Safer Cars

The Victorian Government is thinking either of legislating to force car makers to add safety features to cars, or offering incentives to consumers to buy safe cars.

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/01/01/1198949817049.html

Here's an incentive - safe cars are safer. Cars with ABS and Stability Control systems are less likely to be involved in accidents. Passengers travelling in cars fitted with airbags and seatbelt pretensioners are less likely to be severely injured or killed.

http://www.howsafeisyourcar.com.au/

Instead of expecting the government to make our decisions for us, let us - the consumer - make the decisions. Why is it that we can't say - "Hang on, I'll do this myself"?

On a standard Toyota Corolla, you can order 7 airbags as an option for $750. Most people finance their cars over 5 years, so that works out to be an additional 50 cents per day (including interest!).

50 cents per day to protect your family with 7 airbags!

A Holden Commodore charges a bit more - $1000. That's still 65 cents per day (including interest).

What more incentive do we need than "For less than $1 a day we can provide a bucketload more safety for ourselves and our families"!

I'm not selling cars, but these are two of Australia's most popular models. If more people who ordered these cars chose the airbags as an option, the carmakers would look at the economies of fitting them to ALL the cars and building the cost into the standard price of the car. Voila! Safer cars!

The Victorian Government wants to legislate on safety in cars because they do not have faith that we, as individuals, have the ability to make sensible informed choices. They do not trust us to be left to our own devices. They do not believe that the market will react to people's decisions.
Let's prove them wrong!