In auto safety, the question is whether to belt, bag or brake-and when?
There are government regulations on seatbelts and air bags; there is no federal standard on anti-lock brakes.
By the end of 1998 (the 1999 model year) all cars and trucks sold in the United States will be required by federal law to have air bags on the driver and passenger sides. Congress says passenger cars must have air bags on both sides of the front seat by the end of 1997 (the 1998 model year); trucks must comply by the following year.
Manufacturers worldwide would like to include anti-lock brakes, or ABS, as standard equipment on cars and trucks before the federal government makes it mandatory.
For 1992 and 1993 model-year cars and trucks you will need a list to know what vehicles have one or two air bags, or none.
Chrysler Corp. continues to brag that all of its North American-built passenger cars have driver-side air bags. Its new 1993-model family cars, code named L-H, will have driver- and passenger-side air bags. General Motors Corp.`s claim to fame is that it sold more air bag-equipped cars in 1991 than any other manufacturer-and more than all the Japanese companies combined. And Ford Motor Co. states that it has more air bag-equipped cars on the road than any competitor.
Looking to the future, the GM Ultralite concept car is the first vehicle to be displayed by any manufacturer with air bags for both the front- and back-seat occupants, on both sides. The Ultralite is on display in the Chicago Auto Show, in the Oldsmobile exhibit.
GM President Lloyd Reuss reminded that even if there are air bags protecting both front-seat areas, ”you still have to buckle the seat belt. Air bags protect only in event of a frontal impact-and only once.”
Air bags do not deploy in a broadside or rear-end collision.
Said Reuss: ”Wearing a safety belt decreases the chance of fatality by 42 percent, and wearing a belt in a car equipped with an air bag (raises) that number to just 46 percent. But just driving a car with air bags and not wearing a safety belt decreases the chance of a fatality by only 18 percent.” All domestic automakers say they`ll have driver- and passenger-side air bags standard on all cars by the end of 1994. Although the carmakers are stepping up plans to have air bags on both sides in all their truck models, industry experts believe they may not beat the 1999 deadline because inclusion will require a total redesign of the dashboard.
Compliance by Asian companies-especially on their smaller, less expensive models-may end up going right to the 1998 deadline, the industry experts say, because most Japanese manufacturers chose to go with less expensive automated seat belts to meet U.S. regulations. Redesigning those cars for air bags on both sides of the front seat thus will be a major chore.
Because the majority of the European automakers already have air bags on one or both sides of the front seat, their full compliance is not seen as a problem, especially with their upscale cars, the experts added.
There`s a new factor in play concerning seat belts.
Last year, Chrysler offered for the first time a built-in, child safety seat as an option on one of its mini-vans. For 1992, it`s available as a $200 option on all of the Chrysler-built mini-vans. The child safety seat is a rear seat that can hold an adult passenger but has a fold-out area that converts into a government-approved belted child`s seat. In the fall, the automaker will offer the seat as a $100 option on its new L-H passenger cars.
Now carmakers worldwide are scrambling to develop built-in, child-safety- seat systems for all models.
A lot of GM`s advertising budget is going toward highlighting anti-lock brakes. The company`s reasoning is that ”crash avoidance is much better than crash protection,” Reuss said.
”In emergency situations crash-avoidance systems (braking and handling)
would be used more than 99 percent of the time. Crash protection systems (air bags and seat belts) would be used about 1 percent of the time.”
With anti-lock brakes, mechanical or electronic sensors register when a wheel is locked or about to lock, which can cause the tires to stop rotating and usually puts the vehicle into a skid. The sensors notify an on-board computer, which applies the brake repeatedly to the wheel that needs it. This repeated braking keeps the wheels turning. ABS works regardless of road conditions.
ABS already is standard on most domestic light trucks and on some domestic and foreign cars. However, it has been limited to more expensive passenger cars because of the added cost, $900 to $1,200.
Now the Delco subsidiary of GM and the Tevas division of ITT, a world-wide auto parts supplier, have simplified two-wheel ABS, which cuts the cost to approximately $250 and $350 a vehicle.
GM is first in making the system standard on an entire compact car lineup, the N cars: Chevrolet`s Corsica and Berreta, Oldsmobile`s Achieva, Pontiac`s Grand Am and Buick`s Skylark.
How soon ABS will be standard or at least available on all or most vehicles is not known; no manufacturer will announce a time-table.
However, Reuss called crash-avoidance systems, which include ABS, ”an emerging trend that will be as important as the advent of restraints was more than a quarter century ago.”
Since ABS is predominantly electronically controlled through on-board computers, other driving aids quickly will be added, according to industry observers.
The most notable is traction control.
”The same sensors that detect wheel lockup with ABS can be used to detect uncontrolled wheel-spin during accelleration,” said Gary Dickinson, vice president for technical staffs at GM. ”They can help correct that situation automatically with no effort on the driver`s part.”
Use of traction control is sparse, with just GM and Ford offering it on selected models for 1992.
Nine GM models, ranging in price from $17,000 to $60,000, have full-time traction control, which means that the system is activated whenever the power wheels spin during startup or while cornering at higher speeds. Ford is offering traction control only on its Lincoln Town Car. Ford`s system is a part-time one, used only during startup; it disengages once an approximate speed of 35 miles an hour is reached.
Automatic suspension is another safety and handling system that`s being used sparingly, but it`s being researched thoroughly.
For more than a decade, automakers have toyed with variable suspension. It originally was used to give the driver the choice of a cushy or sports-car ride.
Now it`s being touted as a safety system. It would be used to determine if a vehicle is rounding a corner at a faster-than-desired speed and would adjust accordingly to give the vehicle enough ”driveability” to get into and out of the situation safely.
Automatic suspension is available on most Mercedes-Benz models and a few BMWs and domestic and Japanese luxury models.
There is no time-table for making traction control or automatic suspension standard on most vehicles. However, industry experts expect automakers to move as quickly as possible so that these safety features would be in place before regulations are mandated by the U.S. government.
