                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, November 3, 1995               TAG: 9511030728
SECTION: AUTO WEEKLY              PAGE: H1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: Mary Scully 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   37 lines

SHOPPING FOR SAFETY IN 1996

[The text of this story is not available in the library database. For a copy of complete text, see microfilm.] ILLUSTRATION: Vicki Cronis for The Virginian Pilot

Mary White of Chesapeake has a 1996 Geo Metro equipped with many

safety features once found only in high-priced luxury autos. Her

Metro has dual airbags, antilock brakes (ABS) and daytime running

lights (DRLs). DRLs make a car more conspiculous and have reduced

crashes in Canada, Finland and Sweden where they are mandatory.

Color photo courtesy Mercedes-Benz

The newly designed 1996 Mercedes E. class sedans will have a side

air bag emerging drom the door in the front seat to protect driver

and passenger in side-impact crashes.

A deploying air bag may cause injury or death to an infant in a

rear-facing child seat in the front passenger seat in a vehicle

equipped with dual air bags. NHTSA requires warning on the visors of

all new vehicles.

In the 1996 Ford Ranger pickup truck with dual air bags and only two

seats, the driver is able to manually turn off the air bag when an

infant is aboard.

KEYWORDS: AUTOMOBILE CAR SAFETY FEATURES by CNB