Safety Expert Faults Passenger-Side Air Bags as Perilous for Children

A private safety expert said Monday the current passenger-side air bags in cars are unacceptable because they kill more children than they save.

“For America’s children, air bags have been a big loser,” John Graham, director of Harvard University’s Center for Risk Analysis, told a government forum.

Air bags inflating at up to 200 mph have killed 38 children and infants and 24 adults in low-speed accidents they otherwise should have survived. Last Friday, the government told auto makers they can install less-powerful air bags.

Graham, whose research influenced the initial decision in the 1980s to require air bags, said, “We have been stunned and appalled by the harm they inflicted upon children.”

“They appear to kill more children than they save,” he said.

Overall, air bags have increased children’s risk of death in auto accidents by 33%, a recent government study indicates.

“Taking into account risk, cost and benefit, my overall assessment is that the current passenger-side air bag is not acceptable,” Graham said.

Graham’s comments came on the first day of four days of panel discussions convened by the National Transportation Safety Board to deal with the air bag problem.

“There is increasing public concern about air bags and urgent questions regarding both the effectiveness of air bags and the potential dangers of the devices,” said Jim Hall, the chairman of the safety board.

Graham said children younger than 12 should be required by federal law to ride in the back seat.

Graham acknowledges such a law would require a “cultural shift” in the United States and the political will to enact the law may be lacking. Failing that, Graham favors switches allowing the bag to be turned on and off.