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Editorial: Safety vs. Car Weight Issue Seen As Largely Ignored

In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, Sam Kazman, general counsel of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, writes, “The super-high efficiency minicar has become the Holy Grail for many environmentalists,” but an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) study found that minis offer “significantly less protection for their passengers” during two car crashes. “That’s not what advocates of higher fuel-economy standards want to hear. Greater weight may increase crashworthiness, but it also decreases miles per gallon, so there’s an inevitable trade-off between safety and efficiency.” However, “with the exception of IIHS, there’s practically no one else providing information on the size-safety issue.” A federal appeals court found the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “guilty of using ‘mumbo jumbo’ and ‘legerdemain’ to conceal” the “lethal effects” of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. “Don’t expect” the Environmental Protection Agency to “admit to CAFE’s dangers,” Kazman writes, adding that Consumer Reports “has consistently failed to mention the importance of size and weight in discussing how to choose a safer car.”

From the American Association for Justice news release.

Bob Kraft

I am a Dallas, Texas lawyer who has had the privilege of helping thousands of clients since 1971 in the areas of Personal Injury law and Social Security Disability.

About This Blog

The title of this blog reflects my attitude toward those government agencies and insurance companies that routinely mistreat injured or disabled people. As a Dallas, Texas lawyer, I've spent more than 45 years trying to help those poor folk, and I have been frustrated daily by the actions of the people on the other side of their claims. (Sorry if I offended you...)

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