ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 23, 1996 TAG: 9608230092
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Efforts by automakers to slow the punch of air bags could cost adult lives and not prevent children from being killed by air bags, a top federal safety official warned Thursday.
Ricardo Martinez, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said automakers should focus on developing more-sophisticated air bags - and not on changing a landmark safety standard, as they are expected to propose today.
``We have 24 dead children because of air bags, and we welcome any proposal that will solve that problem,'' Martinez said.
But he fears that automakers ``want us to take away protection from unbelted occupants when they can't show it will stop killing kids.''
Most of the children were not wearing seat belts, or were seated too close to the air bags, NHTSA records show.
The auto industry can't promise their proposal will reduce child deaths - but hopes it will. It says that widespread use of ``smart'' bags, which can detect a child's weight and shut themselves off, is still years away. It argues something must be done soon to prevent more deaths.
The American Automobile Manufacturers Association is expected to formally petition NHTSA today requesting a change in testing standards so that less powerful air bags can be designed to protect occupants wearing seat belts, as most people do these days. Currently, air bags must be designed to protect an occupant who is not wearing a seat belt.
LENGTH: Short : 37 linesby CNB