U.S. Reportedly OKs Slower Speed for Air Bag Tests

The federal government has decided that a slower crash test favored by auto makers and insurers is best for evaluating the next generation of vehicle air bags, sources on both sides of the debate said Thursday.

The White House has decided to go with a 25-mph rigid-barrier test for unbelted dummies over the objections of a coalition of consumer and safety groups, the sources said.

An announcement of the new rules could come early next week. It was not clear what had swayed the decision.

Public Citizen, Consumers Union and Parents for Safer Air Bags had advocated a 30-mph crash test to hold auto makers to a higher standard and ensure advanced technologies replaced current devices.

But the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the American Automobile Assn. and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety had argued that a slower-speed test would preserve the benefits of low-powered bags, introduced in 1997 in response to some deaths caused by the force of inflation.

Air bags are credited with saving thousands of lives since they began to be installed widely in vehicles starting about 1990. But they have also proved fatal in over 150 instances, due to adults sitting close to them and children, mostly unbelted, riding in front seats.

Auto makers will phase in the new air bags starting with 2003-model cars and must be in full compliance by the 2006 model year, the Washington Post reported Friday.