Child air bag deaths drop

A new national report shows the rate of child deaths from air bags has declined 90.3 percent between 1996 and 2000, despite the fact that the number of passenger air bags on the road has more than tripled to 80 million in the same time period.

The primary reason for the dramatic decline is a strong shift in how drivers are transporting children in motor vehicles. A new survey found no drivers of vehicles equipped with passenger air bags report they are placing children ages 0 to 4 in the front seat. Only 10 percent of these drivers say they allow children ages 5 to 12 to ride in front of an air bag.

"Clearly the message has gotten through to the majority of parents that children 12 and under should always ride correctly buckled in the back seat," said Chuck Hurley, executive director of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign of the National Safety Council. "It’s the combination of education, stronger seat belt and child passenger safety laws, and high visibility enforcement that has produced the awareness and behavior change we see today, and probably most importantly enforcement of the laws."