WASTING A PIECE OF AUTOMOTIVE HISTORY

For a long time motorcyclists have been better organized to fight political battles than old-car hobbyists. Their political arm is called ABATE which stands for A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments. ABATE of Wisconsin is famous for successfully fighting past efforts to enact a helmet law.

I do not believe in helmet laws or seat belt laws. As a former EMT I know that seat belts save lives, but as an American, I think I should be free to make the decision to wear one or not. And as far a helmet law, earlier this year I would have hit a deer with my motorcycle if I hadn't heard a branch snap wne the deer stepped on it. If I had been wearing a helmet, I would not have heard the branch snap.

But this isn't about assaults on our freedom. It is about a safety test that was written up in the latest ABATE newspaper. The report said that a video shown at the Governor's Conference on Highway Safety in Madison, Wis., depicted a '59 Chevy Impala crashing head on into a 2009 Chevy Impala. After seeing this on-purpose accident the writer, Dave Dwyer, said he'd pick the 2009 Chevy to ride in.

My reaction is totally different. I can't believe that some safety agency wasted a good '59 Chevy Impala to do such a silly test. Do they think there are going to be lots of accidents between '59 Chevys and modern cars? Do they doubt that the safety devices they've shoved down our throats since about 1962 really work?

Why destroy a piece of automotive history to prove nothing that has any significance in today's world?

Do you see what I mean? It's not like Detroit was going to start building '59 Chevys again if the older Impala came out better in the crash. And who knows if the next crash would have the same results as the first one? The whole thing was just a silly -- and probably tax-money-wasting exercise -- that proved nothing really important.