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A. Side Air Bag Controversy (March/ April 2004)
It is difficult for me to understand why the CR industry has taken the position against SIABs. There has been no evidence that SRN has found so far that would forecast serious harm from a SIAB to a child properly harnessed in a child restraint. Side-impact air bags do not intrude very far into the occupant space.
The early SIABs were, almost universally, installed in the front seat only, so those would be primarily of concern regarding older children and adults leaning against the door of the vehicle in the front seat. Due to early concerns about front seat occupants, voluntary out-of-position (OOP) tests were developed by the auto industry for SIABs using child dummies. It would be very helpful to know which manufacturers have or have not adopted OOP testing of recent model vehicles with rear SIABs, along with which type (head or torso) of air bags are installed for back seat passengers.
Note that SIABs that meet the OOP tests actually have reduced deployment force, which may make them somewhat LESS effective for someone sitting properly positioned.
NHTSA side-impact dynamic testing is done on many current vehicles under New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) to assess chest injury potential using front and rear-seated adult dummies. Ratings based on these tests are reported on the NHTSA website in the section Buying a Safer Vehicle (reach it directly at www.safercar.gov). It does not describe the types of SIABs installed, however.
Parents should be informed about how important correct installation and a snug harness are to keeping a child contained in a CR as much as possible during a side-impact crash. Boosters with high backs and side wings that effectively hold the child’s head and shoulders in position while sleeping would be particularly useful in vehicles with rear SIABs.
Curriculum language on SIABs:
The new version of the standardized curriculum discusses the voluntary tests, which it says have only been implemented for “head-only air bags” and states that “the current head-only side air bags have minimal interaction with and have not shown any safety risks for properly restrained or out-of-position children or adults.” (Module F) However chest SIABs and chest-head combinations “could pose a serious risk to children who are in close proximity to the air bag opening at the time of deployment.”
In Module I it further states: “There are no studies right now that indicate a child properly restrained in a child restraint is at risk from current side impact or curtain-style air bags, but unrestrained and out-of-position children could be injured.”
Note: “Close proximity” is not defined. Also, how many vehicles have rear-seat chest and chest-head combination air bags?
B.New Study on Side Impact Air Bag Effectiveness (Sept/Oct 2003)
The latest research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) indicates that side-impact air bags (SIABs) that cover the areas of the windows most likely to injure an occupant’s head are reducing deaths by about 45 percent. The torso air bags that come out of the vehicle seat or the door are only about 10 percent effective. There is evidence that head-protecting ABs can also compensate to some degree for the extra hazards posed by a truck or SUV with a high bumper hitting a regular passenger car laterally.
Some head-protecting ABs are combination torso-head air bags, but most are side-curtains that deploy down from the ceiling along the window. The side-curtain air bags usually cover the back as well as the front-side windows. In the 2003 model year, 40 percent of models were equipped with head-protecting side air bags; 24 percent were standard equipment.
Regarding the protection of children: those riding correctly harnessed in child restraints or boosters with side wings are likely to benefit from the side air bags. Most of the SIABs in back seat positions are side-curtain designs. Children or adults who are unrestrained or leaning against the side of the vehicle are unlikely to be injured since most or virtually all of the current and recent side air bag models have been designed to pass the voluntary out-of-position (OOP) occupant tests. The voluntary OOP tests utilize a child dummy in poses such as leaning against the door, lying across the seat, and kneeling on the seat while looking backward.
Reference
IIHS Status Report, August 28, 2003, includes lists of side air bag-equipped vehicles from model years 2003–2004, www.highwaysafety.org, 703-247-1500.
C. Understanding advance air bags (July/Aug 2003)
Beginning in September, some 2004- model-year vehicles must come equipped with advanced air bags (AABs), as the newest generation of air bags required under FMVSS 208 is phased in.
NHTSA has found that there are many misconceptions about AABs among people who are aware of them. The agency and vehicle manufacturers are concerned that the presence of AABs does not lead vehicle owners to revert to past behavior of allowing children to ride in the front seat. NHTSA is urging all those concerned with child passenger safety to join in an effort to understand AABs better and publicize the back-seat message this fall.
What are advanced air bags?
Advanced air bags are frontal air bags designed with the goal of reducing the likelihood of an air bag-related injury to out-of-position occupants and children, especially in low-speed collisions. There are many different methods used by various manufacturers to achieve the goal. That means there is no one simple explanation of how they work. Some of the technologies used for AABs have been introduced during the past several model years, so many newer vehicles already offer some or all of the features of those required by FMVSS 208 (FMVSS 208-compliant AABs).
The objective of the FMVSS 208-compliant AAB requirements is to make frontal air bags more effective at protecting unbelted adults than current air bags, without increasing the likelihood of air bag-related injury or death. This means that, in many models, the AABs will have a higher maximum power but also the capability of reducing power or shutting off the air bag temporarily depending on the weight, position, posture, or restraint use of the front seat occupant. For a 6-year-old or smaller child dummy, the AB must be either depowered or turned off.
