Safety Features Save Lives

04/10/96

NEWS RELEASE

SAFETY FEATURES SAVE LIVES

April 3, 1996 (New York) -- The most advanced safety technology has
been incorporated into modern cars and trucks to protect motorists on
the open road. Visitor's to the 1996 New York International Automobile
Show, April 6 - April 14, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in
Manhattan, can see first hand how these features operate in concert to
give them an advantage in an emergency situation.

"Manufacturers are equipping their vehicles with the most advanced
safety technology to help motorists avoid accidents, and to protect
them in the event of a collision," said John LaSorsa, President of the
Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, sponsors of the New
York International Auto Show.

One of the latest developments to help protect vehicle occupants is
the advent of side impact air bags. Utilizing different approaches,
both Volvo and Mercedes-Benz are offering this technology.

Volvo offers side impact bags for drivers and passengers on all
models, by incorporating them into the outer side bolsters of the
front seats. Mercedes-Benz incorporates the bags into the front side
doors of its new E-Class sedans and SL Roadsters. Other manufacturers
are rushing to offer a version of this new technology into their
vehicles as well.

Wherever the side impact bag is located, it must deploy twice as fast
as a front air bag, due to the limited distance between the passenger
and the door. Once sensors detect a side impact, the bags inflate in
around 12 milliseconds -- one-tenth of a blink of an eye.

Most passengers cars today are equipped with front driver and
passenger air bags. In the event of a frontal collision, sensors
located in the front of the vehicle detect the impact and signal the
air bags to deploy within 30 milliseconds, three times faster than the
blink of an eye.

While air bags can help prevent fatal injuries, unseen parts of the
car act in concert to protect occupants. Cars and trucks are designed
with rigid passenger compartments. The compartments act together with
front and rear "crumple zones" which collapse and spread the energy of
the collision lessening the impact on the passenger compartment.

Side impact protection follows essentially the same philosophy --
spreading the forces generated in a collision over a broader area, and
reducing intrusion into the passenger compartment. This is done by
reinforcing various structural components of the car including
B-pillars, roof rails and floor members, as well as door panels. Side
door beams are also part of this invisible protection package.

Interiors have changed. Head restraints, energy absorbing steering
columns that collapse on impact, energy absorbing instrument panels,
dashboards and knee bolsters all contribute to occupant safety.

"And we must remember," said LaSorsa, "That the most effective and
universally recognized safety invention is the safety belt. It
protects occupants in all types of collisions. We all must remember to
buckle up."

Experts agree that the three-point safety belt is the most essential
piece of equipment to protect occupants in vehicles. Safety belts have
been improved over the years. Shoulder height adjustors are now
available, as well as emergency tensioning retractors that further
enhance safety.

To help motorists avoid accidents, vehicles are loaded with active
features that often escape notice or are taken for granted. With
improved suspension and steering systems, cars now handle better than
in the past. Drivers have more precise feedback on exactly what the
car is doing on the road, and can react accordingly.

One of the most important developments in recent years is ABS or the
anti-lock braking system. All manufacturers offer this system on their
vehicles. When used correctly, ABS prevents wheel lockup under
braking. One danger in hard, emergency braking maneuvers always has
been lockup, which causes skidding and loss of control. Professional
drivers learn to rapidly pump the brakes to prevent
lockup. Consequently, they can steer through curves under hard
braking. This technique is not the gentle "pumping the brakes" but
quick successive application of the brakes.

ABS, through electronic sensors, does the same thing. A driver can
feel the brakes pulsing during hard stopping. Often, the driver can
keep the car under control and steer around potential danger. However,
the system must be used correctly to gain the advantage.

Traction control is another safety-enhancing system. Many
manufacturers offer these systems, which electronically sense when
wheel spin -- the loss of traction or grip with the road -- is about
to occur.  Automatically, the senors make adjustments to prevent loss
of grip.

However, for all the safety equipment in today's cars, true safety is
still in the hands of the driver. For that reason, the Greater New
York Auto Dealers Association urges everyone to drive carefully, to
never drink and drive, to obey all traffic laws and to always buckle
up.