THE CAR COACH REPORTS: WEEK IN REVIEW
OUR CLUELESS LEADERS EDITION
The NTSB is at it again. http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/14/us/ntsb-vehicle-safety-devices/index.html
The government agency, whose members probably don’t even drive their own cars, want all automakers to include safety systems such as crash avoidance, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure warnings as standard equipment on all cars.
Their argument is that cars would be safer and insurance rates would go down due to fewer crashes. This may be true and even a bit compelling, but I have to say the costs for this idea are unacceptable.
First there are the actual real costs involved. While these safety systems already exist on higher-end vehicles, the cost of installing them on more affordable vehicles would add thousands of dollars to their sticker prices. In other words, we the consumers get to foot the bill. Imagine adding $5,000 to the sticker price of a Honda Fit or a Nissan Versa. Who would buy one?
Second, there are the emotional costs. Do we really need our ever-growing nanny state government mandating an overabundance of safety regulations to protect us from ourselves? I can swerve my car back into its lane without Uncle Sam grabbing the wheel, thank you very much. I can hit my own brakes when I judge my car to be too close to another. Ray LaHood does not need to this for me. And I don’t want to follow the car in front of me when I use cruise control. I want the ability to hit the accelerate button and go around it without having to worry about Obama wagging his finger at me.
What’s next? Will the NTSB mandate that all car radios play NPR while the vehicle is in motion without to the ability to change the station? When will our out-of-touch government stop thinking they know what’s best for the public and start focusing on real issues?
If the NTSB wants to be useful, perhaps they should take a look at why certain drivers need these safety systems and make getting a driver’s license more difficult. Driver education and the driver’s license test in Germany are far more comprehensive and they have fewer fatalities per capita versus the U.S. and some of their roads don’t even have speed limits!
What are your thoughts?
Post your comments at http://laurenfix.blogspot.com/
My Final Thought:
Our current administration loves green cars. Obama is all about electric vehicles and alternative energy. Yet the Nissan Leaf is continuing to flounder: http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2012/11/nissan-will-miss-leaf-sales-targets-says-ghosn/
Hmmm…I wonder why this could be? I know! People don’t want electric cars! Even hybrids only make up less than three percent of vehicles on the road today. We like our gas cars in America. When will this sink in with our president? When will he open the Keystone Pipeline and allow for drilling on federal lands so we can have more affordable gas?
I really do believe that our leaders have good intentions but they are idealists who are out of touch with the American people. In other words, they’re clueless.
Love your car! See you next week!
--Lauren Fix
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