ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 12, 1996 TAG: 9612120028
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: SILVER SPRING, MD.
SOURCE: Associated Press
THE SAFETY DEVICES have killed 32 children while saving many adult drivers involved in head-on, higher-speed crashes.
With her 7-year-old son in tow, Michelle Mills peered in the window of a white sport/utility vehicle and pondered the hazards its dual airbags might pose to children.
``You hear good things and bad things on the news about them these days. It's hard to tell,'' Mills said as she shopped for a new car in this suburb of the nation's capital.
``I have concerns, but all and all I feel a little safer'' with them, she said.
It's a tough question for consumers who are confronted with reports that airbags have killed 32 children while saving the lives of many adult drivers involved in head-on, higher-speed crashes.
The number of child deaths is rising - there has been 18 so far this year. But many experts say the statistics support Mills' view that the value of airbags outweighs the dangers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says airbags saved 1,136 lives from 1986 through 1995 and at least 450 this year.
The figure is accelerating because more and more cars are equipped with the devices as automakers face a 1998 deadline for putting dual airbags in all new cars.
Almost 30 million vehicles have one airbag, and 24 million more have two.
Of the children who have been killed, nine were infants who suffered fatal head injuries when airbags slammed into rear-facing car seats resting close to the dashboard.
Because of their small size, children are especially vulnerable to the force of the airbag. In most cases, the explosively deploying bag delivered a severe blow to the child's head and neck.
Airbags also have killed 19 drivers in low-speed accidents they otherwise should have survived. All but four of those adults were small women, and most of them were close to the steering wheel when the airbag deployed, according to government accident data.
Most of them also were not wearing seat belts, which protect passengers from getting too close to the bag during pre-crash braking.
Airbags also are less effective for drivers age 70 or older who have slight frames, the government study said. Accident data show seven adults killed by airbags were older than 70.
Of the children who were not in car seats - they ranged in age up to 9 - most were not wearing lap belts. That means they ended up too close to the airbag as it deployed at up to 200 mph.
Four of the children were wearing lap belts but not shoulder belts, accident reports show. Government officials are concerned that children without shoulder belts are being pushed forward by momentum during pre-crash braking and into the danger zone close to the dash.
But at least one child had a lap and shoulder belt on and was still killed, prompting agency officials to recommend that children 12 and younger should ride in the back seat.
Government officials warn that infants in rear-facing car seats must ride in the back. Most child safety experts believe children under age 1 need to be in rear-facing infant seats because their muscles are not developed enough to ride through a strong crash in a forward-facing seat.
Airbags are about as effective on the passenger side for those older than 12 as for drivers. The federal study showed they reduced deaths on the right-front side by 10 percent - roughly the same as the 11 percent on the driver's side.
Harold and Brenda Hayes of Clinton, Md., know the dangers airbags might pose for their 3-year-old son. But they say they want dual airbags in the new pickup truck they're looking to buy because the family will be safer.
They say their son, Harold, always rides in the back. But they also want a cutoff switch for the passenger side airbag.
``I'd definitely get dual airbags,'' said Brenda Hayes. ``If they're used properly, they're a good thing.''
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB