Suit Linking Car Safety to Fuel Economy Fails

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a lawsuit contending that the government’s fuel-economy standards for new cars endanger motorists by encouraging auto makers to build less-crashworthy vehicles.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulations were reasonable.

The standards were challenged by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, an organization supported by foundations and industries that favor “a non-government approach to regulatory issues,” said Sam Kazman, the group’s general counsel.

The suit charged that the government’s corporate average fuel economy standards for the 1987 through 1989 model years increased the number of highway deaths as manufacturers “downsized” cars to reduce their weight and improve gasoline mileage.

The standards required that each auto maker’s fleet of cars average 26 miles a gallon for vehicles sold in the 1987 and 1988 model years and 26.5 miles a gallon for 1989.