Automakers , U.S. agency plan air bag safety ads .
DETROIT 1996-08-31
Automakers , suppliers , insurers and the federal government 's auto safety agency Saturday launched a $ 10 million safety awareness campaign aimed at reducing the number of children killed accidentally by air bags in cars and trucks .
Officials said they will work with law enforcement agencies , pediatricians and media to warn parents about the dangers that air bags pose to children and adults not wearing seatbelts .
Since 1993 , 24 children have been killed by the explosive force of automotive air bags , which inflate at speeds up to 200 miles per hour .
The first portion of the campaign involves pickup trucks equipped with billboards that were driving along some of the nation 's busiest interstate highways during the Labor Day weekend , including Interstate 95 on the East Coast , Interstates 80 and 90 in the Midwest and Interstate 5 in California .
The boards read : " Air Bag Safety : Everyone Buckled , Kids in Back . "
Janet Dewey , executive director of the industry-funded National Automobile Occupant Protection Campaign , said most of the injuries to children occurred because they were not wearing seatbelts .
A child 's chances of being killed in a car accident , whether the vehicle was equipped with an air bag or not , is reduced by 29 percent when they are in the rear seat , she said .
The auto industry was about three to six years away from introducing " smart " air bags with the ability to detect the size and position of an occupant and adjust inflation pressures accordingly .
Current air bags were designed to halt the forward momentum of an average-sized , unbelted adult male , not a small child .
Automakers petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to allow them to introduce air bags that inflate less aggressively to help reduce unwanted injuries .
" Even if changes are made to airbags today , we 'd still have 20 million vehicles on the road with current technology , " Dewey said . "
The public has n't been getting the message . "