A vehicle will use a variety of different technologies to adjust the inflation characteristics of the AAB. In some vehicles, a warning light on the instrument panel will come on if the air bag is temporarily turned off, unless the seat is empty. Each technology may respond somewhat differently to a particular situation, so owners should look for specific explanations in the owner’s manual for their vehicle.
Possible scenarios: 1) If AAB sensors detected a rear-facing infant in a restraint anchored with a seat belt in the passenger seat, it would suppress the air bag temporarily. 2) If the right seat were totally unoccupied, the air bag would not inflate. 3) If a very short driver were seated close to the steering wheel, the AAB would not inflate or would inflate with reduced force.
How will people know if the air bags in their vehicle are AABs?
The most important source of information is the owner’s manual. Vehicles that comply fully also have a modified yellow warning label on the sun visor. It has the sub-head “Even with Advanced Air Bags” under the headline: WARNING.
At least 20 percent of the 2004 fleet will have AABs that will comply fully with the unbelted test requirements of FMVSS 208. In September 2004, 65 percent of new vehicles will have AABs and, a year later, all new vehicles will have them. In fact, some 2003-model-year vehicles already meet all FMVSS 208-AAB requirements.
There are many vehicles made since 1999, even some 2004 models, that meet the child-related air bag suppression requirements of FMVSS 208 but not all the test requirements with the unbelted dummies. Those may not have the warning label or warning light that are part of the FMVSS 208 requirements. The owner’s manual is the best source of information on all AAB features.
How should parents and other caregivers respond to AABs?
• Children should continue to ride in the back seat whenever possible. Children are always safer in the back seat (except in the back seat of the smallest pickup trucks). There is a 33-percent lower risk of injury to a child in the back seat, regardless of whether the vehicle has air bags.
• Anyone riding in the front seat should always buckle up and sit properly (upright and centered, with feet on the floor).
• Drivers should read their vehicle owner’s manual to understand the kinds of air bags installed in their vehicle.
• If a child is placed in front, whether in a restraint or seat belt, or unrestrained, the AAB should detect this condition and adjust to it. However, it would not be able to detect a child riding on another passenger’s lap.
• If parents have no other option than to transport a forward-facing child in a front passenger seat with an AAB, follow the same regimen as with any AB. Make sure the child is properly restrained, the vehicle seat is moved as far rearward as possible, and the child does not lean forward. If there is a status light, check to make sure the AAB is off. (However, some systems may reduce power rather than turning off the AAB completely.) In a small pickup or sports car, use the AB on/off switch.
• In pickups and sports cars with LATCH anchors in the front seat, the AAB system may not turn off if the child and the restraint are relatively heavy and the CR is installed tightly using the LATCH anchors. The system cannot sense tension on LATCH straps separate from child and CR weight, as it can with seat belts. The system might “think” that there is an unbelted heavier occupant seated there, so it would stay on. To assure that the AAB is off when using LATCH in front, the driver should manually turn off the AB.
Further information will be found on NHTSA website by late August.
D. Air Bag Warnings Reinforced Despite Technology Advances (Jan/Feb 2003)
Vehicle makers prevailed in a decision regarding air bag warning labels for advanced air bags. Following manufacturers’ urging, NHTSA ruled to strengthen wording for warning labels on sun visors even though advanced air bag technology is designed to protect those occupants better than current designs. An earlier NHTSA draft proposal would have deleted or softened the language.
Under FMVSS 208, advanced air bags for frontal crashes will be phased into passenger vehicles starting this fall (model year 2004). Twenty percent of 2004 vehicles must comply with the advanced air bag requirements. These air bags rely on sensors to detect by size or weight the presence of a child or small adult in the vehicle seat. In a collision, the sensor signals modulate or prevent air bag deployment based on the occupant of the driver’s seat or the front right passenger seat.
The vehicle makers argued to NHTSA that Advanced Air Bag technology—from any supplier—is not yet reliable enough to justify deleting existing air bag warnings, especially regarding children.
The agency decided to add the phrase “even with advanced air bags” to the yellow sun-visor label. The decision regarding label requirements did not address content of educational messages. A NHTSA spokesperson explained to USA Today: “Regardless what the label says, the message continues to be that children belong in the rear under any circumstance.”
