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GM Air Bag Shutoff System Announced

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WARREN, Michigan, October 31, 2002; The AP reports that most of General Motors Corp.'s 2003-model full-size pickups and sport utility vehicles are equipped with a sensing system capable of automatically shutting off the front passenger air bag.

The system is designed to prevent the air bag from deploying when a rear-facing infant seat, a forward-facing child restraint or a booster seat is detected, GM said Wednesday. It also is designed to deactivate the air bag if no passenger is detected.

Automakers and government regulators recommend that children under age 12 always ride in the back seat. Air bags were designed to protect adults; coming out of the dashboard at speeds of up to 200 mph, the force can be too strong for small children and can cause head and neck injuries.

GM still recommends that children ride in the back seat of vehicles equipped with the air bag sensing system, whether they are in a rear-facing infant seat, a forward-facing child seat, a booster seat or are wearing a seat belt.

"For some children who have outgrown child restraints and for some very small adults, the passenger sensing system may or may not turn off the right front passenger's frontal air bag, depending upon the person's seating posture and body build," said Bob Lange, GM executive director of vehicle safety.

"Everyone in the vehicle who has outgrown child restraints should wear a properly fitting safety belt -- regardless of whether the air bag is on for that person."

Ford Motor Co. will begin installing so-called smart air bags next summer in 2004-model Windstar minivans, Taurus and Sable cars and an unspecified truck line, spokeswoman Carolyn Brown said.

DaimlerChrysler AG plans to meet the federal requirement that 20 percent of its 2004 cars and light trucks be equipped with smart air bags, spokeswoman Angela Spencer Ford said.