injured or killed," Captain Tom Hunker, who heads the Murder & Fraud Division of the North Miami Beach police, said.
“We have one place here just outside the city that admitted to selling over six thousand shells, so we know that this is a very profitable thing for these people to get involved in."
Many of the airbag compartments are stuffed with styrofoam. "It comes out of a can, costs a couple of dollars and you can buy it in any store. It dries to give you a hard feeling so if you pressed on this you would think there is something there, and it’s Styrofoam," said Miami Detective Richard Rand.
"I’ve heard of airbags being stuffed with socks, beer cans and paper too," he said.
Florida has the toughest anti-fake airbag laws. Anyone caught installing a fake airbag can be charged with several criminal offences, including manslaughter.
