Quote:
Originally Posted by Aedo
I'm agree more with RoadDad than you Tpup here. I don't believe the rules are only in place to protect the environment and to make cars safer (lets face it - the 2.5mph rule has nothing to do with safety) although that is the horse they ride on. I believe that the federal rules are in effect a non-tarif trade barrier to protect the local industry (and therefore the politicians who get voted in by them etc). Australia has a very similar system - ADRs (Australian Design Rules) - these rules are so specific they prevent the importation of many cars.
Two funny things about the ADRs though - left hand drive is forbidden (so US cars largely fail to make it here but this also catches out the super cars like the Enzo, F40, etc) - but several 340R were imported and complied by Lotus so they are available here  |
Every country pretty much has such rules
AFAIK 2.5mph bumper is more to limit the amount of body damage to cars from just minor accidents than to save lives. Imagine if every car on the road was like the Elise, where a minor parking lot collision costs $10k to fix...