Findings from the National Transaportation Safety AdMinistration indicate that deaths from rollover accidents on America's Highways have been increasing, particularly among SUVs. The NHTSA plans to propose higher standards for auto roof strength by year's end, in an attempt to address what it believes is the cause: weak roofs. Automakers contend that roof strength is less important for preventing fatalities than occupants' seat-belt usage, saying the new study contradicts auto industry-sponsored research that has cast doubt on the safety benefits of stronger roofs.
Tomato, tomato, potato, potato. The big issue here is that the 1971 roof-strength standard, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 216, applies only to vehicles under 6,000 pounds, leaving out the largest SUVs including the Hummer H2, Chevrolet Tahoe, BMW X5 and Lincoln Navigator. This segment has grown tremendously in the past several years, aided by an increase to $100,000 in the tax-deduction small-business owners can receive on such heavy trucks.
However, if such statistics indicate the presence of a real safety problem exacerbated by the rise of less-regulated vehicles, we may witness the dawning of political will toward finally putting the kabosh on today's unregulated highway monsters. Automakers will be forced to find another product with which they can pad their slipping profit margins.
I have an idea: How about a tax-deduction on $100,000 supercars? We'll call it the "Speed, Not Size Act of 2004."