—Sue Miller Smith
Reference
Federal Register, Jan. 6, 2003, Vol. 68 No. 3, pp. 504–515
E.Misuse of Air Bag Switches Puts Kids and Adults at Risk (March/ April 2004)
A NHTSA report has found that air bag (AB) on/off switches are not always switched off for children and sometimes are left off for adult and teenage passengers. The survey in 2000 in four states included 617 cases where at least one front seat passenger was an infant or child under age 13. The AB was off for only 86 percent of the rear-facing infants and 52 percent of children age 1 to 12. That means that 14 percent of the most vulnerable, rear-facing babies riding in such vehicles are at high risk of death from a frontal air bag and 48 percent of the older children are at risk of serious injury. The incidence of active air bags went up from about 25 percent for children age 1 to 6 and jumped to 41 percent for 7 to 8 year olds. For teens 13 to 15, ABs were turned off in 22 percent of the cases. When a child and two adult were in the front seat, the AB was on in 38 percent of the cases, protecting the right-front adult but possibly putting the child at risk, at least in some vehicles. When only adults were in the vehicle, 17 percent of the ABs were off.
Most owners knew that their vehicles (mostly small pickups) had a switch and understood its function but were not well informed about some aspects of use. They generally knew that it should be used to turn off the air bag when an infant or small child was in the front seat, but they were not clear that children as old as 12 could be in danger or that teens would benefit from the air bag.
Some owners said they preferred to leave the air bag off all the time, so they wouldn’t forget to turn it off when their children were in the front seat. That means that some adults would not have the protection the air bag could provide.
Some people turn off the passenger air bag for elderly passengers, assuming that there is a risk to them comparable to that for a small elderly driver sitting very close to the steering wheel.
NHTSA intends to develop a public information and education campaign to make sure pickup truck drivers are aware of the correct use of the on/off switch. Meanwhile, CPS advocates and technicians should be sure to inform parents they work with about correct use. It will be essential to refer to the owner’s manual of a pickup-truck or sports car if the air bag cannot be switched off.
Reference
Results of the Survey on the Use of Passenger Air Bag On-Off Switches, Christina Morgan, NHTSA Technical Report, DOT HS 809 689, Nov. 2003, www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/Evaluate/809689/index.html
| Correct Use of Air Bag On/Off Switches: • Turn the switch OFF for a rear-facing infant or for a child up through age 12 in the right front or center front seat position. • Turn the switch ON for teens and adults, including the elderly. Switches and Advanced Air Bags AB switches will be installed until 2012 in vehicles with no back seat or a seat too small for a rear-facing child restraint. As advanced air bags (AABs) are installed in new vehicles, the switch may become less necessary although children will continue to be best protected in the back seat. However, at present the use of LATCH instead of a safety belt for CR installation in the front seat of some vehicles will mean that the sensors in the belt will not trigger suppression of the AAB. To correct this problem, vehicle manufacturers are removing the LATCH anchorages from the front seat, which means that, according to the federal standard, the air bag switch would also be removed. There would then be position in which to transport a rear-facing infant or a young child in such a vehicle. Technicians need to read the Vehicle Owner’s Manual regarding what actions can/must be taken if the airbag “Off/on” indicator light does not indicate that the airbag is turned off. |
A. LATCH Insights (March/April 2003)
Researching and editing the new edition of the LATCH/Tether manual was done with the help of a number of experts and staff of all the CR and vehicle manufacturers. It is not surprising that LATCH in the real world is very different from LATCH in the laboratory. Some insights gained from that process are:
• New lingo: The new terms related to LATCH can be confusing but will become easier once everyone begins to use them accurately. The glossary in the front of the manual provides a guide to terms such as anchors, attachments, and push-on and hook-on connectors.
• Going beyond the minimum: Some vehicle models have more than the minimum required number of LATCH anchors. They do offer more options for where a child restraint could be installed with LATCH, but, if more than two are in one row, instructions usually advise not to use all three LATCH positions at one time. Examples: 2003 Ford Expedition (three LATCH) and 2000–03 Windstar (four LATCH); 2000–2002 Mercury Villager (four LATCH); 2001Chrysler Town & Country and Voyager (four LATCH), 2001–03 PT Cruiser and Sebring four-door (three LATCH); 2003 Buick Century, LeSabre, Park Avenue, and Regal (three LATCH), 2002–03 Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo (three LATCH).
• Overweight vehicles: Two SUVs are above the weight limit of 8,500 pounds for vehicles covered by FMVSS 225 and therefore do not have to comply with the LATCH standard. They are the Ford Excursion and the Hummer H1. The smaller Hummer model does have LATCH.
• Connecting and disconnecting: Hook-on connectors can be hard to attach or detach in some cases, but the push-on connectors can also have problems especially on convertible CRs, on which moving the straps from one belt path to the other is problematic. Getting the connectors right side up or the adjusters on the outside can entail switching the connectors from one side to the other, not just from one belt path to another.
• Booster installation: One belt-positioning booster (BPB), the Recaro Start from Baby Trend, which weighs 22 pounds, requires tether use. Other combination child seat/BPBs are not to be used with tether or LATCH in the BPB mode, except early versions of Century combination seats, which allowed tether use in the BPB mode.
