”A deadly tradeoff for fuel economy” by Gregory Koontz (Nov. 15 op-ed)
ignores the other side of the issue. Koontz states that increasing the Corporate Average Fuel Economy from the present 27.5 m.p.g. to 40 m.p.g., with the concomitant decrease in car weight, could increase Illinois highway fatalities an additional 375 to 750 annually.
Koontz does not consider the effect of greater use of safety devices and possible reduced speed limits. Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety stated, ”We have doubled gas mileage from 14 m.p.g. in 1974 to 28 m.p.g. today while traffic fatalities dropped by 40 percent, from 3.6 deaths per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled to 2.2 in 1989”-a likely result of increased use of seat belts and restraining seats for young children.
Nor does Koontz consider the death potential of protecting Middle East oil fields. Not insignificant is the disruption of our economy that greater dependence on foreign oil can cause, and also the adverse health effects of greater pollution from less fuel-efficient vehicles.
