If you’re planning a dinner party, don’t bother inviting them (they’re
excruciatingly dull). But if you’re thinking about building a new car and
want to make it as safe as possible for drivers and passengers of all sizes,
these are the folks to turn to. America, meet the crash test dummy family:
Mom, Dad and three kids. According to an announcement Friday from the U.S.
Transportation Department, this nuclear gang will begin replacing
traditional one-size-fits-all dummies in automobile crash tests immediately,
thereby enhancing the efficacy of air bags and other safety devices.
Until now, air bags and seat belts have been tested on dummies modeled after
an average-size man, a practice, critics charge, that has put smaller adults
and most children at risk. When an air bag deploys, its force is directed
into what would be a grown man’s chest. Women and children, on the other
hand, end up taking the brunt of the energy in the head and neck – a design
flaw that’s been fatal in 158 cases since 1990. (Air bags have, however,
also saved an estimated 5,500 lives.) Friday’s announcement follows
considerable criticism of the government’s mandated crash test procedure in
the past decade. This clamor is unlikely to die down any time in the near
future; transportation officials have also locked horns with consumer
advocates who argue that the government’s crash scenarios need to cover not
only a wider array of passenger sizes, but a variety of speeds, passenger
positions and angles of impact. So while Friday’s modification will please
many DOT critics, it certainly won’t placate all of them – a long-standing
pattern that beleaguered transportation officials have undoubtedly learned
to live with. (J. Reaves)
