Lower Powered Air Bags

As part of its comprehensive air bag strategy to reduce the risk of death and injury to children and small adults in low speed crashes, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) amended the agency's crash protection standard to give manufacturers additional leeway in producing less powerful air bags.

"Safety is our highest priority, and we moved at a record pace to devise an interim solution that can be adopted quickly. It is another part of our comprehensive strategy to preserve the benefits of air bags while minimizing the risk to children and smaller adults. However, the best safety advice remains the same: drivers and passengers should always buckle up, and children 12 and under should ride in the back seat," said Dr. Ricardo Martínez, NHTSA administrator. 

The agency estimates that from 1986 to Feb. 15, 1997, air bags saved more than 1,750 drivers and passengers. Nevertheless, NHTSA has identified 62 crashes in which the deployment of the air bag resulted in fatal injuries to a driver or passenger, including 38 children. Lower powered air bags may have avoided many of the fatal injuries to these individuals, most of whom were unbelted or improperly belted.

Copies of the 73-page rulemaking are available from the NHTSA Office of Public and Consumer Affairs, (202) 366-9550. It also will be published in the Federal Register.

More details about air bags strategies are presented in the next article.