10 car accessories that can be very dangerous

There’s a huge car accessories market in India. Most owners of mainstream cars buy these accessories to either enhance convenience or make their car look cooler. However, not all the accessories that are available in the market are really useful. Some of them are really hazardous. Here’s a list of 10 car accessories that everyone should avoid.

Cheap floormats

There are many types of floor mats on sale in the car accessories market. However, these harmless-looking things can often turn out to be really dangerous if they do not fit the vehicle’s floor properly. The floor mat can get stuck in the accelerator, brake or clutch pedal and cause a mishap. Seen above is a video that shows a vehicle with an ill-fitting floor mat. It shows how an ill-fitting mat can turn out to be really dangerous. Hence, it makes tremendous sense to buy only genuine accessories that have been tailor-made for a particular vehicle.

Steering covers

Many car owners put a steering cover to make the interior look good or even to get a better grip on the steering wheel. However, a poorly designed steering cover can slip on the steering wheel and cause the driver to lose control. It may be noted here that the steering wheels are ergonomically designed and should be left without any sort of modification. That said, you can still go for a tight-fitting steering cover in case you really need to have a cover for your car’s steering wheel.

Coloured fog lamps and headlamps

You must have seen some cars with a yellow transparent sheet on the head lamp during foggy days. This can reduce the head lamp’s intensity by a huge margin, and hence, can reduce visibility. These coloured sheets also have a negative impact on the focus of the head lamp beam. Stock head lamps are sufficient for most situations. One can go for a more powerful pair of bulbs in case one requires a more powerful set of head lamps. But using these sheets are a complete no-no.

Lamp black-out kits

Many people like to give their car’s head lamps and tail lamps a black tint. This is done to make a car look slightly sportier. However, blackening out the head lamps and tail lamps can stop them from functioning properly. During the night, the lamps might lose much of their intensity, which is dangerous.

Rear tray showpieces

Some car owners like to put a showpiece on the real shelf parcel tray. It’s not uncommon to see cars with a soft toy or a pillow kept on their parcel tray. Such objects can easily block the view in the rear view mirror. On hard braking, such objects can even dislodge and hit people sitting in the rear. This, in turn, can driver the driver.

Roof-mounted video players

Many car owners have a roof-mounted video player. Such video players can easily distract the driver. While many high-end cars come with a factory-fitted video player, the multimedia units are programmed in a way that video playback happens only when the car is not moving. The aftermarket players, however, play video even when the car is in motion. Also, the roof-mounted units even block the view of the inside rear-view mirror.

Colour changing head lamps/tail lamps

Many car owners even use flashing lights in the head lamps and tail lamps. Such flashing lights are really very distracting to other road users. Also, flashing lights in the head lamp lead to improper illumination of the road ahead. Hence, one should stay away from using such fancy lights.

Aftermarket electricals

Many aftermarket car accessories require a change in the wiring. For example, installing a high-end audio system or opting for a powerful set of head lamps requires new wiring to be done. In case the aftermarket wiring has not been done properly, it can lead to heating issues. Excessive heating is a fire hazard.

Steering spinners

Steering spinners are actually very dangerous to use. While they help you quickly turn the steering wheel without much effort, these knobs aren’t recommended by any car manufacturer. This is because the quality of these knobs are highly questionable and they can break while being used to turn the steering wheel. This, in turn, can lead to loss of control of the car. Also, hitting a pothole at a high speed can cause a sudden movement in the steering, which can result in the knob hurting one’s hands. Moreover, this knob can get stuck in the sleeves of a shirt.

Seatbelt accessories

Seatbelts are the biggest lifesavers. However, they can also turn lethal in case they are used with aftermarket seat-belt accessories. Many people use aftermarket seat-belt hooks instead of the original ones. Such hooks can get stuck in an emergency situation and prevent the occupant from getting out of the car.