Safe at Every Speed: Using Technology to Eliminate the Threat of Counterfeit Parts

Whether you are rolling along at high speed on a highway, or slowly in a school zone, your safety as a driver or passenger is paramount. Governments invest heavily in safety testing and validation. Why? The public has little tolerance for a defective vehicle or auto component. It only takes a few incidents to trigger an inquiry or a product recall.

Automobile manufacturers and auto insurers rely on the fact that your brakes, brake fluid, airbags and safety belt, are the genuine article for alert, responsive drivers. Even the secondary elements, such as the steering wheel, windshield and front bumper system must be 100% authentic. That scrutiny extends to the computer guidance systems now built into the operation of most automobiles.

The automotive ecosystem is complex and interdependent. While representing a small percentage of gross domestic product, automotive brands have an outsized cultural influence on daily living and public safety. Global automotive brands rely on an invisible network of dealerships, local mechanics and car part retailers. Even the tiniest failure point in two or three cars could create a ripple effect economic impact: the car make and model is normally part of every televised accident on your local news. There’s nowhere to hide, in this day of ubiquitous traffic reporting and viral posts.

Counterfeit parts have a higher likelihood of failure. We’ve all heard horror stories of how changing a flat tire by the side of the road, or merely pulling over to wait for a tow truck, can lead to catastrophic loss of life and traffic tie-ups of epic proportion. Often, the difference between fender bender and fatality, is just a matter of timing, and luck.

With cars weighing 4,000 pounds (1,800 kilograms) on average, and fully-loaded semi-tractor trailers weighing 80,000 pounds in the US, and 40 tons in Europe, the odds of surviving a crash at even a medium speed are low.

The physics of a crash are sobering. According to a physicist and mathematician Andrew Zimmerman Jones notes the collision of two moving cars “releases twice as much energy as the collision with a wall. It’s louder, hotter, and likely messier. In all likelihood, the cars have either fused into each other, or the pieces fly off in random directions.”

So, why would you put yourself in such peril, with either your own car, or getting on the road with other cars potentially carrying counterfeit parts?

Fortunately, there is now technology to combat the counterfeiters of fraudulent auto parts.

Authentic Vision’s unique Holographic Fingerprint™ enables the authentication of each product on every smartphone with the free ‘CheckifReal’ app. Each scan provides precise geolocation of counterfeiting attempts, increasing effectiveness and efficiency of enforcement efforts.

Manufacturing and supply chain processes are protected by real-time market data and insights on channel and buyer behavior. The mobile delivery of product information and product registration is enhanced by higher levels of consumer communication, engagement, and up/cross-selling.

Distributors and legitimate retailers can relax, knowing the technology now allows them to instantly verify authenticity.