http://www.lileks.com/screedblog/index.html
Thomas Sowell points out that "No Blood for Oil" applies only in certain circumstances. Regarding CAFE standards, the chanters happily trade blood for oil. Make cars lighter and flimsier so they are less safe in a crash, and force people to drive smaller vehicles that get more MPG. So what if more people die. People are the scourge of the earth, anyway.
2 comments:
I love Lileks, but as stupid as "No Blood for Oil" is, it's ridiculous to think that SUVs are safer than smaller cars. While SUVs are still less maneuverable and more prone to roll-over than passenger cars, passenger car safety is constantly increasing. And although an SUV may be safer for the driver, it poses a greater risk to other drivers.
Given the much higher traffic death rate in the U.S. than in European countries where smaller cars are the norm, there's no reason to believe that more people would die in traffic accidents if every single American switched to a compact car. Of course, every American won't, so it's a moot point. Those of who do will always be at more risk from the Expedition that's tail-gating us than from the Celica, but that's just a risk we're gonna have to accept.
When we're being "forced" onto mopeds, then I'll complain.
The strides made by the automakers in vehicle safety are huge, and the factors involved are numerous. But, all things being equal, the occupants of larger, heavier vehicles are safer. The CAFE standards force manufacturers to compromise safety to attain arbitrary MPG standards. Blood for oil.
Per capita deaths from car crashes in Austria, Denmark, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain, Ireland, Greece, and Portugal are all dramatically higher than in the United States. Given that we drive more miles per capita than Europeans, the deaths from car crashes per mile traveled would be even higher in those countries. All, I'm sure, smaller vehicle countries, though there is too much "noise" for comparisons.
I'm always amused by the "evil SUV" talk. It's all relative. To a pedestrian/bicyclist/motorcyclist every vehicle on the road is large. To be pure, one must sit in the corner of one's basement, sucking one's thumb.
I don't have facts on this, but a huge number of accidents are single vehicle. Every accident I went to as an EMT was single vehicle (small sample size) and most that came into the hospital were. The Villager (minivans are in the same category as SUVs) probably spared Luke serious injury or death. He would have been less well-protected in the Passat or the Prizm. The physics of it are compelling. People are safer in bigger, heavier vehicles.
BTW, "it's ridiculous" isn't argument. And, it isn't ridiculous.
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