Better Rear-Facing Seats Needed for Infants Secured in Front Seats Says SAE 2001 World Congress Paper

    WARRENDALE, Pa., Feb. 27 "Studies demonstrate that
children, especially infants in rear-facing safety seats in the back seat,
cause driver-distraction situations that result in numerous automobile crashes
each year," says Dan Goor, Vice President of Technology, Xportation Safety
Concepts Inc. and co-author of the paper being presented at the SAE 2001 World
Congress, March 5-8, 2001 at Cobo Center, Detroit, Michigan.
    Air bags, when properly used, save lives.  However, when parents place
infants in rear-facing safety seats in the back seat of automobiles, it causes
another problem -- driver distraction.  The solution, according to Goor, is to
have better rear-facing seats that will prevent air bag-induced injuries to
infants secured in the front seat.
    "There are many reasons to have all kids ride in the back seat -- the most
important being the fact that back seats are safer than fronts seats," says
Goor, "But distractions to drivers caused by back-seat children pose enormous
danger."
    According to Goor and co-author Lee Stucki, Stucki Engineering and
Information Services, infants in distress require about 10 seconds of
attention.  At a speed of 35 mph, a driver attending to the baby would travel
over 500 feet without paying attention to the road.
    They also note several governmental studies which conclude, air bag not
withstanding, if all rear-facing infants were put in the front seat, about 38
fatalities and 612 incapacitating injuries could be eliminated annually.
    "Canadian studies offer conclusive evidence that the use of cell phones
while driving cause distractions which contribute to, or produce accidents,"
says Goor.  "Are distractions caused by infants in the back seat any less
distracting than cell phones?  Shouldn't placing infants in the back seat be
viewed as a temporary solution until a better one is found?"
    The better solution is a rear-facing infant seat in the front passenger
seat that withstands the force of air bag deployment and keeps the infant safe
from injury.
    "Air Bags and Infants: The Need for Placing Rear-Facing Infants in the
Back Seat Brings About Accident-Causing Distractions," Paper #2001-01-0050,
will be presented on March 5 at 1 p.m. in Room DO-07, Cobo Center.
    The SAE 2001 World Congress, the world's largest showcase of automotive
engineering technologies, attracts attendees from more than 50 countries.  For
more information, visit http://www.sae.org or call 1-877-SAE-CONG (723-2664); outside
the U.S. and Canada, call 1-724-772-4027.