The Massachusetts Auto Coalition (MAC) said passage of the
Right to
Repair
bill could negatively impact motor vehicle safety in
the Bay State. Passage
of H.102/S.104 could compel the unrestricted and
widespread disclosure of
automakers' intellectual property and other
confidential information,
including information relating to safety-related
parts and component design,
which could be used to manufacture and distribute
counterfeit parts, MAC said.
The production and sale of counterfeit parts is
currently a $3 billion per year industry in the
United States and a $12 billion per year industry
globally. Strong intellectual property protections
are critical to combating the proliferation of
counterfeit parts in the marketplace, and such
legislation will weaken the protective measures
automakers take to thwart piracy of their
intellectual property. Counterfeit parts are of
inferior quality, ill-suited for their intended
purpose, may be produced with dangerous and
substandard materials, and have a shorter-than-
average service life.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation,
the number and rate of traffic fatalities in 2010
fell to the lowest levels since 1949, despite a
significant increase in the number of miles driven
during the year. Passage of H.102/S.104 could
adversely impact this trend through the proliferation
of counterfeit parts in the repair market.
“Counterfeit parts are a serious threat to the
motoring public,” said Jamie Godfrey, owner of
Godfrey Auto in Easton, Massachusetts and a “Right to
Repair” bill opponent. “We constantly are monitoring
product quality and rejecting counterfeit parts. My
fear is that this bill could unintentionally lead to
even more substandard and inferior parts flooding the
market.”
Motor vehicles today consist of complex safety-related components that are designed to work together
as an integrated safety system moments before a
crash. Vehicles use an integrated network system to
analyze data and provide passengers with the best
protection possible.
For example, the airbag deployment module is directly
integrated into the entire car system. New technology
enables the car’s computer to know when a passenger
sits on the seat, and the weight and the height of
that passenger, and at what height it should deploy
the airbag in the case of an accident.
The use of counterfeit parts – such as air bag
mechanisms and brake, suspension, steering, and
engine components – could compromise the structural
integrity, performance, and safety of a motor
vehicle. The inferior performance and outright
failure of counterfeit parts could result in sudden,
catastrophic engine failure, brake failure, or other
system malfunction. This could lead to crashes and
the failure of complex safety restraint systems
designed to protect motorists involved in crashes,
resulting in injury and loss of life.
New motor vehicles and equipment, like an airbag
deployment system, are subject to stringent safety
performance standards set by the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and automakers
must certify that their products comply with
applicable safety standards.
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Counterfeit parts do not undergo the rigorous and
state and federal regulated safety testing to
validate their operability and structural integrity.
In fact, aftermarket part makers often reuse non-
deployed airbags from cars that are totaled in
crashes.
Passage of H.102/S.104 could lead to increase
availability of untested and non-regulated
counterfeit parts that may fail to comply with
automakers’ specifications and crash-test performance
requirements, or other industry-accepted safety
standards, MAC said.
“The use of counterfeit parts poses a serious safety
risk that endangers motorists and pedestrians,” said
Dan Gage, spokesman for the Massachusetts Auto
Coalition. “Counterfeit parts are often substandard
and produced with inferior materials, putting lives
at risk. Their use may also negatively impact vehicle
improvements designed to increase fuel economy and
reduce vehicle emissions released into the
environment.”
