Can We Make Small Cars Safer?

If you think about the amount of oil consumed by private automobiles, one of the first ideas that comes to mind is building smaller cars.

If you think about building smaller cars, one of the first things you think of is what happens when your small, lightweight car is blindsided by an F-350 or an H2.

If you think (out loud) about ways of reducing the danger to people riding in small cars, one of the first things you'll hear (also one of the second things, and third things...) is "You can't repeal the laws of physics", meaning that a small vehicle colliding with a large one will always suffer more for it. As Sancho Panza says, "Whether the stone hits the pitcher, or the pitcher hits the stone, it's going to be bad for the pitcher".

True, you can't repeal the laws of physics. But you can always change the traffic laws.

Suppose we simply posted separate speed limits for vehicles under and over 3,000 pounds? 35 mph, 20 mph. 25 mph, 15 mph. And so on.

If that law were rigorously enforced, deaths of people in small vehicles would drop, I guarantee it. Not only would drivers of humungamobiles be burdened with less kinetic energy, but many of them would discover that they didn't really need to drive the Explorer to the office after all.

Is there a downside to this that I'm missing?

//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "What is the measure of a man(hood)?"\\