Saturday, April 03, 2010

Preview of Coming Attractions: EPA Imposes Death Sentences on Thousands of Americans

KMPH in Fresno reports on yesterday's catastrophic accident involving a "smart car":

An accident in Fresno County sent two people to the hospital Friday morning.

Around 7 a.m. California Highway Patrol officers were called to the area of Highway 168, near Sample Road, for reports of a collision between a "Smart Car" and another vehicle.

CHP officials say the two cars crashed head-on, after one of the vehicles cut into the opposite lane while trying to maneuver a turn.

Only two people were involved in the crash; the female driver of the "Smart Car" was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital, where she was treated for major injuries, while the other driver is said to have suffered minor injuries.

This news comes as the EPA announced its new guidelines for fuel efficiency, which were opposed in Congress by representatives on both sides of the aisle.

The requirements were raised to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon for 2016 model-year cars and light trucks from 27.3 mpg in 2011...

...The final rule issued today will cost automakers $52 billion to comply and add $926 to the cost of buying a car within five years, according to government estimates.

Legacy media has ignored the real impact of CAFE standards: the human toll represented by thousands of deaths on the roads. As cars get smaller and smaller, to meet central planners' guidelines, the mismatches between large and small vehicles become more pronounced -- and far more deadly.

According to a 2006 report by Ryan Bilas of the National Center for Public Policy Research several studies demonstrate the cost in human lives due to CAFE standards:
  • According to a 2001 National Academy of Sciences panel, smaller and lighter vehicle production resulted in an additional 1,300 to 2,600 traffic fatalities in 1993.
  • A 1999 USA Today analysis of crash data found that since CAFE went into effect in 1978, 46,000 people died in crashes they otherwise would have survived. That equates to roughly 7,700 deaths for every mile per gallon gained in fuel economy standards.
  • A 1989 Harvard-Brookings study estimated CAFE to be responsible for 2,200 to 3,900 excess occupant deaths over ten years. It also estimated between 11,000 and 19,500 occupants would suffer serious injury due to these standards.
  • The same study found CAFE has resulted in a 500 pound weight reduction on the average car.
  • Lastly, passengers in smaller, lighter cars die at a rate 12 times that of people driving larger, heavier cars.
To meet increased fuel efficiency standards, automobile manufactures reduced vehicle weight.  There is a direct relationship between vehicle weight and passenger deaths and injuries. 

In short, the EPA has imposed death sentences on thousands of Americans.

Furthermore, its arbitrary, Politburo-style rules will likely "paralyze the recovery" and financially damage auto companies at the worst possible time.

And it's all in support of a charade called global warming climate change, as an eight-part series in Germany's Der Spiegel reports this week. Autos contribute 1% of all human-caused CO2. And CO2 is an infinitesimally tiny portion of all greenhouse gases. Global warming is a scam, through and through, designed to let the government control industrial policy.

It's time to defund the EPA completely and stop their radical progressive agenda. The lives we save in doing so may be our own.


7 comments:

Bones said...

The only bright spot to this is that the rebuilding of the older cars and trucks will get a boost. Some of the more popular cars of the 60's can be rebuilt starting with nothing but the vin number using all new parts. An older SUV with a new engine, interior and any body work needed will be cheaper (and bigger) than new and have low property tax value.

Anonymous said...

You've got this all wrong, this is a good thing. The more Americans that die in car accidents, the fewer there will be to grow old and use up precious health care resources. Thus shall we "bend the cost curve downward". All according to plan.

DEWEY FROM DETROIT said...

The government will solve this mis-match. They will step in to "level the playing field," and outlaw all cars over the size of a thimble.

It's all part of "downsizing" Detroit: the city, as well as the cars.

fboness said...

This is another of those blood for oil tradeoffs?

Bob Belvedere said...

Linked to at:
Save The Environment, But Don't Save Your Arse

mbarbay said...

The size-ratio factor is but a reflection of Dem’s inability to look objectively and fully at cause and effect…

Largely incompatible with Conservatives, is Dem’s innate fascination of risk... Never thinking of tomorrow; or wanting to hear of it!

And sadly, minimizing and over-plucking tax-payers is also a Democrat creed...

(2010/12!)

Unknown said...

What an Orwellian term. The "smart" car. I know physics. Physics is smart. Car weighing 1500lbs. (or whatever). Exceedingly dumb. Truth in advertising? Smug Car.