THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610240303
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE O'BRIEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 95 lines
For the first time, the government's highway safety agency has found that a child properly using an automobile's front seat belt was killed by the force of an air bag, says a report released Wednesday.
The child's death shows that not only are current air bag warnings inadequate, but new safety warnings proposed by the government also do not go far enough, said parents and safety advocates.
Instead, they want everyone told, forcefully, that children should not be in the front seat at all.
Five-year-old Frances Ambrose of Nashville, Tenn., was in the front passenger seat wearing her lap and shoulder belt correctly when she was killed Sept. 12 in a low-speed accident, the new NHTSA report says.
``There are a lot of children that are out there that are still in front of these air bags,'' said Albert Ambrose, Frances' father. ``Had we been notified, we wouldn't have put our child in front of an air bag.''
The head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has repeatedly said that children up to age 12 should ride in the back seat. But parents said the public is not getting the word.
Ken German, whose 9-year-old son was killed by an air bag in a low-speed accident last year in Houston: ``The message isn't getting out. Kids should be put in the back seat because passenger-side air bags kill children.''
At least 28 children and 19 adult drivers have been killed by air bags, according to NHTSA. But in previous accidents, the agency said the children appeared to be unbelted or improperly belted, or the evidence was inconclusive.
The highway safety agency is under growing pressure to address the problem of air bag deaths because there are 15 million vehicles with passenger-side air bags on the road and that number is growing quickly. Passenger-side air bags become mandatory in model year 1998 for cars and 1999 for light trucks.
The Parents' Coalition for Air Bag Warnings, mostly made up of parents whose children were killed by air bags, met Wednesday with NHTSA's head, Dr. Ricardo Martinez, to tell him that proposed air bag warning labels must be simple and direct.
Robert Sanders, the coalition's leader, said the message should be: ``Do not seat children in the front seat. Air bags can kill or injure children.''
Last summer, NHTSA proposed warning labels saying that unbelted children and infants in rear-facing child seats may be killed by an air bag.
``Unbelted children can be killed - that's the wrong message,'' said Sanders, whose 7-year-old daughter was killed last year by a deploying air bag.
``The labels ought to be very clear that children should never ride in the front seat. That's the major remedy for parents. That should be blasted all over the world,'' said Joan Claybrook, a former NHTSA administrator who is now president of the advocacy group Public Citizen.
Claybrook said the information should be in the vehicle owner's manual, in labels on the car, and available at dealerships and insurance companies. She also would favor laws, such as those in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, that require children under 13 to ride in the back seat.
The coalition also wants automakers to send letters to registered car owners telling them children should be placed in the back seat because air bags can kill them.
The parents' coalition and highway safety agency agree that the new labels should be dramatic enough to get attention - meaning large and printed in bright yellow and red.
NHTSA declined comment on the private meeting and the investigation report.
In August, amid growing public and agency concern, the agency proposed the new warning labels and the option of an on-off switch for passenger-side air bags. Domestic automakers have shown lukewarm support for both proposals. The agency's final rule is expected this year. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
HISTORY
At least 28 children and 19 adult drivers have been killed by air
bags, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration. But before Wednesday, the agency said it appeared
the children either were unbelted or improperly belted. There are 15
million vehicles with passenger-side air bags on the road.
SAFETY TIP
Children up to age 12 should ride in the back seat.
NHTSA PROPOSALS
The agency says larger, more colorful air bag warning labels
should be required in vehicles. The labels proposed by NHTSA only
say unbelted children can be killed by an air bag. In August, NHTSA
proposed the labels and the option of an on-off switch for
passenger-side air bags.
OTHER PROPOSALS
The Parents' Coalition for Air Bag Warnings wants the larger
warning labels. But they also propose that the labels say that
belted or unbelted children can be killed by passenger-side air
bags. The group also wants the agency to require automakers to send
notices to parents telling them of the danger of air bags and that
they should put their children in the back seat.
KEYWORDS: AIR BAGS FATALITIES STATISTICS by CNB