
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 8, 1991                   TAG: 9103080272
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

MORE AIR BAGS WANTED/ BILL WOULD WIDEN AUTO REQUIREMENT

Air bags for drivers and front-seat passengers would become standard equipment in all new cars by late 1995 and in all light trucks and vans by late 1997 under legislation introduced Thursday in the Senate. Sponsors said it would save 12,000 lives each year.

The proposal drew a cool response from automakers, who said they already were installing air bags in response to consumers' growing safety awareness.

But the bill's sponsors said the legislation was needed to avoid delay and ensure the bags go into cars of all sizes. Family-size and luxury models are getting the bags at a faster pace than compacts and subcompacts, said Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev.

"We don't believe that the size of an individual's paycheck ought to determine whether he or she is protected by a device which is available," said Bryan, chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs.

A spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it would have no immediate comment.

An agency regulation that became fully effective with the 1990 model year requires new cars to have either front-seat air bags or automatic seat belts. A temporary exception was granted for cars with driver's side air bags, which may have a manual belt on the passenger side through 1993.

The government plans to extend the regulation to light trucks and minivans.

But Bryan and his colleagues said there was growing evidence that the air bag offers greater protection than the automatic belt. Sen. Jack Danforth, R-Mo., said studies had shown that drivers often disconnect automatic belts.

"The single most important vehicle improvement we can make to save lives and prevent injuries is to require air bags in all cars and light trucks," Danforth said.

Also sponsoring the bill are Sens. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., and Brock Adams, D-Wash. The four senators unveiled the bill at a news conference outside the Capitol, standing in front of the crumpled remains of two Chrysler LeBarons that crashed head-on in Northern Virginia last year.

The wreck was widely publicized because the drivers emerged virtually unscathed despite the heavy damage to their cars. Police said air bags had saved their lives.

"You need do no more than look at the condition of these cars to become a believer in air bags," Bryan said.

Under the bill, air bags would be required for front-seat drivers and passengers in all cars beginning with the 1996 model year.

by CNB