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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dale Baker who wrote (111598)	5/21/2009 1:28:25 PM
From: Sultan	Respond to of 541368

True enough.. It is a random event so who knows who and what hits you or as it turned out in my case, I was the nut who ran a red light, was tad preoccupied and where this happened they have two traffic lights within two blocks, and hit a BMW 3 series sedan.. It was hard enough to crumble my hood, deploy both bags etc.. But BMW dent was not that bad considering my car was heavier.. I came out of it with bigger damage and higher insurance premium for 4 years.. Thankfully no one was hurt..

To: Dale Baker who wrote (111598)	5/21/2009 2:45:25 PM
From: greenspirit	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541368

Dale - The problem with politicians like Obama is few of them look at studies on an issue and support policy prescriptions based on ideology. In research, performed over many years, traffic safety analysts have found that occupants of lighter cars have elevated risk of serious injury and death in crashes compared to occupants of heavier cars. This is true for both single-vehicle and multivehicle crashes. These studies are not in serious dispute. Politicians who support higher CAFE standards should be honest with themselves and admit they accept killing more Americans in order to heal Gaia, out of fear of Global Warming. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ * According to a 2003 NHTSA study, when a vehicle is reduced by 100 pounds the estimated fatality rate increases as much as 5.63 percent for light cars weighing less than 2,950 pounds, 4.70 percent for heavier cars weighing over 2,950 pounds and 3.06 percent for light trucks. Between model years 1996 and 1999, these rates translated into additional traffic fatalities of 13,608 for light cars, 10,884 for heavier cars and 14,705 for light trucks.12 * A 2001 National Academy of Sciences panel found that constraining automobile manufacturers to produce smaller, lighter vehicles in the 1970s and early 1980s "probably resulted in an additional 1,300 to 2,600 traffic fatalities in 1993."13 * An extensive 1999 USA Today analysis of crash data found that since CAFE went into effect in 1978, 46,000 people died in crashes they otherwise would have survived, had they been in bigger, heavier vehicles. This, according to a 1999 USA Today analysis of crash data since 1975, roughly figures to be 7,700 deaths for every mile per gallon gained in fuel economy standards.14 * The USA Today report also said smaller cars - such as the Chevrolet Cavalier or Dodge Neon - accounted for 12,144 fatalities or 37 percent of vehicle deaths in 1997, though such cars comprised only 18 percent of all vehicles. * A 1989 Harvard-Brookings study estimated CAFE "to be responsible for 2,200-3,900 excess occupant fatalities over ten years of a given [car] model years' use." Moreover, the researchers estimated between 11,000 and 19,500 occupants would suffer serious but nonfatal crash injuries as a result of CAFE. * The same Harvard-Brookings study found CAFE had resulted in a 500-pound weight reduction of the average car. As a result, occupants were put at a 14 to 27 percent greater risk of traffic death. * Passengers in small cars die at a much higher rate when involved in traffic accidents with large cars. Traffic safety expert Dr. Leonard Evans estimates that drivers in lighter cars may be 12 times as likely to be killed in a crash when the other vehicle is twice as heavy as the lighter car. nationalcenter.org