Senate Takes on Fuel Economy Regulations

Washington, D.C., May 3, 2007—Members of the Senate will hear testimony today on the effects of the federal government’s fuel economy regulations, but will likely fail to address one of the program’s most glaring flaws: its deadly effect on safety.

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While the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hears testimony on the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules for new cars, it should consider, first and foremost, the tens of thousands of passenger deaths to which the program has already contributed. Unfortunately, many members seem to believe the myth that mileage regulations can be mandated without affecting safety.  

“With today’s high gas prices, CAFE could not be more irrelevant, because consumers are demanding greater fuel economy on their own,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute General Counsel Sam Kazman. “The fact that CAFE has become such a high-profile issue indicates that the problem is not consumers’ alleged addiction to oil, but rather the addiction of politicians to regulating oil. As for the notion that new technologies will allow CAFE to be raised without a lethal effect on traffic safety, that is nonsense, pure and simple.”

CAFE’s adverse impact on vehicle safety has long been established, and was extensively documented in a National Academy of Sciences 2002 study.  Nonetheless, advocates of higher CAFE continue to gloss over the lethal effects of the current program, while at the same time pushing to make CAFE even deadlier than it already is.