New air bag rules proposed to ease impact

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Automakers would be authorized to install less forceful air bags under guidelines proposed Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Car owners could also instruct dealers to deactivate the air bags altogether under the rules, which regulators drafted in response to public concern about the safety devices.

Allowing manufacturers to cut the power inflating the bags by 20 to 35 percent "will reduce the incidence of injury and improve the performance of air bags for children, small-stature adults and other belted occupants, while still providing significant protection for unbelted occupants," NHTSA said.

Air bags are estimated to have saved the lives of more than 1,700 people since first installed, but also to have led to the deaths of 32 children and a number of adults.

Air bags inflate at speeds of up to 200 miles an hour, which can snap the neck of a child or small adult riding in the front seat or riding unbuckled.

The proposed rules would continue to let the driver of cars with no back seat deactivate the front passenger-side airbag.

The NHTSA said the lower-power air bags would be used until "smart" air bags are developed that can sense the size of the seat's occupant and adjust the force accordingly.

The new rules are expected to become effective after a 30-day public comment period, and to be implemented by car-makers before the start of the 1998 model year.

Related stories:

• Automakers reach concensus on air bag improvements - November 15, 1996
• Report: Air bag caused death of fetus - October 30, 1996
• Government makes it official: Air bags can kill children - October 23, 1996
• Debate rages over air bags' risk to children - September 16, 1996

Related sites:

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• NHTSA's page on airbags

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