Obama’s New Fuel Economy Rules Deadly for Both People and Carmakers

Washington, D.C.,
May 19, 2009—Today President Obama will unveil a plan to sharply increase
federal gas mileage rules for vehicles sold in the United States, eventually bringing
the requirement up to an average of 35.5 miles per gallon. Unfortunately, these
rules – known as the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards – have the
deadly effect of causing new cars to be lighter, smaller and less crashworthy. 

“CAFE is among the deadliest government regulations we have,
and with today’s announcement it’s going to get even deadlier,” said
Competitive Enterprise Institute General Counsel Sam Kazman. “It kills consumers by
reducing vehicle size, and now it may well kill car companies by forcing them
to produce cars that consumers don’t want. 
The only redeeming aspect of the President’s announcement is that
there’ll be only one standard imposed on the industry, rather both national and
California
standards.  But that just means carmakers
will have one noose around their necks instead of two.” 

A 2002 National Research Council study found that the
federal CAFE standards contributed to about 2,000 deaths per year through their
restrictions on car size and weight. An increase in the severity of the rules will
only raise that death toll. Shockingly, the federal agency tasked with making
Americans safer on the road – the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration – has refused to acknowledge this fact, even after being
overturned by a federal court for ignoring the issue. 

CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan
public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited
government.  For more information about
CEI, please visit our website at www.cei.org.