Getting Clunkers and Distracted Drivers Off the Road

From the creator

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com American Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has announced plans for a "distracted driving summit" in September in Washington. Transportation and law enforcement officials, safety activists and others will discuss how to deal with drivers who do other things as they drive. Talking on the phone has long been an issue. But text-messaging while driving has gained more attention recently following a number of deadly crashes. Right now, though, distracted driving is not the only thing Secretary LaHood has to think about. For the first time in many months, large numbers of Americans have been buying new cars. And here is at least part of the reason why: In late July the government began paying for people to trade in older vehicles for newer ones with greater fuel economy. The program was named the Car Allowance Rebate System, but people know it as "cash for clunkers." It was included as part of an unrelated defense bill passed in June. Congress provided one billion dollars for car dealers to pay for trade-ins. Qualified buyers can receive up to four thousand five hundred dollars toward a new vehicle. So far, most of the trade-ins have been trucks and the majority of new purchases have been cars. Dealers are required to make the trade-ins unusable by destroying the engine, then recycle the old vehicles into scrap metal. The billion dollars was supposed to last until Novembe

Published 2009-09-15 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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