Monday, December 14, 2015

Reasonable Regulation

In the first six months of 2015, there were 18,600 motor vehicle deaths in the United States. Mothers, grandmothers, children, it is an indiscriminate blood letting. This is unacceptable. This is not who we are. 

Congress and the President owe it to the American people to remedy this national disgrace. There are reasonable regulations that can be put in place that will help to stop this mayhem. If the Congress won't act, then the President must act on his own, as he has shown he is willing to do.

I have some suggestions. No car sold to the general public needs an engine larger than four cylinders. They should also be restricted to fifty horsepower. It has long been know that an engine of this size and power is capable of getting a reasonably sized automobile to highway speeds.

Engines would be lighter. Also the rest of the drive train could be made lighter, making for much more economic operation. Also the use of composite materials would make car bodies lighter and stronger.

Publicly sold vehicles should be restricted to five passengers. No reasonable person needs any vehicle larger than five passenger. 

Finally, the government should confiscate any vehicle over four cylinders and shred them for scrap. Cars over sixty years old could be exempt as long as they were in a museum, and not on the road.

I know that this proposal will be controversial. I know there will be pressure from manufacturers and organizations like AAA. But many in our country have seen the logic of similar restrictions to be placed on guns, so I am sure they will understand the logic when applied to the much more serious problem of the dangers we face from automobiles.

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