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USA:New rules would protect side-crash victims

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New rules would protect side-crash victims

Fed proposal requires head-protecting air bags, but plan could cost industry up to $3.6 billion

By Jeff Plungis / Detroit News Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Government regulators Wednesday proposed stiff new safety rules that would make head-protecting side air bags and other equipment mandatory on all U.S. cars and trucks.

The new standards — expected to save 700 to 1,000 lives a year and cost automakers up to $3.6 billion — could be in place as early as 2009.

Federal safety officials say it’s the most significant auto safety initiative since federal regulators adopted rules that spurred standard front air bags in the early 1990s.

“This is not just another government regulation for me,” said Dr. Jeffrey Runge, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a longtime emergency room physician. “I took care of victims of side-impact crashes. Many of them didn’t make it.”

According to NHTSA, side-impact crashes kill nearly 10,000 people per year. The agency estimates that 60 percent of fatal side-impact crashes involve brain injuries.

The regulations would make cars and trucks safer for occupants, but the changes will not come cheaply for automakers.

Runge said compliance with the regulations would cost automakers between $1.6 billion and $3.6 billion for research, engineering and equipment changes.

After taking public comment, the agency plans to issue a final rule by the end of 2005.

NHTSA estimated automakers will spend an average of $208 per vehicle to comply with the new rules. Runge said the proposal passed stringent cost-benefit requirements imposed by the Bush administration.

Automakers reacted cautiously, saying they wanted to study the proposal. But the announcement has been widely anticipated. Automakers agreed last year to roll out side-impact air bags more quickly on a voluntary basis.

First offered on luxury cars and light trucks, side air bags are now available on lower-priced models.

Toyota Motor Co.p. offers side air bags on 25 Toyota and Lexus models.

“We already have a high number of vehicles that comply,” said Chris Preuss, spokesman for General Motors Corp. “We’ll work with NHTSA on the rule-making. We’ll make our comments after we have a chance to fully review the proposal.”

Automakers have agreed to include side air bags as standard equipment in at least 50 percent of their models by the 2007 model year and 100 percent by 2009.

NHTSA’s timetable is more generous. The agency hopes to finalize the rules by the end of 2005, with the requirements phased in between 2009 and 2011.

For the 2004 model year, 54 percent of all models have side air bags available, according to the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers.

“We share the same goals as NHTSA,” said Eron Shosteck, spokesman for the Alliance. “Our members have already begun to implement new test procedures. It is going to be costly, but that’s not our priority. Safety is our priority.”

Tougher test

As part of the new rules, NHTSA proposed adding a tough new pole crash test to an existing barrier test. A battery of tests, known as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 214, are used to ensure minimum levels of protection to drivers and passengers if their vehicles are struck in the side by another car or truck.

Since 1990, NHTSA has used a barrier shaped like the front end of a car to assess side-impact protection. The current rules aim to prevent chest and pelvic injuries, with no head protection requirement.

Under the proposed pole test, a car or truck would be mounted on a sled moving 20 mph and slammed into a stiff pole at a 75 degree angle. NHTSA research showed many injuries occur in this type of so-called offset crash.

NHTSA opted for a pole to replicate what happens if a vehicle leaves the roadway and hits a utility pole or tree in the side, a particularly deadly scenario.

NHTSA is also proposing requirements for head-protection for the first time in a side crash. Automakers can adopt any technology to meet the requirement, but it’s expected they will use side curtain air bags.

Automakers are also expected to make engineering changes to the side of a car or truck, including stronger roof rails and so-called B pillars to absorb more crash energy.

Improved air bag sensors may be needed, as well. In preliminary crash tests run by the government and the insurance industry, some side air bags have failed to deploy.

Spotlight on side crashes

There has been an increasing spotlight on deaths in side-impact crashes over the past year. A key focus has been reducing death or injury when an SUV or pickup strikes a car.

NHTSA estimates a car occupant is 3.5 times more likely to die if the occupant’s vehicle is struck by a pickup or SUV.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety began a new crash test last year with a barrier that is shaped like the front end of an SUV. The institute has tested mid-sized SUVs and mid-sized cars so far.

The results have not been encouraging.

Of 12 small SUVs tested, only two were deemed “good” at protecting occupants, according to the institute’s rating scale. Six were rated “poor.”

The 13 midsize sedans fared even worse: two were rated good and seven poor. All of the vehicles that achieved favorable ratings had side air bags.

The institute estimates that air bags designed to protect the head in a side crash reduce the risk of death by 45 percent.

For the first time, automakers will also have to pass the test using new dummies, representing a small adult female and male of average height.

“Our goal is to protect all sizes of people, whether they are hit by an SUV or pickup,” said Runge.

Proposals welcomed

Amid continuing concerns about protecting cars in collisions with light trucks, safety advocates welcomed NHTSA’s proposal.

It’s “a positive step,” said Public Citizen president Joan Claybrook, a former NHTSA administrator. “This standard is long overdue,” she said. “This protection is critical in crashes involving high-riding SUVs or pickup trucks. It can also help in rollover crashes.”

The proposals will subject automakers to more rigorous safety tests, said Sally Greenberg, senior product safety counsel for Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine.

“I’m impressed,” she said. “It will be a little tougher than what the industry had in mind. It’s a serious statement on the part of this administration.”

Speaking outside DOT headquarters at a carefully staged event, Runge left little doubt he considered the regulation an important part of his legacy.

“Of all the crash types, these crashes were often the saddest,” Runge said. “Quite often, the person struck in the side was doing everything right — driving sober, wearing a safety belt, going through a green light — only to get slammed in the side by a driver running a red light or an ignored stop sign.

“I thought many times that something should be done to protect people who are doing everything right — yet end up with debilitating injuries or dying.”


What's next
* The government will gather feedback from automakers, consumers and safety groups and finalize rules to improve the side-impact crashworthiness of vehicles by 2005.
* Automakers would be required to meet the rules in phases by 2011. Automakers will make engineering changes and offer new equipment.
Source: NHTSA
 
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