Quick air-bag fix poses problems, automakers say

By Noelle Knox / Detroit News Washington Bureau

    WASHINGTON -- Pressure to rapidly address the dangers air bags pose to children -- heightened by the addition of a Houston 2-year-old to the federal air-bag death toll Thursday -- is about to collide with technical complications.
    Automakers are worried that unforeseen problems could result from the rush to prevent deaths such as the December decapitation of Montrey Jones, which increased the number of children killed by the safety devices to 35.
    Big Three officials want to avoid the urgency that pushed air bags to the forefront of automotive safety efforts despite tests that clearly showed their drawbacks for children and small adults.
    One example of a potential problem posed by a quick fix: Disconnecting air bags -- an option the government wants for motorists -- could reduce the performance of seat belts in newer models.
    "There is a real problem with some products," said Robert Lange, General Motors Corp.'s director of safety engineering. "With the latest belt (designs), the belt's function is dependent on the presence of an air bag."
    The auto industry also faces the enormous challenge of designing a switch that could be retrofitted into a variety of vehicles -- especially those that lack rear seats.
    A better answer for most people, Lange said, is to wear seat belts and buckle children in the back seat.
    "If we do that, we don't have an air-bag safety problem," he said. On Thursday, GM unveiled a new safety campaign -- "Precious Cargo -- Protecting the Children Who Ride with You" -- to try to teach people about the value of seat belts and child seats in back.
    GM is distributing a free video and brochure through its dealerships.
    With the number of child fatalities now at 35, air bags have been blamed for 55 total deaths. But they are credited with saving 1,700 lives.
    Regulators and automakers are working to slow air bags -- and ultimately want to install "smart" air bags systems that can sense the size and positioning of passengers and driver. Changes to federal air bag laws are up for public comment and are expected to take effect in '98 models.
    While the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has proposed letting consumers have their air bags disconnected, the auto industry favors retrofitting older vehicles with a manual switch that disarms air bags when needed.
    Automakers claim passengers, or future owners, otherwise might not know if air bags have been disconnected.
    NHTSA has received 2,500 public inquiries about disconnecting air bags. General Motors Corp. alone gets hundreds of calls a week.
    The biggest outcry is from small women, who have to sit close to the steering wheel to reach the pedals, and from parents and grandparents, who drive trucks and sport coupes with infant-seats in the front.
    But Consumer Reports magazine's February issue out Thursday called the proposed changes to air bag laws unnecessary.
    "Adults -- even short women -- who wear the vehicle's safety belt properly have little to fear from an air bag," the magazine stated. "The safest place for children is in the rear seat."
    Child No. 35, as 2-year-old Jones is known by regulators, bears that out. He was sitting on the lap of a 6-year-old child when his grandmother swerved her Geo Metro onto a grassy hill, barely damaging the car.
    Separately, USAA, the giant Texas-based insurance company, raised to $25,000 from $15,000 the benefits it pays to the estates of people killed in one of its insured autos, if the victim was properly belted in a seat protected by an air bag.

Copyright 1997, The Detroit News
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