Air Bag Change Isn’t Enough

Since their introduction in 1987, vehicle air bags had been a mark of automotive safety around the world. But that began to change last year when it was divulged that the explosive force of an air bag’s deployment had killed 38 children and 24 small adults in low-speed crashes since 1991. Air bags inflate in fractions of a second, at up to 200 miles an hour.

The statistics on fatal injuries sparked great concern, even though air bags are also credited with saving 1,750 lives over that period. Now, stung by charges that it should have acted earlier, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has given auto makers approval to install less powerful bags late in the 1997 model year. But the solution might not be so simple. By one estimate, for example, slower-deploying air bags might save 47 children per year but result in 50 to 230 more deaths among adults not wearing seat belts.

The National Transportation Safety Board is considering many options this week. For example, Jeff Graham, a Harvard University specialist on risk analysis who did research in the 1980s that led to the mandate for air bags, now favors an off switch for motorists to use when children or small adults ride in the front seat. “Smarter” air bag technology also is under consideration.

But common-sense precautions also can help. For example, a survey of 1,135 families in Orange County last year found that nearly half of child passengers were not properly buckled into their seats. And letting small children ride in the front seat increases their risk.

A burst of advice during highway safety week each year is hardly enough. The facts should be aired on a regular basis, not just by police but by local transportation departments. New federal requirements alone will not solve the air bag problem.