Balancing Safety With Higher Gas Mileage In Cars

Congress is getting ready to update the gas mileage requirements for new cars and trucks. Right now, automobile manufactures are required to average 25 MPG on their entire fleet of vehicles. Under the new standard that average miles per gallon number will be increased to 35 MPG. While these higher gas mileage standards will lower gasoline usage in the U.S., it could put greater numbers of Americans at risk of serious injury because to meet this new standard auto companies will be forced to build smaller vehicles. I have never been a fan of small cars, in fact I drive a Ford Taurus right now and I think it is too small. My personal choice in a vehicle is a mid sized SUV, but with gasoline prices current sitting at $3.00 per gallon - I cannot afford to drive the vehicle of my choice.

On the eve of Congress passing new automobile fuel standards, I wonder if the American roadways will soon be filled with very small cars and huge 18 wheeler trucks? That picture looks like a disaster in my mind because when people get hit by one of those huge trucks, very few people inside will survive the accident. Most of the time people do not consider the ripple effect of changing the law. Very few new laws are passed that are a win/win for the average person. In regards to raising the fuel standards for vehicles, consumers will win by getting higher gas mileage and they will lose when it comes to the personal safety of their families. Most of the fatal accidents that I am aware of, right now, involve a big rig truck hitting a small car on an Interstate Highway.

Another government decision, NAFTA, was also good and bad for consumers. The North American Free Trade Agreement was good for consumers in the respect of keeping prices low in retail stores, but it was bad because it filled our Interstate Highway system with more traffic than it could handle. Right now states like mine, Texas, are trying to figure out how to expand and maintain our current highway system as thousands of additional trucks are moving north to south because of NAFTA. My mental vision of highways filled with huge trucks and dotted with ever smaller cars is a recipe for disaster in upcoming years. In movies, people around here have laughed when some small European cars have been shown on the movie screen. However, that laughter might turn to tears as Americans are given even fewer choices of full sized cars and SUV's in the future.

Read more about the Energy Problems:

U.S. Dollar Plunge Leading To Higher Crude Oil Prices
$100 Per Barrel Oil - $3 Per Gallon Gas Prices
$90 Per Barrel Oil - $100 Price Next?
Crude Oil $85 Plus Per Barrel - Bleak Winter?
Gas Prices Jump To Almost $3.00 Per Gallon This Week