Skimping Out on Safety Gear Can Be Fatal, Nobody Got Hurt in This Test

Yes, that is not a mistake, they tested the worst-rated car safety equipment they found online and selected some products from the ones that had one-star reviews. They simulated the way that these products are meant to be used without putting anyone at risk, and it makes you wonder how some things get to be sold online.

James and Zach read a few reviews from disgruntled customers and then tried the products for themselves. The test begins with something that every driver should have near them in their vehicle, an emergency escape tool. The latter is a device shaped like a hammer but made mostly of plastic.

The goal of an emergency escape tool is to allow the user to break a vehicle's window with the strong metal tip of the hammer-shaped object (some are shaped like a dart but are supposed to do the same thing).

Most of these devices also come with a seatbelt cutter, which is usually integrated into the handle to prevent accidental injury. This item, sold at $9.99, does not come with such a device but is only meant to break windows. That makes that kind of hammer only useful in public transportation vehicles, where passengers do not have seatbelts.

Another one-star-rated product is a helmet made by an unknown manufacturer. While it is DOT-approved, that standard has not evolved in many years, which means that your next helmet should have a higher certification, provided by a different organization. As a motto used to say, the right price for a helmet is how much you feel your head is worth to you.

We are going to skip the description of a few tests to let you see them yourself, as we recommend for the entire video, and just say that you should never buy a (presumably) counterfeit racing suit.

The latter is meant to provide flame protection in the event of a fire, and its role is to protect its wearer from flames and heat. Buying a $65 suit instead of a $650 one only works if you want to wear it for Halloween.