Don't force radical shift on crash tests

The Detroit auto show is always a time to talk about vehicle safety and examine the improvements in cars and trucks. And no one does that better than the manufacturers. Of course, that doesn't stop many from chiming in with non-productive ideas, including federal administrators.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters did just that on Monday when she toured the North American International Auto Show here in Detroit. She said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) would begin changing its New Car Assessment Program, which is the government's "star system" for rating vehicle safety.

The Detroit News

Great, so the manufacturers cram tons more technological goodies into the car to make them safer, only to have the feds change the standards to make them all seem like crap. If anything this sounds like a counter-productive idea.

and yet we do nothing to improve drivers in this country. i firmly believe, with a few obvious exceptions, that car crashes are NOT inevitable.