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.rtfAIR BAGS IN POLICE CARS
Police departments in six states have agreed to participate in a program that will retrofit existing police cars with driver-side air bags, reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Beginning this fall, some 500 restraint systems will be installed in police vehicles in Arizona, Wisconsin, Maryland, Ohio, California, and Mississippi. The states will be required to furnish NHTSA with air-bag maintenance records and accident
"This represents the key in our effort to test the feasibility of retrofitting air bags into existing cars," says NHTSA deputy administrator Diane K. Steed. ''This actual fleet usage affords us the opportunity to dispel the 1970s myths about air bags, pro and oon, and to reintroduce the public to air-bag technology. We hope ultimately that this project will lead to the commercial availability of a retrofit air-bag system for every consumer who wants one.
Air-bag retrofit kits produced by Romeo-Kojyo Co. Inc. will soon be installed in state police cars.
The state of Arizona has agreed to modify and equip 130 of its fleet of late-model Ford LTDs with air bags. Arizona plans to maintain records on vehicle performance in accidents.
DOT also has entered into an agreement with the General Service Administration to purchase 5.000 compact cars equipped with driver-side air bags. The goal of this project is to make available to large fleet buyers -and eventually the public - an affordable domestic car equipped with an air bag.
Safety Opinions
The enormous attention recently given to drunk driving in the news media may have caused many Americans to become more concerned about the hazards of driving and more attentive to safety measures, according to
the American Institute of Public Opinion in Princeton, NJ, conductor of the Gallup Poll Recent surveys show that increasing numbers of drivers say that they used safety belts the last time they got in their cars - 25 per cent in a survey this summer as opposed to 17 per cent in a 1982 survey. Most drivers - 65 per cent - still would oppose a mandatory belt use law with a $50 fine, but support is 11 points higher than in 1982. Asked about passive restraints, 60 per cent said they would favor an air bag requirements, while 50 per cent support automatic seat belts.
Air Bag Purchase
The General Services Administration (GSA), the purchasing department of the federal government, announced in late February that it would buy 5.000 Ford automobiles equipped with air bags. The cost is about $7.000 each, of which $1.050 is for the air bags and other safety equipment. According to GSA, the purchase was part of the government's effort to encourage car-makers to offer competitively priced safety improvements so the public can purchase them.