DALLAS, May. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Many cars that have been subject to recalls are placed back on the road with unfixed defects, according to new reports. As noted in a recent AP article, Carfax has released data from a study that shows that over 46 million vehicles were never repaired after being recalled due to safety issues, and approximately five million of these were resold to different owners last year.

Source: AP Report "Used cars often sold with unfixed defects, despite recalls"

"It's a very major public safety problem," says Chris Basso, a used-car specialist for Carfax, which analyzed state registration data to determine that one-fifth of the 238 million cars on the nation's roads has an unrepaired problem that was the subject of a recall."

To read more from the AP click here.

The problem has become disconcerting to a number of transportation safety advocates who are making a strong push for legislative changes that would prohibit such maneuvers by used car dealers. As it stands, the law does not require dealers or individuals to make repairs prior to selling a used vehicle. Many say this places drivers of these vehicles at risk for crash related injuries if the defective components fail.

Says Basso further in the report, "When those recalled cars go unfixed, they compound over the years, and it increases the chance of those parts failing."

Mark Rosekind, who is head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also stated in the report of the ongoing effort to get laws passed that would require dealers to either fix defects or make a disclosure to car buyers of the problems, "We cannot allow vehicles with potentially dangerous defects to leave used-car lots without the necessary repairs."

Some attorneys are also championing this cause. Fort Worth car wreck lawyer Amy Witherite of the Eberstein & Witherite law firm is one who regards such legislation as something that is long overdue. According to Witherite, who has handled several accident injury cases involving motor vehicle defects, "car dealers should not be allowed to put money over the safety of individuals by skirting the law. This is a critical public safety problem that requires immediate action."

Currently, even without the legislation in place, there are ways used car buyer can find out whether the vehicle they have purchased has been recalled and possibly still in need of repair for a safety defect. TheAssociated Press recently released a report outlining four ways buyers can make this determination. These include:

• Visiting the VIN lookup site of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationhttps://vinrcl.safercar.gov/vin/ and typing in the 17 digit VIN of the vehicle that one may be considering making a purchase of or has already purchased. The site will provide information about whether there is an open recall on the vehicle. The government created this website in August of last year.

• Obtaining a history report for the vehicle - As noted by the Associated Press, there are third party resources like Carfax that provide access to these reports, which detail things like whether a vehicle has been involved in an accident.

Some dealers offer history reports to potential buyers and do multipoint safety inspections for vehicles so that recall issues do not pose a threat to drivers who purchase them. Researching which dealerships provide these services can also help prospective car buyers decrease their chance of purchasing a used car with an unrepaired recall issue.

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Eberstein Witherite LLP

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SOURCE Eberstein & Witherite, LLP