Assembly Votes Seat Belt Use

The Assembly, in a victory for Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) and several large insurance companies, approved landmark legislation Monday requiring motorists to use their seat belts and auto makers to install air bags or other safety devices in all new California cars.

The measure was dispatched to the Senate on a 46-29 vote after almost no debate and little outward sign of the controversy that has accompanied the issue since its inception.

At the same time, a divided Senate substantially altered a rival seat belt measure so that it would more closely parallel the Assembly-approved bill.

Despite Monday’s action, however, the prospects of final passage of a seat belt bill this year are uncertain because a measure virtually identical to Brown’s was soundly defeated last month by the Senate Transportation Committee. And a coalition of auto makers opposing air bags has vowed to keep it from passing.

Wants Safer Interiors

In calling for his bill’s approval, Brown said it is his intention to save lives and make sure that auto makers do not succeed in their 10-year battle to avoid mandatory installation of air bags or other passive restraints.

“Ultimately we ought to be about making the interior of our automobiles as safe as possible,” Brown said.

The Speaker’s bill was sponsored by several large insurance companies that were angered by a federal rule that will allow car manufacturers to sidestep existing air bag requirements if they can persuade states with two-thirds of the nation’s population to adopt mandatory seat belt bills.

Six already have done so, including the populous states of New York, Illinois and Michigan.

$20 to $50 Fines

To ensure that California is not counted toward that two-thirds, Brown included in his bill a controversial provision that would automatically rescind a California seat belt law if the federal government exempts auto makers from installing air bags.

As it stands, the bill provides a $20 fine for the first violation of the mandatory seat belt requirement and a $50 fine for each subsequent offense. However, motorists would be cited only if stopped in conjunction with another violation.

Auto makers could be subjected to a $500 fine for each car sold in California after Sept. 1, 1989, without air bags or other automatic crash protection.

The rival seat belt measure, now moving through the Senate, originally contained no provisions for requiring air bags or other passive restraints. Auto makers strongly supported it for that reason, hoping that it would help them avoid air bags, which they believe are too costly and only marginally effective.

Under pressure from Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles) and other Senate Democrats, its author, Sen. John Foran (D-San Francisco), agreed last month to add a provision to his bill requiring auto makers to offer air bags as an option.

That cost Foran the support of the auto makers but apparently did not go far enough for some senators.

On Monday, the Senate added other amendments that, in essence, say the state is opposed to ending federal air bag requirements.

“Why should we save 1,000 lives each year when we could save 2,000?” Sen. Paul Carpenter (D-Cypress) asked in arguing for his amendment. “What do we say about the other 1,000 who die because they don’t have the opportunity for air bags?”

Safety experts claim that 40% to 50% of all highway deaths could be avoided if all motorists used their seat belts. Air bags or other passive restraints used in conjunction with the belts could prevent another 5% of highway fatalities, they say.

Brown Stands Firm

While Carpenter succeeded in those amendments, he failed to persuade the Senate to add a provision identical to Brown’s bill that would rescind the seat belt law in the event the federal air bag rules are scrapped.

Although the Senate bill now appears quite close to the Assembly version, Brown has indicated that he would not support any bill unless it provides for air bags or automatic crash protection. The optional air bag requirement in Foran’s bill would be useless, an aide to Brown said, if car companies simply priced air bags out of the average motorist’s reach.

Another potential problem arises over Gov. George Deukmejian’s position. Last month, Deukmejian said he would support a mandatory seat belt bill, but indicated that he would not support a bill requiring air bags.

Asked Monday if a stalemate is likely, Foran replied, “Not necessarily. I’ve been around a long time, and things have a way of working out.”