Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo

[Ginger]

Some parents want to protect their children in the even of a vehicle accident, so they figure the best chances of them getting the least injured or avoid death is to throw them in a big suburban or something similar, but this isn't always the case.

Statistically that's not actually true. In addition to knowing that modern compact cars have some very advanced safety features one must also remember that the very same features are being applied to vehicles with greater mass.

Translation: bigger vehicles crash better than smaller vehicles.

Bigger vehicles, like SUV's, are being purchased because they have been better able to cope with the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards than smaller vehicles. The CAFE mandates have forced down max. weights of road going vehicles... the government's attempt at regulating fuel efficiency into the market. However, because the smaller vehicles are effectively less safe to most people they purchase higher mass vehicles to protect themselves and families. The effect? Most people are driving less fuel efficient vehicles than they were before the CAFE standards and gas prices have gone up (hooray misapplied regulation).

It's great that the government is so great that chosing our priorities for us.