ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 29, 1996 TAG: 9612300111
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
President Clinton endorsed new rules on automobile air bags Saturday, predicting that the changes will ``make our roads safer, and our children more secure.''
The new regulations, aimed at protecting children and small adults from the explosive force of air bags, will permit automobile manufacturers to install less powerful versions of the devices and will allow car owners to have them disconnected at their discretion. The rules are scheduled to be released Monday,
While air bags have saved about 1,700 lives, they deploy with such force that they have been implicated in the deaths of at least 32 children and infants and 20 adults - mostly small women - in low-speed accidents the individuals otherwise probably would have survived. Air bags also have been blamed for inflicting potentially serious disabilities, such as eye injuries.
In response, government safety officials and others have warned motorists to keep children in the rear seat while driving.
In reality, however, many parents find it is sometimes difficult or impossible to follow such advice. The neighborhood car pool, for example, has become a way of life - even a necessity - for many American families who share responsibilities in transporting children. Frequently, car poolers have no alternative but to place one of the youngsters in the front passenger seat.
Moreover, until the new rules take effect - expected this spring after a public comment period - it remains illegal for car dealers to disengage auto safety devices.
``Air bags do save lives,'' Clinton said in his weekly radio address. But ``air bags inflate with considerable force and can pose risks to children sitting unbuckled in the front passenger seat instead of buckled up in the back seat where they belong,'' he added.
Clinton said the new rules will enable manufacturers to install less powerful air bags ``to reduce the risk to children and to smaller and older adults.'' Car dealers will be allowed to deactivate the air bags ``of any owner who requests it, as long as the owner understands the risks of doing so,'' Clinton said.
Finally, in a measure effective immediately, he said the government would extend a rule allowing manufacturers to install cutoff switches in cars that don't have back seats or room for child safety seats.
LENGTH: Medium: 51 linesby CNB