Government To Require Head Protection In New Vehicles

WASHINGTON (AP) _ New passenger vehicles will be required to provide head protection for side crashes in 2013 model-year vehicles, the government said Wednesday. <br/><br/>The safety upgrades, which have

Wednesday, September 5th 2007, 11:15 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ New passenger vehicles will be required to provide head protection for side crashes in 2013 model-year vehicles, the government said Wednesday.

The safety upgrades, which have been under review since 2004, could save more than 300 lives and prevent more than 400 serious injuries annually through the installation of side air bags that protect the torso and side curtain air bags that guard the head.

The regulations, announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, are designed to reduce deaths and injuries of motorists who are struck by another car or truck along the vehicle's side.

Side-impact crashes killed 9,200 people in 2005, the most recent figures available, or about 29 percent of motorists killed in passenger vehicles.

The auto industry has voluntarily agreed to install side air bags in all new passenger vehicles by September 2009 and the safety equipment, including air bags that provide more protection in rollover accidents, is becoming more widely available.

``Safety is the industry's number one priority,'' said Dave McCurdy, president and chief executive of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and others.

Under the government's plan, automakers will be required to phase-in the head protection in 20 percent of passenger vehicles in the 2010 model year, 50 percent by the 2011 model year, 75 percent in 2012 vehicles and in all passenger vehicles for 2013 models. All new passenger vehicles will need to comply by September 2012.

The new rules do not require specific types of technologies to meet the new standards, but automakers will likely use side curtain air bags and air bags that protect the chest and abdomen. About 47 percent of 2008 model year vehicles already have the combination of side curtain air bags and side air bags that protect the torso, NHTSA said.

Automakers will need to comply with a new test that simulates a vehicle striking a tree or a pole in the driver's side. They will also need to conduct crash tests using dummies the size of a small woman and a more technologically advanced male dummy of average height.

``With these rigorous new regulations, we are building on the strength of innovative and lifesaving side-impact technologies that are already available to new car drivers,'' said Nicole Nason, the safety agency's administrator.

Safety and consumer groups have touted the benefits of side air bags. A study last year by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that driver deaths were reduced by 52 percent in sport utility vehicles equipped with head-protecting side air bags, while the same air bags reduced driver deaths by 37 percent in passenger cars.