Think it would take a miracle for California, the state that’s home to 7 out of 10 of the nation’s smoggiest cities, to clean up our air, improve public health, reduce vehicle fatalities and injuries, and help struggling low-income families gain new mobility and transform their lives — all without busting our newly re-balanced budget?

According to experts at the respected San Francisco-based environmental think tank Next Generation, not only is it possible to achieve all those ambitious goals, it’s well within reach.  According to their new report,  “No Californian Left Behind: Clean and Affordable Transportation Options for All through Vehicle Replacement,” carefully targeted vehicle replacement programs hold promise for low-income consumers and their families, and for the entire state.

Check out these facts, from the report:

• “Right now, hundreds of thousands of Californians drive cars and trucks that are old, inefficient, unsafe, and cause a disproportionate share of the state’s air pollution. Older cars weren’t manufactured to the same stringent smog standards as today’s new cars, and many are in a poor state of repair that compounds their impact on human health. As a result, state agencies estimate that 10­–15 percent of the state’s light-duty vehicles emit over half of the smog from the passenger fleet.”

• ” In some particularly car-dependent areas of California, it’s estimated that transportation costs exceed a third of area median incomes.”

• “In the event of an accident, the driver of a pre-1993 vehicle is over 75 percent more likely to suffer fatal injury than the driver of a six year-old or newer vehicle.”

Next Gen experts also make detailed policy recommendations for how to maximize the benefits of vehicle replacement programs for consumers and the environment.

Want to know what California can do to speed up replacing our aging vehicle fleet with newer, cleaner, safer vehicles?  READ MORE:

No Californian Left Behind: Clean and Affordable Transportation Where It’s Needed Most

http://thenextgeneration.org/blog/post/press-realease-no-californian-left-behind