Examiner columnist Tim Carney has an eye-opening piece today on CAFE standards, their impact on automakers and consumers, and the politicians and special interest lobbies that stand to gain most from these draconian regulations.
Proponents dismiss automaker grumbling about stricter CAFE standards as foot-dragging and argue that heightened mileage requirements would benefit consumers and the environment, but the verdict on that argument is still out.
For one thing, nothing currently keeps consumers from buying cars that get better gas mileage -- mandating improved fleet mileage actually reduces consumer choice. Secondly, greater fuel efficiency may not result in less fuel use -- it encourages drivers to drive more, possibly making no impact on oil dependency and certainly increasing traffic congestion.
Most importantly, stricter CAFE rules cost lives. CAFE pushes consumers to buy smaller cars, which are less safe in case of accidents. The National Academy of Sciences in 2002 released a paper that showed that CAFE results in an additional 2,000 highway deaths per year.
If it weren't immoral enough to impose regulations on the private sector that likely result in little to no benefit to the environment, Congress is content to sacrifice human lives for political gain.
See also my piece on ethanol subsidization and how this alternative fuel has been shown to mangle boat engines.
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