Experts Say Air Bags Killing Children Review Of Accidents Also Cites Improperly Installed Child Restraints

Passenger-side air bags are killing children, federal safety experts said Tuesday. They recommend children ride in the back seat and say that for those in front, air bags triggered at higher car speeds and with less power may help.

“Unfortunately, sometimes with the best intentions, you get unintended consequences,” National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall said of the 26 child deaths attributed in recent years to passenger-side air bags.

The agency issued a score of recommendations addressing the problems of air bags and child restraint systems. The recommendations went to local, state and federal agencies, auto manufacturers and the makers of child restraint systems.

The action concluded two years of analysis in which safety board staffers studied 120 accidents involving 207 children.

It found two major problems - youngsters being injured and killed by passenger-side air bags and while riding in improperly attached child restraint systems.

“What we’re finding is a majority of children are in the wrong restraint for their age, height and weight - and the majority of restraints are being used improperly,” said Elaine Weinstein of the safety board staff.

There are more than 50 types of child seats, booster seats and other restraint systems on the market, each with its own attachment system, and many are so complex that many parents are unable to install them properly.

Indeed, one recommendation called for simplified restraint systems “so it doesn’t take a Harvard degree to understand how to get the seat into and out of a car,” said Hall.

Board member John Hammerschmidt noted that a traffic check by the Fairfax County, Va., police found 138 child restraint seats improperly installed, among 149 checked.

Board Vice Chairman Robert Francis pressed the issue of having children ride in the back seat of cars, noting that in Europe it is a common requirement that children under 12 not be in the front seat of cars.

Main recommendations of the board included:

State governors and local officials should launch an education campaign emphasizing the importance of having children ride in the back seat of a car. This could be funded by setting aside one-tenth of 1 percent of motor vehicle insurance premiums paid in the state.

Amend state laws, where needed, to require that all children under age 8 be in a car seat and those 8 and older use lap-and-shoulder belts. Eliminate current loopholes for out-of-state residents and non-parents.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration should evaluate whether passenger-side air bag requirements should be changed to reduce inflation speed.

Require a uniform attachment system for child restraint seats.

Simplify the instructions for attaching child restraints.

Manufacturers should offer built-in child restraints.

Consider whether to increase the speed at which a car must be traveling when impact will trigger inflation of the air bag.

Currently air bags are designed to inflate at crash speeds up to 30 mph, with most triggering at 8 to 11 mph.

“We need to have bags going off in accidents that are likely to produce a severe injury, and not going off in garden-variety, around-town crashes,” said safety board staff member Vern Roberts.

Andrew Card of the American Automobile Manufacturers Association said his group has expressed similar concerns and is anxious to work with regulators on improving safety and continuing its current public education campaign.

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