Fuel Efficiency Saves Gas, Costs Lives
Mitch Boersma
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Commentary
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It should come as no surprise that expansive government policies affect all of us intimately every day. However, what often goes unnoticed is that the government is incapable of the foresight necessary to recognize or avoid the unintended consequences that regularly cause more problems than the policy does.
This is exactly the case with the recent increases in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE standards. These standards currently require that all auto-manufacturing companies produce cars that operate at an average of no less than 27.5 mpg, and trucks at no less than 22.2 mpg. The proposal that is currently in the House and has already passed in the Senate would require that both cars and trucks average 35 mpg. While the obvious intentions of these regulations, namely to reduce emissions and conserve energy, are indeed important, the practical application and unintended consequences of these CAFE standards have led to catastrophic results.
In an attempt to produce increasingly more efficient vehicles at a rate that exceeds the natural rate at which companies are reasonably capable of designing and producing more efficient engines, these car companies are forced to meet these standards by reducing the weight of vehicles. And, contrary to all the hype about SUV's rolling over, most accidents are composed of other types of collision, and those individuals in large cars almost always fare better than their compact counterparts.
Let me be clear, this is not just a theoretical hypothesis. Researchers at Harvard University and the Brookings Institution found that, on average, for every 100 pounds shaved off new cars to meet CAFE standards, between 440 and 780 additional people were killed in auto accidents-or a total of 2,200 to 3,900 lives lost per model year. And using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Traffic Safety, USA Today calculated that size and weight reductions undertaken to meet current CAFE standards had resulted in more than 46,000 deaths.
What's more, there is little evidence showing that increased CAFE standards have produced any of the intended results. In many cases quite the opposite effect occurs. Since 1974, domestic new car fuel economy has increased 114 percent. At the same time, the share of imported oil consumed in the US has nearly doubled to 60%. This is due to the reality that when driving becomes less expensive, people drive more - a simple observation overlooked on capital hill.
By attempting to impose further regulations based on a impractical theory, the CAFE experiment has led to the deaths of nearly as many people as the Americans lost in the Vietnam War, while failing to provide any of the promised benefits. We must make a serious effort to solve the energy crisis, but ineffective policies forcing auto makers to create cars that put all American lives at risk are clearly not the answer.
(Contributing writer Mitch Boersma is a senior business ladership major.)
This is exactly the case with the recent increases in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE standards. These standards currently require that all auto-manufacturing companies produce cars that operate at an average of no less than 27.5 mpg, and trucks at no less than 22.2 mpg. The proposal that is currently in the House and has already passed in the Senate would require that both cars and trucks average 35 mpg. While the obvious intentions of these regulations, namely to reduce emissions and conserve energy, are indeed important, the practical application and unintended consequences of these CAFE standards have led to catastrophic results.
In an attempt to produce increasingly more efficient vehicles at a rate that exceeds the natural rate at which companies are reasonably capable of designing and producing more efficient engines, these car companies are forced to meet these standards by reducing the weight of vehicles. And, contrary to all the hype about SUV's rolling over, most accidents are composed of other types of collision, and those individuals in large cars almost always fare better than their compact counterparts.
Let me be clear, this is not just a theoretical hypothesis. Researchers at Harvard University and the Brookings Institution found that, on average, for every 100 pounds shaved off new cars to meet CAFE standards, between 440 and 780 additional people were killed in auto accidents-or a total of 2,200 to 3,900 lives lost per model year. And using data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Traffic Safety, USA Today calculated that size and weight reductions undertaken to meet current CAFE standards had resulted in more than 46,000 deaths.
What's more, there is little evidence showing that increased CAFE standards have produced any of the intended results. In many cases quite the opposite effect occurs. Since 1974, domestic new car fuel economy has increased 114 percent. At the same time, the share of imported oil consumed in the US has nearly doubled to 60%. This is due to the reality that when driving becomes less expensive, people drive more - a simple observation overlooked on capital hill.
By attempting to impose further regulations based on a impractical theory, the CAFE experiment has led to the deaths of nearly as many people as the Americans lost in the Vietnam War, while failing to provide any of the promised benefits. We must make a serious effort to solve the energy crisis, but ineffective policies forcing auto makers to create cars that put all American lives at risk are clearly not the answer.
(Contributing writer Mitch Boersma is a senior business ladership major.)
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