2012 Law: Punishment for repair shops that Don’t Fix Airbags

This new law establishes a misdemeanor penalty for repair dealers who fail to
properly repair and restore an airbag to its original condition after preparing
a written estimate.

Background: At least 30,000 car repairs are performed each year where a
deployed airbag is not replaced. Nationally, 20% of all deaths in crashes caused
by an airbag failure to deploy are due to the airbag not having been installed
in a repair prior to the crash. It is already fraud to invoice a customer for
replaced parts that were not actually replaced, but it is difficult to prove
that fraud has occurred.

The New Law: Establishes a misdemeanor penalty of up to one year in jail, a
$5,000 fine, or both for an automotive repair dealer who prepares for a customer
a written estimate that includes replacement of a deployed airbag and who fails
to repair and restore the airbag to original operating condition