Child Air Bag Death Rate Cut 90.3% in 5 Years
Despite Advanced Technology, Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign
Report Shows Kids Still at Fatal Risk;
Message Remains 'Buckle Up Kids In Back!'
WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 The rate of child deaths from air bags
declined a remarkable 90.3 percent between 1996 and 2000. The rate declined
dramatically despite triple the number of passenger air bags on the road,
according to government highway safety data included in a report released
today by the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign of the National Safety
Council.
A primary reason for the decline is a stunning shift in how adults report
securing children in motor vehicles. A new survey found no drivers of
passenger air bag equipped vehicles report placing children -- newborns to
4-year-olds -- in the front seat. Only 10 percent of these drivers with
passenger air bags say they allow children 5-12 to ride in the front seat.
The study's authors noted that children are still being killed by air
bags, illustrating that self-reported behavior is not always the same as
actual behavior. But they said the shift in responses represents a sea-change
in the correct understanding of air bag safety. And a recent study published
in the journal Pediatrics using actual crash data confirms "a decline in
front-seating of children in vehicles involved in fatal crashes among all
types of vehicles and drivers."
"This improvement in highway safety is a welcome development, underscoring
the important results that can be achieved by people working together," said
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. "For the sake of your
children, please buckle them up in the back seat -- air bags save lives, but
they can be deadly for children."
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
air bags are credited with saving an estimated 7,224 lives. However, from 1996
to July 2001, more than 191 people -- including 116 children -- died from air
bag related injuries (including some fatalities still under investigation).
Virtually all of the children killed were either completely unrestrained or
were improperly buckled in the front seat.
Twenty-six children were killed by air bags in 1996, the year the Air Bag
& Seat Belt Safety Campaign was launched; there were then approximately 22
million vehicles equipped with passenger air bags in the U.S. fleet. Child
deaths rose to 34 in 1998 as the number of passenger air bags rose to nearly
50 million, and then fatalities declined to nine in 2000 as the number of
passenger bags in use rose to more than 80 million.
Several factors have contributed to the decline in air bag fatalities. A
number of states strengthened seat belt laws, and enforcement of those laws
was stepped up dramatically by most states.
Simultaneously, the Campaign, government agencies, safety groups and
private organizations conducted intense public education on the benefits and
risks of air bags. Industry made improvements to air bags, including de-
powering air bags to minimize the risk of injury in low severity crashes.
"This remarkable progress clearly demonstrates what can happen when
industry, government, advocacy groups and the public come together to tackle a
crisis," said Carol Carmody, acting chair of the National Transportation
Safety Board.
"It's the combination of education, stronger seat belt laws, and high
visibility enforcement that has produced the behavior change we see today,"
said Chuck Hurley, Executive Director of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety
Campaign of the National Safety Council. "But small children are still being
injured or killed because they were seated on the lap of an adult unrestrained
in the front seat, so while the Campaign has been successful, our work is not
done."
The report, Crisis to Progress: Five Years of Air Bag Safety in America,
documents the continuing challenges as children are still riding unrestrained
and still being killed by air bags. It notes that many of the air bag
equipped vehicles on the road have older, higher-powered air bags that pose
greater risks to occupants, particularly unrestrained children. Older air bag
equipped vehicles are moving into the hands of second and third owners who may
not be well-informed about air bag risks.
"Media attention to air bags has dropped, and that can lead people to be
complacent or to forget," said Jim Hedlund, Ph.D., who contributed to the
report. Hedlund is the former Associate Administrator of Traffic Safety
Programs, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The report documents the various improvements in air bag technology, a
continual process for vehicle and air bag manufacturers. Some of these
improvements already are standard equipment in recent model year cars,
including reduced power bags and multistage inflators that allow air bags to
respond differently depending on crash conditions.
"As air bags become smarter, they will never replace common sense," said
Jeffrey Runge, M.D., NHTSA Administrator. "Air bags and seat belts are
designed to work together, so it's imperative that everyone buckle up."
NHTSA estimates that the combination of an air bag plus a lap/shoulder
belt reduces the risk of serious head injury by 81percent compared with a 60
percent reduction for belts alone. The Campaign will continue its work to
reach owners of air bag equipped vehicles with the ABCs of air bag safety:
Always slide the seat back and sit back!
Buckle everyone!
Children in back!
The Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign, a program of the National Safety
Council, 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.
* Public Opinion Strategies conducted a national survey among 600 adults
who transport children age 12 or under June 12-14, 2001. The study has
a margin of error of +/- 4.0%.
