Clinton Backs Planned Changes to Air-Bag Regulations
President Clinton endorsed forthcoming rules on automobile air bags Saturday, predicting that the changes will “make our roads safer, and our children more secure.”
The new regulations, aimed at protecting children and small adults from the explosive force of air bags, will permit automobile manufacturers to install less-powerful versions of the devices and will allow car owners to have them disconnected at their discretion. The rules are scheduled to be released Monday.
While air bags have saved about 1,700 lives, they deploy with such force that they have been implicated in the deaths of at least 32 children and infants and 20 adults--mostly small women--in low-speed accidents the individuals otherwise would probably have survived. Air bags also have been blamed for inflicting potentially serious disabilities, such as eye injuries.
In response, government safety officials and others have warned motorists to keep children in the rear seat while driving.
In reality, however, many parents find that it is sometimes difficult or impossible to follow such advice. The neighborhood carpool, for example, has become a way of life--even a necessity--for many families who share responsibilities in transporting numerous children to and from school, sports events and other activities. Frequently, carpoolers have no alternative but to place one of youngsters in the front passenger seat.
Moreover, until the new rules take effect--expected this spring after a public comment period--it remains illegal for car dealers to disengage auto safety devices.
“Air bags do save lives,” Clinton said in his weekly radio address. But “air bags inflate with considerable force and can pose risks to children sitting unbuckled in the front passenger seat instead of buckled up in the back seat where they belong,” he added.
Clinton said the new rules will enable manufacturers to install less-powerful air bags “to reduce the risk to children and to smaller and older adults.” Car dealers will be allowed to deactivate the air bags “of any owner who requests it, as long as the owner understands the risks of doing so,” Clinton said.
Finally, in a measure effective immediately, he said the government would extend a rule allowing manufacturers to install cut-off switches in cars that don’t have back seats or room for child safety seats.
In the Republican Party’s response to Clinton’s address, GOP Rep.-elect Kevin Brady of Texas called for a “time of new beginnings” for members of Congress to “work together and cooperate.”
Brady, a former member of the Texas Legislature, said Congress should continue to work toward balancing the budget, provide families with tax relief and keep Medicare solvent.
“As members of Congress we should set the example that civility is the rule, rather than the exception, that mutual respect is the foundation for our efforts, that fixing the problem is more important than fixing the blame,” he said.
Clinton, in a New Year’s message that stressed safe and responsible driving, urged all Americans to buckle up, strap young children in safety seats and forgo alcohol.
“Too many people pose a threat to themselves and to others by drinking and driving,” he added.
About 41,000 Americans were killed in highway accidents last year, 40% of them involving alcohol, according to safety officials.
