And it is a good thing that didnt happen though the beginning seemed to give off a Fallout vibe. The rest of the story seemed very Orwellian though in terms of what the government allowed and the bully drivers it created.

If you replace MSV with SUV... there's not a huge amount of difference. Incautious people who pay little or no attention to others on the road because THEY'LL be fine in an accident...

Oh that is for sure but it still paints a very grim future for people.

I thought I was about to read a story I read in high school about a future where a heavily armed society featured legalized automobile duels to the death. The protagonist, a middle aged man who'd had enough of whippersnappers and their aggressive driving, had bought a weapons setup for his car. Unfortunately for him, the first troublemaker he challenged turned out to be the #1 auto duelist in the nation. He wound up winning by chucking his helmet out the window, where it disrupted the other car's airskirt and spun it into a fiery 300 mph rollover.

This one's rather unsatisfying. Sure, things happen, but we never find out why. Seems to be mostly a slippery slope argument by an oldster who's mad at having to wear a seat belt.

Yeah, and then doesn't he get turned into a top-ranked fighter because he downed the top dog, and other challengers immediately start zeroing in on him (and his wife, who's riding shotgun, if I remember right)... not exactly the happiest ending either.

Do you remember the name of that story? I read it years ago and keep thinking of it... but never knew the name of it.

You just wait... there's another side to this story.

You read it, too! And no, I have no recollection of the name of the story. I think it was in an anthology we were to read from to do reports, but I wound up reading the whole thing.

Still have a scar by my right eye from when I was 16... the one time I didn't wear a seatbelt, because I was moving a car between one driveway and the next 50' away. Turned left in front of a speeding car. Fortunately, I was the only person in an '80's Caprice Classic.

I'm very distrusting of airbags, though. To me, they're an explosive right in front of my face.

On a lighter note, Alan Dean Foster has a 'Car Wars' type short story in a collection somewhere.

That story is what inspired the Rush song 'Red Barchetta'.

Ssssh! Quiet you fool, you'll blow the whole thing! ^_~

Oh bugger. Um, look! An obvious distraction! (Dramatic Point!)