Agency Wants Side Air Bags in Cars

A federal auto safety agency today will propose new requirements to give drivers and passengers more protection against devastating head injuries in side-impact crashes, government and industry officials said.

The regulations would, in effect, require automakers to phase in side curtain air bags as standard equipment in new vehicles by mandating tougher crash tests and new injury limits for test dummies, industry and safety groups said.

The safety measures would save 700 to 1,000 lives a year when fully phased in, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is proposing the changes. It will take several years for the federal mandate to be fully effective, but the industry is already making side air bags available on many new models.

Side impact crashes -- with other vehicles or trees and utility poles -- kill about 9,800 people a year, accounting for nearly one-fourth of traffic deaths.

A study last summer by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that side air bags that protect the head reduced the risk of death by 45% for passenger-car drivers in crashes in which the cars were struck on the driver’s side.

Several types of side air bags are now in use, offering varying degrees of protection for the head and torso.

Side curtain air bags are rapidly becoming the technology of choice, partly because they also offer protection in rollover crashes. The curtains are mounted in the vehicle’s roof rail and anchored near the windshield and the roof pillars. When they deploy, they fill the space between the driver or a passenger and the side window.

They are usually installed in conjunction with air bags in the side door that protect the torso.

Side curtains can be particularly valuable for people in passenger cars that are broadsided by taller, sturdier sports utility vehicles or pickup trucks.

“When you are hit on the side, the only way to protect your head is to put something in the way between you and what is coming in,” said Adrian Lund, chief operating officer of the Insurance Institute.

Side curtains also protect SUV occupants, especially those riding in increasingly popular smaller models. In rollover crashes, they can help keep people from being flung out of vehicles that flip.

“This [safety standard] would have benefits across the board,” said Lund.

The federal safety agency’s proposal will require automakers to conduct tests using a dummy representing a small woman. Car companies would also have to provide protection for front- and back-seat occupants.

Though currently available on more than half of 2004 models, side air bags are not always standard equipment, especially on economy models. Many consumers are unwilling to spend an extra $200 to $500 to buy them.

“Some people would prefer to choose something they can use every day, such as a six-pack CD changer,” said David Champion, director of automotive testing for Consumers Union. “The problem is, you may only use side air bags once, but that one time may save your life.”

The new side impact requirements would protect consumers from making the wrong choice. But the protections will not be immediately available. The proposal must undergo a comment period. After the federal safety agency issues a final rule, the industry would have three to four years to phase in the new requirements.

Safety groups, which have been lobbying Congress to mandate side air bags, welcomed the move. “It would be fantastic if we had side air bags as standard equipment,” said Joan Claybrook, president of the Public Citizen advocacy group.

Automakers said they were heading in that direction. The industry has set a 2009 deadline for equipping all new vehicles with side air bags.

“Automakers’ goals and NHTSA’s goals are the same, and that is enhanced head protection,” said Eron Shosteck, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

However, the safety agency’s regulation would be mandatory; the industry’s deadline and standards are voluntary.

The agency also is expected to require automakers to subject their vehicles to a tougher test than the industry is contemplating. In the agency’s test, a car body would be smashed into a pole at an angle, simulating a crash with a telephone pole. Crash sensors that deploy the air bags generally have a more difficult time responding to angled crashes, an industry official said.

Dr. Jeffrey Runge, the head of traffic safety agency, recently told reporters that side impact requirements would be the most significant safety improvement of his three-year tenure. “It’s going to save many lives a year,” he said. “We’ve got to get this done.”