GEICO Urges Careful Consideration Before Air Bag Deactivation
18 November 1997
GEICO Urges Careful Consideration Before Air Bag Deactivation
DALLAS, Nov. 18 -- Consumers should think more than twice
before deactivating air bags, urged one insurance official about today's
expected ruling on air bags issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration (NHTSA).
The expected ruling will allow certain vehicle owners to have on-off
switches installed which would allow them to deactivate the vehicle's air
bags. Consumers would have to meet two conditions: they would have to certify
that they read a brochure that spells out air bags' benefits, and that they
fall into one or more of the groups safety experts say face higher risk of
injury or death from air bags. Upon gaining NHTSA approval, consumers could
have the switches installed by a dealer or repair shop.
"Not only do air bags help save lives, but they greatly reduce the number
and severity of injuries sustained in auto accidents," said Jim Hitt, regional
vice president of Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) in Dallas.
"Vehicle owners who are considering deactivating their vehicle's air bags
should carefully weigh the consequences before proceeding."
Air bags have saved more than 2,000 lives to date, and prevented thousands
of severe injuries, said Hitt, whose company, GEICO, has reviewed and
supported air bag technology for two decades. Studies of the more than 650,000
air bag deployments in recent years credit air bags with a 20 percent
reduction in driver fatalities in frontal crashes, a 24 percent reduction in
hospital claims resulting from traffic crashes, and a 25-to-29 percent
decrease in moderate-to-severe injuries. By reducing fatalities and vehicular
injuries, air bags help contain health care expenses and, indirectly, the cost
of both government and private insurance programs.
Air bag systems operate as supplemental restraint systems to provide
additional occupant protection in frontal collisions. For optimal injury
prevention, air bags must be used in tandem with the vehicle's safety belts.
In a collision, the vehicle rapidly decelerates while its structure absorbs
the crash forces. Unbelted occupants continue to move forward at the vehicle's
original speed until restraint systems or the interior (windshield, steering
wheel, dashboard, etc.) stop them. Occupants buckled up come to a less severe
stop by being secured to the vehicle's structure.
The air bag system supplements the safety belt's protection by reducing
the likelihood that the occupant's head and upper body will strike part of the
vehicle's interior such as the steering wheel or windshield. It reduces the
risk of serious injury by distributing crash forces more evenly across the
occupant's body.
"Properly used restraint systems are especially critical for children,"
said Hitt. "Unfortunately, even today, 40 percent of children are still riding
unrestrained in cars, and, of those children who are buckled up, eight out of
10 are restrained incorrectly."
Hitt recommends that all children 12-and-under sit in the back seat when
traveling in a vehicle, and that all infants under a year old or weighing less
than 20 pounds be placed in the back seat in a rear-facing child safety seat,
never in the front seat of cars with a passenger-side air bag. An infant-only
seat (usually for children ages 1 to 4 and weighing up to 40 pounds) should be
replaced when it is outgrown with a forward-facing child safety seat;
carefully check the vehicle owner's manual to make absolutely sure the safety
seat is properly installed and secured.
Children over 4 years old or 40 pounds should be placed in a booster seat,
which raises children higher and ensures that the safety belt -- including the
shoulder belt -- fits properly. Proper fit means the shoulder belt rests
across the chest, not the neck, and the lap belt rides across the hips, not
the abdomen where it could cause serious internal or spinal injuries in a
crash. To use a shoulder and lap belt properly, a child must be at least
58 inches tall and weigh at least 80 lbs.
For adults' safety, Hitt recommends that drivers and front-seat passengers
in air bag- equipped cars (particularly shorter people) sit as far back as
practical from the air bag module and always wear safety belts.
For a free consumer brochure on vehicle occupant protection and air bags,
write to GEICO's Air Bag Brochure, GEICO Communications, One GEICO Plaza,
Washington, D.C. 20076. Additional information on occupant safety from the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety can be found on the Internet at
http://www.hwysafety.org.
GEICO Corporation is the parent company of Government Employees Insurance
Company, GEICO General, GEICO Indemnity and GEICO Casualty, which insure
private passenger automobiles and provide homeowner and other types of
insurance for qualified applicants.
SOURCE GEICO
