CAFE Kills?

The dark side of the fuel mileage argument in terms of imposing new restrictions on automakers is the fact that the struggle to meet ever-more stringent CAFE standards results in Americans driving around in smaller cars. Smaller cars are more dangerous, hence the popularity of SUVs with parents who preferred to trust the safety of their families to the hated (by pious Prius drivers) H2s and Tahoes that saw those Prii as so many speed bumps. Still, though it has largely been kept quiet, studies show that the impact of smaller cars being foisted upon American drivers over the years has resulted in perhaps over 1,000 deaths per year. Not a pretty stat, and even less pretty should word get out that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (The Government) is responsible. Oops. Worse, there is doubt that CAFE standards have even been successful in their stated aims to increase fuel economy. You doubt? Check out this excellent study done by Sam Kazman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The study is worth scanning, or reading in full if you have nerdy tendencies.