Posted on 12/31/2004 9:47:28 AM PST by Libloather
'Pimp My Ride' shop fined by feds
Replacing air bags with video screens illegal
By Danny Hakim
NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
Posted on Fri, Dec. 31, 2004
DETROIT - Pimp the ride, pay the price.
In the first of what is expected to be a broader crackdown against auto customization shops, federal regulators this week levied a $16,000 fine on West Coast Customs, the celebrity auto body shop affiliated with MTV's "Pimp My Ride," a reality show that makes over rundown cars.
The shop, which has customized sport utility vehicles for celebrities such as Shaquille O'Neal, was fined for removing front air bags in cars to install video screens on steering wheels.
Another celebrity shop, Unique Autosports in Uniondale, N.Y., was fined $5,000 for a similar offense. A reality show featuring the shop, to be called "Unique Whips," is set to appear on the Speed Channel, a cable automotive channel, in February.
Rae Tyson, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the fines were the first of what was expected to be a larger crackdown on car customizers who were disabling safety equipment.
"We're actively pursuing several others," Tyson said, "It's not only a bad idea to disable the air bag, it's against the law. Air bags are there for a purpose, to protect you. If you have a DVD player there instead of an air bag, it's not going to protect you in a crash."
Calls to West Coast Customs, of Inglewood, Calif., were not returned. Will Castro, the proprietor of Unique Autosports, had no comment.
Most states have laws against watching televisions in the front seat, though many of the laws have not been updated to include DVD players and other new technologies.
"We know that all kinds of distractions can be a problem, but it would be hard to think of something more distracting than watching a video while you're driving. It's a really worrisome trend," said Anne McCartt, a vice president for research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a group financed by car insurers.
How about a laptop - so I can stay online while I drive? Sounds reasonable...
here comes the saftey patrol..
Little Ralphie Nader would hate my ride.
Inflatable video screens. What'll they think of next!
Instead of the Feds getting involved, just don't let the car pass inspection at the state level.
Why is it a bad idea to disarm explosive devices you find inside the passenger compartment?
They do a 40K or 50K pimp job ( 4 Gameboys, 10,000 watt sound system, 6 monitors) on someone's piece of junk, and leave them with a drivetrain that is still gonna crater in 6 months, and an electrical system that can't power what they install.
SO9
Dem chillens is off dah muscle! Yeah..check it out, man!
I swear, if the boobs on this show couldn't use the phrase "check it out, man" they'd be speechless.
Yup. Watched it once and as soon as it was over I could feel the IQ in my neighborhood go up.
"Air bags are there for a purpose, to protect you."
Whether you want them to or not. Hit a deer, get a ballon in the face. "Thank you Mommy, may I have another?"
What inspections?
And it is likely your insurance company will total your car, too.... just because the air bags went off.
How about, in keeping with the name of the show, replacing the air bag with an arm that pimp-slaps the driver every time he plays rap music so loudly that other drivers can hear the garbage. That would be a public service.
Yeah! Those air bags are great kid-killers! That's what the Traffic Safety Council wants!
Too many liberals running loose in this country. (grumble)
Not all states have inspections. Florida, for one, is one of the lucky ones that does not have them anymore.
Nuggets of wisdom like this make me wish that we could pay MORE in taxes.
Is your ride "Unsafe At Any Speed"?
I thought Inglewood went up in a tornado this week.
unsafe at every speed. chain steering wheel.
Pimp My Ride sucks. I wouldn't want them touching my truck.
Foose is my hero. His group on Overhaulin could definitely work on my vehicle.
Oh, I get it. "Pimp" is supposed to be a good thing.
Is that like "ho" is now a term of endearment.
Something's been lowered since I was in high school.
"Instead of the Feds getting involved, just don't let the car pass inspection at the state level."
Instead of the Feds getting involved, why not just let the owner of the car decide what equipment he wants? Airbags have no effect on safety except for the occupants of the vehicle. If you don't want to drive a car without exploding ballons, good for you. That should be your choice.
I have a car that was manufactured long before seat belts became mandatory, much less airbags. Should the Federales or the State Mounties force me to install belts and air bags in a 1951 Plymouth?
Airbags are inherently dangerous and there should be no government regulations requiring them in vehicles, much less regulations prohibiting their removal.
"Hit a deer, get a ballon in the face."
It happened to my husband and I, and it wasn't even a head on-the deer hit the side of the car-the soft tissue and muscle injuries caused by the airbags took months to heal, the exploding bag burned my face and I have a large scar on my upper arm and a smaller one on my neck where pieces of my airbag's plastic compartment embedded themselves and were removed in the emergency room. The roll bar in our car and the seat belt saved our lives-the F'ing airbags complicated it. One of my brother's co-workers suffered a broken arm when his airbag deployed for no reason while he was chasing a suspect, and a neighbor's adult daughter lost partial sight in one eye when her car was T-boned at a stoplight and her airbag deployed. If there is a need for class action suit, airbags is it-and I don't even like trial lawyers...
Anyone asking to have their car "pimped" shouldn't be allowed to have air bags.
Pointed this out to manufacturers when airbags first started showing up in certain models with plastic composite dashboards. That material will only cause more problems as it ages and it is baked in the sun for a few years. Can you say 'shrapnel'?
Then how do you drive it?
Yeah, but at least you'll die while being happily entertained watching re-runs of "Friends."
" was fined for removing front air bags in cars to install video screens on steering wheels. "
They ought to be fined for being stupid.
"Time to remove the stickers from the hairdryers.
"
And the ladders!
oops, that was suppose to be on another board, we started the party early today...
...not even if it's showing Chris Matthews? Huh?....... OH! DOH! It said AIRbags, not WINDbags..... My bad.
Because then children will once again be allowed to ride in the front seat and we just can't have any of that now can we ?????
:-)
thank nader for this one.
My car doesn't have an airbag, and there is nothing that she or anyone else in the current "New Deal" administration can do about it.
"shrapnel"
We were treated at the nearest military hospital (my husband is a military retiree) and that is exactly what the doctor and nurses likened the imbedded plastic fragments to-said I was lucky none got into my eyes.
And the electric can openers and the plastic bags!
I like the episode where they replaced the airbags with a bong. I think that happened.
I enjoyed it anyways...
Wow, you were at least lucky enough to have people trained with that type of injury close by and it's a good thing your eyes didn't get nailed. I can only imagine what some people will endure with deployment on cars in the future that are being used well beyond the 'planned service life' of the vehicle. It'll be like riding around with a claymore mine strapped to the dash.
Big Brother knows best.
Personally - I think the correct thing to do would be to for customers to be allowed to sign a waver. Then if they car owner is hurt/killed due to lack of air bag, they cannot hold the customizer liable for removing the air bag.
But no - the government has to dictate everything.
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