• Shying away from LATCH: Snug Seat and Columbia, makers of Special Needs CRs that can be used by children weighing much more than 50 pounds, are providing LATCH but prefer that the seat belt be used instead. They do not want LATCH used beyond 50 pounds. Snug Seat’s Gorilla must be retrofitted for LATCH at the factory; Columbia’s kit instructions go so far as to state that, if LATCH is used by children under 50 pounds, the seat belt must be used as well as the LATCH strap (and the tether). Over 50 pounds, the seat belt and tether must be used without the LATCH attachment.
• The biggest issue—Using LATCH in the center-rear seat: The most confusing and difficult issue to sort out among the experts was the center-rear installation of a CR if LATCH anchors are only in the outboard positions. Only a few vehicle models are equipped with designated center-rear LATCH positions (see Manufacturers’ Q&A, page 6).
Although there are some test results that indicate that lower anchor bars spaced wider or slightly closer than the standard width of 11 inches can work as well or better for some CRs, only Britax and Ford were willing to state publicly that some non-LATCH (wider) positions could be used. Other manufacturers felt that more tests were needed or that they could not predict how future CR designs might interface with their anchors. It was argued by some that great variations in seat belt types and anchor locations have been accepted without question for years, so LATCH anchor use should not be limited to only those 11 inches apart. (The FMVSS 213 test sled has the lap belt anchors spaced 21–22 inches apart.)
One intention of the developers of the universal anchorage standard was to eliminate guess-work for designers. By standardizing anchors, CR manufacturers would not have to consider a wide range of vehicle environments and vice versa. All products would be easy to use in the same way. Sticking with the designated LATCH positions unless both manufacturers allow use of inner-bars of outboard anchors eliminates any possible unpredicted problems in performance. Also, this is new technology and manufacturers need to gain experience with it.
Of course, it is not imperative that a consumer use the LATCH positions in his or her vehicle. A parent may prefer to use the center position with the seat belt as the anchor. There are distinct benefits to the center, if it is intended as a seating position. Correctly installing a CR with the seat belt and tether (if appropriate) in the center may be the best option for a single child in the back seat if a secure installation can be achieved there.
B. Q & A on LATCH* (Sept/ Oct 2003)
Q. Is the LATCH system or the safety belt preferred?
A. The LATCH system allows you to securely attach your safety seat in your car without using the vehicle belt and may provide a better installation. For seating positions with LATCH anchors, experts recommend trying the LATCH installation first and only using the vehicle belt in that seating position if LATCH, for some reason, results in a looser fit. If you want to use the center rear seat and no LATCH anchors are available (check the vehicle owner’s manual), try the vehicle belt to be sure you can get a tight installation. If you cannot, try the LATCH anchors in a different seating position.
Q. Is it better to use the center rear with the seat belt or the LATCH system in an outboard seating position?
A. LATCH is intended to improve and simplify installation. In many vehicles, the LATCH anchors are placed farther back than the seat belt anchors, so they will anchor the child restraint more effectively. However, the center rear has hypothetical advantages, being farther from a side impact. If there is only one child being transported and the center-rear seat belt (and tether for a forward-facing CR) anchors the child restraint tightly, then there would not be a major advantage to LATCH in the side position. Either type of installation should have less than one inch of movement toward the front or side.
* From the SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. website. Check out www.carseat.org for frequent updates on the Technical Encyclopedia and FAQs.
A. Rear Seat Use Reduces Risk to Kids by 33 Percent (July/ Aug 2003)
Research of Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS), the collaboration between State Farm Insurance and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has found a 33 percent reduction in the risk of injury to children seated in the back seat compared to those in the front. This statistic holds up regardless of the presence of an active passenger air bag and regardless of the type of restraints being used. The data were presented at the AAP Annual Meeting last fall but have not been published.
Tips Issued to Prevent Babies Being Left in Cars (July/ August 2004 SRN)
There has been a steady toll of babies dying in hot vehicles this summer, left there inadvertently by parents or caregivers. Knowing that sleeping babies can easily be forgotten by overstressed parents or due to a change in routine, Kids and Cars has these suggestions for all parents and caregivers:
- Keep a large teddy bear in the child's car seat when no one is in it. When the child is placed in the seat, put the teddy bear in the front passenger seat as a reminder that the child is in the seat.
- Start the “Look……….then Lock” habit of always opening the back door of your vehicle every time you park to make sure no child has been left behind. Put something you will need, like your cell phone, handbag, lunch, or brief case, on the floor in the back seat. This way it will become a habit.
- Always call your childcare provider, preschool, or babysitter if your child will not be dropped off on a particular day. Instruct your provider to track you down if your child does not arrive as expected. Give them every possible phone number to get in touch with you or a relative if the child is not dropped off.
Source: Kids and Cars, www.kidsandcars.org/