The Detroit auto industry is clearly a victim of CAFE. But it’s not the only victim, and it’s not even the most prominent one. That distinction goes to consumers. CAFE has restricted their automotive choices and picked their wallets. It has also killed them, by the thousands. According to a 2002 National Research Council study, CAFE’s downsizing effect on cars reduces vehicle crashworthiness, resulting in approximately 2,000 additional traffic deaths per year.
For a program that’s been in effect for over 30 years, that is an astounding human toll, made all the more noteworthy by the minimal acknowledgment it’s received from the federal government, and the total obfuscation in which it’s been cloaked by environmentalist supporters. As a result, this program is about to get even more stringent, and more deadly.
