Throw the Runge out!

In a recent Washington Post editorial they glossed over the regulatory mess that is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). They only scratch the surface of how awful and intrusive NHTSA is. Since Clinton took office in '92 through to today the leadership of that over inflated mostly redundant bureaucracy has run full steam ahead on the idea that they have the right to create any regulation they wish as long as they can claim it's trying to make the roadways safer.

The Post mentions the motorized seatbelts, which now are mostly broken and not in use in the 8-13 year old cars they reside in. Millions of Americans are driving old cars with faulty belts they can't afford to fix thanks to NHTSA. The Post fails to mention that the overly strong airbags from the '90s that are risk for serious injury or death for smaller adults and children where strong not because the manufacturers screwed up but because in the face of pleading from automotive engineers it was NHTSA that ordered the airbags be so strong. When the lawsuits started to roll in NHTSA tried to lay the blame on the makers claiming they should have known better when in the '70s they already had the safer staged bags.

SUV's are not a plague on the world, we don't need "black boxes" in cars and the ensuing fat bureaucracy to maintain all the data, we don't need photo radar sending iron clad criminal charges to innocent people. NHTSA is runaway mess with Runge and if it weren't for the Dems complete failure on the Islamist issue he'd be enough for me to want Bush out on his ass.

UPDATE: Runge referred to above is Jeffrey Runge, M.D. a Bush appointee to the head of NHTSA.