Major safety issues Counterfeit car parts have become a major safety issue because of the types of parts now being copied. Criminals involved in counterfeiting previously only forged cosmetic body parts and badges, illegal but not actually dangerous.
		Unfortunately these criminal gangs are now becoming more ambitious and authorities have seized fake suspension parts, brake pads and discs, and even steering linkages, all of which could cause a fatal crash if they failed.
	The Institute of Trading Standards (ITS) estimates that the trade in counterfeit car parts, which in 1994 was worth £300m a year, is currently worth a staggering £3bn. With such a large number of varied parts being illegally copied every year, motorists need to be exceptionally vigilant to avoid dangerous counterfeits.