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Emergency Physicians Respond to New NHTSA Air Bag Rules

18 November 1997

Emergency Physicians Respond to New NHTSA Rules; Urge Caution in Installing Air Bag On-Off Switches

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 -- The American College of Emergency
Physicians today responded to new rules issued by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration by reminding people that air bags save lives and urged
those who are allowed to install air bag on-off switches in their vehicles to
use caution.
    "Air bags save lives, and when used properly put few people at risk," said
Dr. Nancy J. Auer, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
"Air bags work best with seat belts, and the risks that air bags pose to
children can virtually be eliminated by properly restraining them in the back
seat."
    Dr. Auer also said that under the new rules only a very limited number of
people are eligible to install the on-off switches, such as those with
qualifying medical conditions and drivers who are unable to sit more than 10
inches away from the steering wheel.  In addition, Dr. Auer gave the following
tips to help people survive a car crash and avoid ending up in the emergency
department:

    --  Always buckle your seat belt, and use both lap and shoulder belts.

    --  Adjust front seats as far back as practical, and always sit back in
        the seat; drivers should sit at least 10 inches away from the steering
        wheel.

    --  Place children 12 years old and younger in the back seat in seat belts
        or in properly buckled safety seats appropriate for their ages and
        sizes.

    --  Never place a child in a rear-facing safety seat in the front seat of
        a passenger-side air-bag equipped car.  Rear-facing infant seats
        should be installed in the center back seat according to
        manufacturers' instructions.

    ACEP supports development of technology, including advanced air bag
technology, to improve motor vehicle safety for all people.  While technology
is improved, ACEP supports efforts to increase the proper use of seat belts
and child safety seats in states through adopting and enforcing primary
enforcement seat belt use laws and strengthening and enforcing existing child
safety seat laws.  The combination of an air bag plus a lap/shoulder belt
reduces the risk of serious head injury by 75 percent, compared with a
38-percent reduction for belts alone.  Since their introduction in the 1980s,
air bags have been responsible for the deaths of 49 children and 38 adults,
most of whom were unbelted or improperly restrained.  They also have been
credited with saving the lives of more than 2,500 people.
    ACEP is a medical specialty representing more than 19,500 emergency
physicians committed to improving the quality of emergency care through public
education, research, and continuing medical education.
SOURCE  American College of Emergency Physicians