Yes. There’s multiple checks for manufacturing cars. The first one that would have caught this is from their design prior to sale: NHTSA: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This would prevent such an obviously dangerous car from ever being sold. So clearly they have dropped the ball off a cliff.
If someone were to alter their car post purchase, it might be caught at yearly state inspections. These all vary by state but generally ensure that cars are road legal and not dangerous. They most often catch broken or illegally altered lights and exhaust.
Are there mandatory road safety tests in the US ?
Yes. There’s multiple checks for manufacturing cars. The first one that would have caught this is from their design prior to sale: NHTSA: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This would prevent such an obviously dangerous car from ever being sold. So clearly they have dropped the ball off a cliff.
If someone were to alter their car post purchase, it might be caught at yearly state inspections. These all vary by state but generally ensure that cars are road legal and not dangerous. They most often catch broken or illegally altered lights and exhaust.