steve remchak wrote:
i know this is all open discussion but let's remember "we" are the minority. most drivers don't care how they get from point A to point B.
and as for Dick's point, i agree completely. US automakers would have never instituted half the present day safety innovations if they had not been regulated into effect. look at the number of US vehicles that still do not have some form of traction control standard in a base model.
the Europeans are more proactive regarding safety mandates IMO. they at least recognize the number of vehicles on the road is fast approaching too many. and they have reliable mass transit to boot. pedestrian safety seems to be the current emphasis of Euro legislation.
So you think seatbelts never would have become mainstream without legislation? I wholehearedly disagree. No safety innovations are a consequence of government regulation. Automakers create these things b/c people want them (such as ABS, crumple zones, traction control, etc.). Nobody in congress ever invented a safety feature for a car. I paid extra for side airbags on my car. They weren't a required option by the government, never have been, but somehow they are catching on. If people didn't pay extra for optional safety innovations, I'm not sure Volvo would have ever made it in the US.
All government does is mandate that automakers put these innovations on all cars, eliminating our ability to choose what safety features we feel are worthwhile and which ones aren't while adding unneccesary cost to the car for many people. They are also here stepping into automotive design (pedal placement) which they should stay out of. Engineers put the pedals where they do on purpose. They know what they are doing better than congress. Anyone who thinks Toyota wouldn't have done anything about the recent problem without intervention by the Feds is deluding themselves. Toyotas sales, and their reputation got bludgeoned by this whole thing, and they, as well as other manufacturers have taken notice. You can be sure they will implement the necessary changes to prevent it from re-occuring, govt intervention of not. A profit motive is a powerful thing.
I don't think traction control should be madnated, b/c its a useless feature to me. First thing I do when I get in the MINI is to turn DSC off. Tire pressure monitors are a worthless feature to me, and soemthing I don't want to pay for. I've got them on two cars. On my mazda, they are constantly a source of leaks. On the MINI, they are a constant source of false alarms, making me pull over, check the pressure, and reset them.
You can call me the minority here, but where does it stop? Its a lot safer for us to all have runflat tires. It would have prevented the whole Explorer/Firestone tire deal. It'd be a lot safer for us to all have 100 hp 4-cylinder enignes (and a lot greener too). Lets mandate that. Its all where you draw the line.
As I said in my earlier post, pedestrian safety is definitely a different issue. Items that enhance the safety of OTHERS on the road may need some legislation to help implement as there is no great incentive to do so, and an externality created.
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