Green politics cause NHTSA nominee to withdraw

Charles Hurley never had a chance.

For he didn't march blindly in line with the activists who think cars and trucks are melting the planet.

Late Monday, Hurley's nomination to run the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was withdrawn unceremoniously. The news was delivered to NHTSA employees in an e-mail from the acting director.

Maybe the chief executive of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who also has worked for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, wasn't qualified to run the government group responsible for the safety of our roadways.

His record on issues regarding seat belts, air bags and crash tests combined with his relationships with auto executives, apparently meant nothing to the enviroactivists, who protested his selection.

His offense? Hurley in the 1990s sided with automakers over the safety impacts of downsizing vehicles to increase fuel efficiency.

Unfortunately, that's tantamount to slapping someone's mother when it comes to being "green."

Less weight, more danger

In fact, it was prudent and appropriate policy. When you reduce the size and weight of vehicles on the road, they become more dangerous. That's not a political statement.

It's physics.

"The occupants of lighter vehicles experience greater force in collisions with other vehicles or with fixed objects. In addition, smaller vehicles offer smaller crush zones and less interior space for restraint systems to operate effectively. Thus, decreasing the weight and size of cars would lead to a higher number of fatalities," according to a 2002 Congressional Budget Office study, one of many that have concluded thousands of people die each year as vehicle weight and size decrease to meet fuel economy rules.

Higher mile-per-gallon rules haven't curbed Americans' driving habits in the 30-plus years the Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules have been in place. Higher prices at the pump have, as we witnessed last summer.

No matter, activists want everyone to drive microcars.

And they'll take out anyone who suggests otherwise.

"The administration now has an opportunity to name someone committed to both the safety and fuel economy programs that they run," said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign.

Translation: Vet all candidates through us before appointing your own people. Silly president.

Thrown under the bus?

Maybe Hurley had other skeletons in his closet. Maybe he thought better of getting involved with government. Maybe he realized he could have a greater impact with MADD.

But it sounds like he was thrown under the bus by activists who want to run the auto industry and that doesn't bode well for the president's alleged interest in helping Detroit's car companies survive.

mlopez@detnews.com">mlopez@detnews.com (313) 222-2536 Auto Editor Manny Lopez's column runs Thursday.