American Woman Motorscene
Technically Speaking
SIDE IMPACT PROTECTION
by Jane O'Donnell
New-car buyers who shop for safety
have a rather new factor to
consider-side impact
protection.
Few will notice anything different
while they're perusing the new
models on the showroom floor. But
those involved in crashes in some of
the new cars may well take notice.
Automakers have been phasing
better side-impact protection into
their vehicles beginning with
their larger models. By the
'97 model year, federal regulations
require that all new cars sold
in this country must have this
improved protection. (There's a
provision in the regulation that
allowed small
manufacturers-including Suzuki and
Fiat (which owns Ferrari)-to fully
meet the standard in 1994, rather than
phasing in compliance over four
years beginning in 1993). The
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA) estimates
that this improvement should only
add about $50 a year to the price of a
new vehicle and should save about
500 lives each year.
Under law, cars already must meet
a side-impact standard that requires a
side beam to prevent intrusion into
the vehicle in a crash. That law is
estimated to already have saved
about 500 lives a year.
Although the side-impact
standard has not had much of an
impact on styling to date, some
company spokes people say
compliance has added
weight to cars-a much-feared factor
in lowering fuel economy and
performance-and forced them to
make design changes that haven't
been in response to consumer
demand. But despite their private
grumblings, the car makers have been quick
to capitalize on the marketing potential of
the new law. Some companies are running
ads trumpeting their compliance with the
standard.
"It's really become a
marketing thing," says Barry Felrice,
NHTSA's rulemaking chief. "It's just something
in the door, but it's something that's
really good for you, so the marketing
is healthy for everyone."
The safety agency expects that
most car companies will be able to
comply with the standard by adding
padding around side beams, with
other minor changes to better
distribute the crash forces around the
car.
Automakers say it's not quite that
easy. The design problems, they say,
begin when they phase-in their
smaller cars. "You're going to begin
to see a difference as cars go down in
size," says Sherman Henson, Ford's
manager of side-impact protection
and safety. "Smaller cars will have
less interior room or will be a bit
wider."
More than half of new cars
currently meet the side-impact
standard. Ask your dealer if that new
model you have your eye on is one of
them.
When it comes to passenger
safety, Volvo, a company that's built
its reputation on safety innovation,
has gone one step further than
side-impact beams. Recently, it
introduced its Side Impact Airbag
system for front-seat occupants on
'95 850 sedans and wagons.
Mounted in the sides of the seats,
the airbags deploy at
chest-level to prevent
contact between the
occupant's chest and the
door during certain side
collisions. Volvo says
that head injuries are
prevented, as well, since
the airbag places the
occupant further away
from the door, B-pillar
and side window.
Volvo's Side Impact
Airbag is expected to be
offered on its 940 and
960 models by the '96
model year.
BUCKLE THAT BELT!
Everyone knows that we're supposed
to buckle up. But a lot of us also
know that sometimes latching our
seatbelts seems simply too
uncomfortable, unnecessary or hard
to remember.
At least that used to be the case.
Even though there's no legitimate
excuse not to buckle up, recent
innovations in belt design are quickly
rendering all excuses obsolete.
Increasing numbers of imported
and domestic automakers are
installing belts with adjustable
shoulder anchor points that slide up
or down to better fit tall or short
people. Many GM and Ford
products, the Chrysler LH cars and
most of the upscale European and
Japanese offerings this year feature
this adjustment, which helps
eliminate chafed necks and
uncomfortable placement on the
upper torso. The feature is expected
to be introduced in more lower-priced
cars in the next few model years.
GM also has "Comfort Guide," a
feature in the rear seat into which the
shoulder belt can be hooked in order
to adjust the belt even further to fit a
child's proportions. And Saab may
have the most state-of-the-art belting
system of all. The lap-shoulder belts
on the Saab 9000 feature the
adjustable upper anchor point and
also include bottom anchor points
that are secured to the seat frame so
the belt adjusts automatically as the
seat is moved forward or back.
"Seatbelts are the single most
effective automotive safety device in
today's new cars, which is why Saab
wholeheartedly encourages their
use- no matter what make or model
you drive," says William Kelly,
Saab's former president and now a
top executive with Mercedes-Benz.
That also means no matter what
other safety devices your car may
include, it bears repeating-seatbelts
must be worn regardless of the
presence of an airbag. That's why
they call them supplemental
restraints.
Airbags are only effective in
frontal collisions that occur at 30 degrees in
either direction of the front of the car
and at forces between 11 and 14 mph
according to Phil Haseltine, president
of the American Coalition for Traffic
Safety (ACTS), the
automaker-supported safety
organization. In side- or rear-impact
crashes or rollovers, an airbag will
not deploy because the sensors are
located only in the front.
Haseltine says that "Both the lap
and shoulder belts should be worn
low and snug." He warns that using
the belts in ways other than they
were intended, such as under your
arm, not only reduce their
effectiveness, but can induce
additional injuries. Similarly, in cars
equipped with automatic shoulder
belts, failure to manually latch the lap
portion can lead to neck and lower
extremity injuries in crashes. Under
law, all cars without an airbag must
have those awkward passive restraint
automatic shoulder belts. By 1998, all
cars are required to have a driver-side
airbag, but by 1996 only one or two
cars are expected to still be bag-less.
More innovations, such as those
pioneered by Saab and GM, are likely
to be phased in soon. Saab, for
example, also has extended-length
seatbelts for some of its 9000 models.
These are intended for people who
can't buckle standard seatbelts and
reach the instrument panel while
seated in their normal position. Most
pregnant women shouldn't need such
an extender, but a few words of
advice from NHTSA should make
driving safer and more comfortable.
NHTSA notes that some pregnant
women fear that use of a belt will
increase the chance of injury to the
baby, but there's no evidence that
this is the case. The main risk to the
baby is injury or death of the mother,
and the chance for both of these is
greatly reduced when mothers wear
belts according to the agency.
NHTSA recommends that lapbelts, as
well as the lap portion of a
lap-shoulder belt combination,
should be placed low across the hips
and over the upper thighs. To be
most effective, they should lie snugly
over the pelvis. The belt should
never be placed across the abdomen.
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