Ok, as ridiculous as that headline sounds, it is true. There is a proposal to the European Parliament that is calling for a ban on making cars that are capable of reaching speeds faster than 101mph.
Chris Davies, a Liberal Democrat Member of the European Parliament for the North West of England can be credited with the proposal. He states that 101mph is 25 percent over the speed limit in most EU countries.
Davies main argument is that “between 1994 and 2004 the power of new cars went up by 28 percent, making them a lot heavier, and so increasing the amount of CO2 they put out, even though no country raised its speed limit to allow cars to use this increased power.”
Where do we start with this argument? Well for one cars are a lot heavier now due to the safety standards that many countries have in place. Many countries require more safety equipment on cars than was available in 1994. This extra equipment is one of the main reasons that the weight of cars has increased, besides the obvious fact that cars continue to get bigger each year. Airbags, bigger brakes, crumple zones, and side impact bars all contribute to the weight gains of our current cars.
Davies argues that cars that can go over 101mph should be banned, but what cars these days can actually not go over 101mph?
Davies argument is so flawed. Lets hope that the European Parliament also sees that when they review his proposed ban this fall.
Full Story: Autocar
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