The right answer is A in my view.Premise: A proposed law in State Q requires that all applicants receive training and pass a road test under winter conditions before they are granted drivers' licenses.
Counter-premise: The council member noted that over the past five years, fewer than fifteen percent of motor vehicle collisions in the state occurred when there was snow on the ground.
Conclusion: The enormous expenditures required for the law could not be justified by public safety needs, and that the money would be better spent on other programs.
From the argument above, the council member states that the enormous expenditures required for the law could not be justified by public safety needs based on the premise that fewer than fifteen percent of motor vehicle collisions in the state occurred when there was snow on the ground.
What about if the fewer accidents that occurred during the snowy conditions actually contributed to the most fatalities from accidents. Then the safety of the State would be threatened by driving during winter conditions, and therefore justify the decision of the State to require a new driver to be tested on driving during winter conditions before he/she is granted a driver's license. Such high fatalities resulting from accidents when there was snow on the ground would greatly weaken the argument made by the council member.
A states that the majority of car accidents in State Q involving death or serious injury in the last two years occurred when there was snow or ice on the road. This is in line with the above, hence A weakens the argument made by the council member.
B: The majority of car accidents in State Q in any given year do not result in any personal injury, only property damage. B strengthens the council member's argument rather than weaken it.
C: State Q, located in the northern portion of the country, experiences snow more often than any other state in the country. This does not weaken nor strengthen the argument made by the council member. The mere fact that the State experiences more snow than any other State in the country is irrelevant. It could be that the level of snow that State Q experiences is quite low in itself even though it is more than the level of snow experienced by any other state in the country.
D: Most drivers in State Q have no formal training in techniques for driving in the snow. Irrelevant. Formal training is not the only way to acquire driving techniques. Maybe the drivers acquired some form of training although informally, and this can lead to safer driving during snowy conditions.
E: State Q has the highest number of motor vehicle fatalities in the entire country. This is irrelevant as it neither weaken nor strengthen the argument of the council member. The fact that State Q has the highest number of motor vehicle fatalities does not mean that these fatalities occur when there is snow on the roads.