The year of 2014 has been especially difficult for automakers.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 56 million vehicles have been recalled so far. Issues including faulty ignition switches, defective hood latches, and exploding air bag inflators have been some of the most common problems seen in recalled cars, but not the only ones to have prompted safety recall campaigns.

With the NHTSA working to ensure car makers are expanding the latest air bag recalls associated with Takata products, more drivers become uncertain of what they can expect when it comes to their own safety.

Out of all automakers, General Motors has been the number one in the list of companies with the greater number of recalls during 2014. According to Motor Trend, Dodge and Chevy have each released 61 recall campaigns this year while Ford issued 47. GMC launched 42 recalls while Nissan and Toyota released 30 recalls each.

Experts have been stressing that the increased number of recalls has also led to an increased number of deadly auto accidents. GM’s ignition switch-related recall, for an instance, has claimed at least 33 victims to date.

What Does It All Mean to You?

For consumers, more recalls means more troubles.

If you’re looking into purchasing used cars, especially today during Black Friday, making sure that you’re not purchasing a used recalled vehicle will help you to stay safe.

Experts are urging all consumers who are about to purchase a used car to run the vehicle’s VIN through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s tool designed to help you find out if your car has been recalled. In order to avoid accidents and make sure that the car you’re interested in purchasing has been repaired, it’s essential that you use the NHTSA tool, especially because dealerships are not required to let you know if a car in its inventory has not been repaired after being recalled.

To find the car’s VIN, look for the vehicle’s side dashboard. Request more information from the dealer if you think he or she is not being honest about the vehicle you’re interested in purchasing and do not buy a car that has never been fixed after being recalled, especially if the recall campaign associated with the car deals with a problem that could lead to a deadly accident.

Stay safe and keep your loved ones safe by making sure that you know the history behind the car you’re thinking about purchasing. As it stands, there’s no law to protect you from buying a used car that is also hazardous so stay alert.