Cars are designed with many safety features in mind.
Some of these solutions are low-tech, such as having a substantial crumple zone or the ability to tell when something is amiss with the engine. However, as cars get more advanced, so too have their safety features. Now, a new vehicle will likely be equipped with a backup camera, lane center monitoring, and even emergency automatic braking.
That said, there are still some cars that can be fairly unsafe for their drivers, especially as they approach high speeds. This gets worse when one makes modifications to their car, which can affect the safety of the vehicle.
Now, a mechanic on TikTok has sparked discussion after revealing the one modification you should remove from your car if you want to ensure peak safety.
Why your car decorations need to go
In a clip with over 143,00 views, the TikTok account for Royalty Auto Service (@royaltyautoservice) says that your car decorations could pose serious safety issues.
First, the mechanic says that if you have a steering wheel cover that does securely adhere to the wheel, you should remove it.
“That’s just unsafe,” he states.
Second, the mechanic warns against “bedazzling” or otherwise decorating areas of your car that conceal an airbag.
“When this airbag goes off, that’s coming at you quick, fast, and in a hurry,” the mechanic says.
“I had a friend of mine that…got in a wreck and that thing went right in her face,” the cameraman adds. “She was cut up, like, all over her face.”
The video then overlays a news story about a woman who was injured after getting into an accident in a car with interior decorations.
“I just want 16-and 17-year-old girls that are going out and getting new cars and buying all this cute little bit dazzle stuff for their car not to put nothing on their steering wheel,” the woman told ABC’s First Coast News.
@royaltyautoservice Remove them now and share this with your friends! #dangerous #psa #mechaniclife #mechanicsoftiktok #cartok #tips #fyp #foryou #stitch #duet ♬ Pop beat BGM / long version(1283324) – nightbird_bgm
Commenters share their car decoration stories
In the comments section, users shared their numerous experiences with this kind of car decoration.
“The bedazzled rings that go around the push start can cause the car to not want to start as well,” said a user.
“I was trying to program keys. They had that around the ignition switch. Caused interference and would not let me do the programming,” added another.
“Had a work car where steering wheel cover hid the fact the steering wheel was broke in half. Found that out the hard way,” offered a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Royalty Auto Service via website contact form.
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