With your help in 2018 we claimed victory over politicians, unscrupulous car dealers and auto industry groups who sought to pass a law that would have allowed them to sell dangerous cars with exploding Takata airbags and other lethal safety defects as well as get away with committing fraud and concealing safety defects. Now, I am asking for your help again.
My precious, talented, beautiful daughter Jewel was only 26 years old when she was killed by an exploding Takata airbag in a recalled rental car. She was a gifted gymnast, gymnastics teacher and model. Jewel received her Master’s Degree at 23 years old, from Hofstra University and prior to her passing she and I were preparing a plan for her Ph.D. at Stanford. Upon receiving her Ph.D., she intended to write children’s books and open her own family therapy practice. She was full of life and an absolute joy to all of us who were close to her. The safety recall for the defective Takata airbag that killed Jewel was issued months before she was handed the keys. If anyone had taken the time to get the free safety recall repairs done, Jewel would still be alive today. Every day I think of her and miss her beyond words. I am devoting my life to sparing others such a horrendous loss.
Right now, New Jersey politicians are pushing legislation to change the law in NJ, so that car dealers can get away with selling hazardous recalled cars like the one that killed, Jewel, even when the manufacturers have issued a “do not sell” or “do not drive” directive. Since recall notices often don’t state that vehicles are subject to a manufacturer’s “do not sell” or “do not drive” directive, these bills would allow the dealers to get away with selling even the most hazardous cars — such as those with the older Takata airbags — with impunity.
The bills, S3309 (Scutari) / A4380 (Coughlin, DiMaio), are backed by greedy car dealers and opposed by non-profit organizations that are dedicated to protecting consumers and promoting auto safety. In June of this year, these organizations and myself sent letters to the New Jersey Legislature opposing these dangerous anti-safety and anti-consumer bills. Here’s my letter.
Many other states, including New Jersey, have repeatedly rejected similar bills. Polling conducted in NJ shows that 90% of likely voters think that car dealers should not be allowed to sell unrepaired recalled used cars. If New Jersey passes these bills, it will become a national dumping ground for cars with safety defects like exploding airbags, bad brakes, loss of steering, sticking accelerator pedals, hoods that fly open in traffic, wheels that fall off, and catching on fire.
I’m fighting back and hope you will too. No one who buys a car from a licensed car dealer should have to worry that the dealer is deliberately or deceptively selling them a car they know is defective and so unsafe it has been recalled by the manufacturer or issued a do not drive order.
Are you as outraged as I am? Then act now, by contacting your state senator and assembly member in Trenton, with this message:
“I’m a citizen of New Jersey. I’m counting on you to keep New Jersey families safe from dangerous recalled cars, and help defeat S3309 and A4380, the car dealer ‘license to kill’ bills.”
Read more about the car dealers’ scheme for how to get away with selling unsafe cars that injure and kill their customers and their families and friends:
USA Today: Used car dealers didn’t want to fix deadly defects, so they wrote a law to avoid it
Thank you for your help in saving lives and protecting all of our loved ones.