Dear Representative:
The Department of Transportation Appropriations bill for FY 2001 is expected to include a provision that would extend the current freeze on federal fuel economy requirements for motor vehicles (known as CAFE standards). Some in Congress would like to delete that provision and allow the Department to raise the standards for light trucks -- perhaps to the same level as passenger cars -- saying that higher CAFE standards would reduce dependence on foreign oil, cut pollution, and save money for consumers.
None of these claims is true. Past experience with CAFE and a look at the most comprehensive study ever done on automotive fuel economy from several years ago by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) shows that higher CAFE standards would do none of these things. In fact, the NAS study went so far as to find "The CAFE approach to achieving automotive fuel economy standards has defects that are sufficiently grievous to warrant careful reconsideration".
But even more important, CAFE has had some unintended and serious side effects that endanger the lives of American motorists. By "forcing" automakers to provide smaller, lighter vehicles, higher CAFE standards will increase the number of deaths and serious injuries on our roadways. Virtually every study by credible safety researchers has concluded that people in larger vehicles sustain fewer injuries in crashes than people in smaller cars.
That conclusion is perhaps best explained in the attached USA Today article and editorial. Simply summarized, the article points out that "46,000 people have died in crashes they would have survived in bigger, heavier cars." And notes that the "cost" of CAFE standards "has been roughly 7,700 deaths for every mile-per-gallon gained." Respected insurance experts have examined the reporter's analytical methodology and believe the number of deaths could be even higher.
We hope you will take time to read the article so that you will understand more fully how serious the vote you may be asked to cast really is. For many of your constituents, it could mean the difference between life and death.
Please vote to continue the CAFE freeze.
Sincerely,
Coalition for Vehicle Choice
American Council of Snowmobile
Associations
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Highway Users
Association
American Horse Council
American Recreation Coalition
American Road and Transportation Builders Association
American Trauma
Society
Association of American Railroads
Automotive Coalition for
Traffic Safety
Coalitions for America
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Motorcycle Industry Council, Inc.
National Association of
Manufacturers
National Association of Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors
National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds
National Cattlemen's
Beef Association
The National Grange
National Lumber and Building
Material Dealers Association
National Marine Manufacturers Association
National Truck Equipment Association
Recreation Vehicle Dealers
Association
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
Rubber
Manufacturers Association
Small Business Survival Committee
Specialty
Equipment Market Association
TRW, Inc.
Union Pacific
U.S. Chamber
of Commerce
