News outlets reported that many opponents have attempted to spread the notion that the recently proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards will result in a mass of traffic fatalities due to the weakened infrastructure of new vehicles.

The reality is that the new proposed standards are not likely to increase traffic fatalities at all. While the easiest way to increase the fuel efficiency of any vehicle is to drop some weight, a majority of vehicle safety is based on engineering and computer-optimized design techniques. The technology behind the lightweight materials, such as certain alloys and carbon composites, which many automakers use today far surpasses that of just a decade ago. The real issue concerning the standards is one of cost and not safety, as these new, lightweight materials cost more than their heavier counterparts.

Opponents still purport that lighter vehicles will not be adequately protected from larger vehicles, but claim that will be a moot point because vehicles size must be reduced under the new standards. It’s true that, when it come to large vehicle versus small vehicle, the smaller vehicle will usually sustain more damage; however the standards say nothing about reducing any vehicle’s size. The standards simply call for a reduction in weight in each vehicle class across the board. This means size will be retained in almost every model; and since every vehicle will consist of lighter materials, the ratio works out to being roughly the same as it is currently.

All in all, lighter vehicle seem to be safer because, according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), “lighter vehicles can change direction faster and reduce braking distance, helping to avoid the crash in the first place.” Either way, the main contributor to traffic fatalities is single-vehicle accidents, not metal-on-metal crashes. The NHTSA also noted that, as vehicles change to meet new fuel efficiency standards, so will federal safety regulations.