Press Release March 23, 1998	Contact: Andy Norton, 914-378-2436 Consumers Union Yonkers Office

BELTS, BAGS AND ANTI-LOCK BRAKES:
A CONSUMER REPORTS SAFETY WISH LIST

HOW CONSUMER REPORTS TESTS CARS:

· WE BUY all the cars we test from dealers, just as consumers do. · WE TEST all cars at our own auto test track, with safety as a central theme in all tests. · WE SURVEY our millions of subscribers to provide information on the reliability of auto models. · WE ACCEPT NO ADS. Nor do we allow the use of our reports or Ratings for commercial purposes.

YONKERS, NY – These days, 68 percent of Americans use safety belts – a dramatic rise from the early 1980s, when fewer than 15 percent buckled up.

But even greater gains are needed to reduce the nation’s highway death rate, according to Consumer Reports. In its annual April Auto Issue, the magazine joins state and federal officials in calling for an increase in safety-belt usage to 90 percent by the year 2005. Toward that end, Consumer Reports supports letting police officers ticket drivers they spot not wearing safety belts. (Now, in most states, motorists cannot be cited for being beltless unless they are first pulled over for another offense.)

Getting more motorists to buckle up (and fewer to drive drunk) are mainstays of a government plan to lower the motor-vehicle fatality rate by 35 percent over the next decade. For its part, Consumer Reports recommends safety belts that include a pretensioner, which takes up slack in the belt in the event of a crash, so you are not thrust forward. The April issue’s unique safety tables can guide consumers to the 1998 models equipped with pretensioners, and to models with two other critical safety features: air bags and anti-lock brakes.

Virtually all 1998 vehicles come with driver and front-passenger air bags, the magazine notes. And most bags now inflate less "aggressively" than older models, reducing risk to children and short adults. The safety tables also identify vehicles with side air bags. Standard on some luxury models, these should become more available as demand grows.

Consumer Reports strongly recommends anti-lock brakes, which allow a car to stop sooner and straighter on wet pavement. Anti-lock brakes also let you steer when you brake, so you can avoid an obstacle that you would hit if your wheels were locked up. Anti-lock brakes are standard on more than half the 1998 models.

Other safety initiatives originating with or endorsed by Consumer Reports include:

• Rollover Standard: Over the years, Consumer Reports tests have shown that some sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) have a propensity to tip up in emergency avoidance maneuvers. Of the SUVs involved in fatal crashes, government statistics show, 37 percent rolled over – more than any other vehicles. In 1997, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) agreed to Consumers Union’s call for creation of an emergency-handling test. CU, publisher of Consumer Reports, continues to press the agency to develop that standard.
  
• Redefine SUVs and Minivans: The federal government should categorize SUVs and minivans as passenger cars – not light trucks – for emissions, safety and fuel-economy purposes. Manufacturers would then have to lighten SUVs and minivans (to boost their fuel efficiency) and lower the bumpers on SUVs, making them less dangerous to other vehicles.
  
• Offset-Crash Standard: The federal NHTSA tests cars for head-on and side-impact crashes, but only the private-sector Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) performs offset crash testing. Consumer Reports believes this test – which simulates cars colliding head-to-head, but off-center – should also be required. The April issue’s safety tables contain results of both the government’s and the institute’s crash tests, where available.
  

Consumer Reports, which has been evaluating and defining automotive safety for more than 60 years, also includes "injury claim rates" in its April safety tables. These measures give an idea of how often occupants have been injured in accidents, based on data gathered by the IIHS. Comparisons for each vehicle are made with all vehicles, and with cars of the same type.

In addition, the April issue includes tips on how to avoid an accident. Among the easiest to observe: slow down. Speeding – including driving within the posted speed limit, but too fast for conditions – was a factor in 30 percent of fatal crashes in 1996, according to the NHTSA.

And for more on safe driving, look for "Staying Alive," a half-hour special from Consumer Reports Television that begins airing May 15 on public television stations nationwide. The program, narrated by Academy Award winner Jason Robards, takes a hard look at car safety and gives viewers the facts they need to protect themselves on the road.

The April issue of Consumer Reports will be available March 31 wherever magazines are sold. To order the report on safety by fax or mail through Consumer Reports by Request, at a cost of $7.75 per copy, call 800-419-9824 and specify code 9979. The report will also be available March 31. In addition, information and articles from Consumer Reports can be accessed online at www.ConsumerReports.org.