Awareness of Air Bag Risks Falls as Number of Air Bag Equipped Vehicles Rises
16 February 2000
Awareness of Air Bag Risks Falls as Number of Air Bag Equipped Vehicles Rises Campaign Targets Those Not Hearing and Heeding Air Bag Safety Advice
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 -- New data released today by the Air Bag
and Seat Belt Safety Campaign shows that awareness of the risks of injury and
death to children from air bags is declining as the number of air bag equipped
vehicles is rapidly increasing. The Campaign is concerned this could lead to
an increase in injuries and deaths, and so it is stepping up its outreach to
warn drivers about the dangers of allowing children ages 12 and under to ride
in the front seat of an air bag equipped vehicle.
Awareness about air bag dangers to children dropped from 89 percent in May
1999 to 83 percent in November 1999. The Campaign's research shows that
awareness is even lower, 79 percent, among people who will purchase an air bag
equipped vehicle for the first time.
Given that the number of vehicles on the road equipped with a passenger
air bag has nearly tripled in the last three years, the rate of child air bag
deaths has dramatically dropped by more than 80 percent. The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that the actual number of child
deaths attributed to air bags has dropped from 25 in 1996 to 14 in 1999.
"It's encouraging that air bag fatalities are significantly down. But as
a result there's been less in the news about air bags, and so the public's
awareness of the risks is beginning to slip," said Janet Dewey, executive
director of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign. "At the same time
awareness is declining, more people than ever before are buying air bag
equipped vehicles in both the new and used car markets. And this concerns
us."
The Campaign announced that it's stepping up its general outreach to warn
about the dangers of air bags and will also target those buying used cars that
are equipped with passenger air bags. The Campaign unveiled new public
service spots that will air on Univision and Black Entertainment Television
(BET) networks beginning on February 28.
The Campaign has produced new materials with a harder hitting message.
They will be widely distributed with the help of many new partners, including
GSP Marketing Technologies, who will work with its client base of convenience
stores and gas stations; birthing hospitals; community health facilities; and
the networks of dozens of other organizations, including Aspira, the National
Automobile Dealers Association and the National Urban League.
"The National Urban League is committed to getting this important safety
message to our members through our 115 chapters nationwide," said Milton
Little, executive vice president of the National Urban League. "We want to do
our part to remind families that the safest place for children to ride is
buckled up in the back seat."
Child restraint use among toddlers has jumped from 60 to 87 percent in the
last two years leading to a 12.3 percent decrease in traffic fatalities for
children ages 0 to 4. In addition, the number of people who report that they
secure children in a back seat has increased steadily over the past
three years. Virtually all of the children who died from air bag related
injuries were either improperly restrained or totally unrestrained. According
to NHTSA, air bags have saved more than 5,000 lives.
"While we are making good progress on a number of fronts -- child safety
seat use is up and child fatalities are down -- the fact is children are still
at risk for serious injury or death from air bags," said Rosalyn Millman,
acting administrator of NHTSA. "That's why we must redouble our efforts to
reach those who aren't buckling up children in the back seat for every trip."
As air bag equipped vehicles move through the U.S. fleet into the used car
market, a growing number of used car purchasers who have never had a vehicle
with an air bag will be driving air bag equipped vehicles for the first time.
This will increase the number of children who will be exposed to the risks of
air bags, unless they are buckled up in the back seat. Research shows that
driver restraint use is the strongest predictor of child restraint use, and
that a restrained driver is three times more likely to restrain a child.
Therefore, the Campaign will also target its outreach to groups that are more
likely to buy used cars and less likely to wear seat belts, typically people
with lower incomes, younger drivers and minorities.
"People who are buying air bag equipped vehicles for the first time may
not have tuned in to the information about air bags. Now they need the air
bag safety message, and we are making an extra effort to reach them," added
Dewey.
"In each state, the Motor Vehicle Agency is uniquely positioned to reach
the Campaign's target audience," said Ken Beam, President and CEO of the
American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. "One of our first ideas
is to integrate the air bag safety message in the transfer of titles and
license renewals, which will then reach all purchasers of used cars."
Michelle Hammond, whose son Justin was three when he was severely injured
from the impact of an air bag while riding unrestrained in the front seat
during a crash, appeared on videotape to tell parents to never give in to
their kids' pleas to ride in front. "My son will suffer the rest of his life
from a brain injury because the driver of the car made an exception and let
him ride unbuckled in the front seat," said Hammond. "I want to spare other
families the anguish we've suffered by cautioning parents to properly restrain
their child in a back seat on every ride."
Crashes are the leading cause of death to children. In 1998, six out of
ten children who died in crashes were unrestrained -- nearly half of these
children would be alive today if they had been buckled up. Even in vehicles
without air bags, the death rate to children drops by one third when kids ride
properly restrained in the back seat.
The Campaign also noted that awareness of the need for drivers to sit back
away from the air bag has also dropped. The Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety
Campaign reminds all drivers that Air Bag Safety means Buckle Everyone,
Children in back, and to follow these safety rules:
-- Infants should NEVER ride in the front seat of a vehicle with a
passenger air bag;
-- Babies should ride in rear-facing infant seats in a back seat until age
one AND at least 22 pounds;
-- All children 12 and under should ride properly restrained in a back
seat in age- and size-appropriate child safety seats or when they are
big enough to use the vehicle's restraint system;
-- Parents should check their vehicle owner's manual and the instructions
provided with their child safety seat for correct use information.
-- When driving, be sure to sit as far back as practical -- the U.S.
Department of Transportation recommends that there be 10 inches from
your chest to the center of the steering wheel.
This was a national survey of 723 adult drivers conducted by Public
Opinion Strategies between November 29 and December 2, 1999 and has a margin
of error of +/- 3.64% in the 95% confidence interval.
The Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign is a public/private partnership of
automotive manufacturers, insurance companies, child safety seat
manufacturers, government agencies, health professionals and child health and
safety organizations. The goal of the Campaign is to increase the proper use
of safety belts and child safety seats and to inform the public about how to
maximize the lifesaving capabilities of air bags while minimizing the risks.
