Three front-to-front crash tests, each involving a microcar or minicar into a midsize model from the same manufacturer, show how extra vehicle size and weight enhance occupant protection in collisions.
These Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests are about the physics of car crashes, which dictate that very small cars generally can't protect people in crashes as well as well as bigger, heavier models.
"There are good reasons people buy minicars," says Institute president Adrian Lund. "They're more affordable, and they use less gas. But the safety trade-offs are clear from our new tests. Equally clear are the implications when it comes to fuel economy. If automakers downsize cars so their fleets use less fuel, occupant safety will be compromised. However, there are ways to serve fuel economy and safety at the same time."
So now what? I want to do my part to reduce carbon emissions, but at what price? Is the tax break I am going to get worth the risk I am taking every time I put my family in my Toyota Prius?
I live in Fairfield County Connecticut, where bigger is better and everyone, including myself, suffers from the "disease of more".
Every other car is a suburban, or another "biggie sized" vehicle, and 9 out of 10 times they are being driven by someone juggling a cell phone and a cup of Starbucks while their kids are in the back seat watching a DVD of Madagascar for the hundredth time.
Does the few cents a gallon I am saving every time I fill up really pay off?
One of my favorite blogs, Gateway Pundit , had a pretty alarming post on 5/20.
Obama's CAFE Standards Will Kill More Americans Than Iraq War
I love Gateway Pundit for their zero to sixty approach to blogging, and although it may be a bit extreme for some people, the facts are the facts.
More people die each year in motor vehicle accidents than from any disease- and more than all fatalities, from all the natural disasters, combined.
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