announced it too will be working towards
a petrol-free future, although no firm date
for such a move had been confirmed,
with a rumored deadline of 2030.
"I've gotten messages from the gov-
ernor asking, 'Why haven't we done
something already?'" Nichols said to
Bloomberg, referring to China's planned
phase-out of fossil-fuel vehicle sales.
"The governor has certainly indicated an
interest in why China can do this and not
California."
California has a better leg to stand on
regarding a mandated move to electric
future than most states. It has the author-
ity to write its own pollution rules, which
are underpinned by waivers granted by
the Environmental Protection Agency and
date back to the 1970 Clean Air Act.
However, Nichols has said Califor-
nia would likely take a different route
to enabling a ban rather than use the
EPA waiver, as President Trump seems
unlikely to be willing to grant one. One
way this could be attained is for the state
to through vehicle registration require-
ments—basically the DMV saying you
can't go on the freeway with a petrol-
powered car.
"There are people who believe, includ-
ing who work for me, that you could stop
all sales of new internal-combustion cars
by 2030. Some people say 2035, some
people say 2040," Nichols said. "It's
awfully hard to predict any of that with
precision, but it doesn't appear to be out
of the question."
Last year, California vehicles sales
topped more than France, Italy or Spain,
so any move by the state to ban fossil-
fuel-dependent vehicles would need to
see serious changes made across all
transportation industries for it to become
a reality, and that will take a long time.
Nevertheless, it does indeed appear that
the internal combustion engine's days are
numbered, and it might be sooner than
we think. CN
VOL. 54 ISSUE 39 OCTOBER 3, 2017 P31
JACK MILLER BREAKS LEG
IN TRIALS ACCIDENT
J
ack Miller will miss the upcoming Japanese GP
after breaking his leg in a trials accident, Friday,
September 29. The Australian was training near his
European base in Andorra and fractured the top of
the tibia when he put his right foot down to save a
slow-speed crash.
He immediately traveled to hospital in Barcelona
where he underwent surgery on Saturday morning.
A plate and eight screws were inserted to stabilize
the fracture.
Miller already has some mobility in the injured
leg, but will head back to Andorra to start an intense program of physiotherapy
designed to get him back on the bike for the Australian Grand Prix, which takes
place at Phillip Island in just over two weeks' time. CN
Jack Miller suffered
a broken leg while
training on a trials bike.
