By Joyce Romine
Ah, Fall. The time of glowing crimson and gold leaves, crisp red apples and shiny new cars. A time when auto buffs eagerly anticipate the unveiling of new model year designs.
While consumers may be lured by the good looks of the new crop of sporty-yet-sophisticated SUVs, tough trucks and stylish minivans, it’s important to look for substance in the name of safety, too.
“Our focus for the past few years has been on child safety,” says Terry Rhadigan, manager of safety and legal communications at General Motors (GM). “If we can design a vehicle safe for kids then it’s also safe for adults.”
Rhadigan says an exciting new safety feature in 2000 models is a top tether anchor for child seats. The anchors attach to the vehicle and are used to secure a forward-facing child restraint. This feature is in the new Chevy Express van and the GMC Savana, both manufactured in the St. Louis area.
“GM feels so strongly about this safety feature that we’ve been installing them for free since 1997 in all GM vehicles,” Rhadigan says.
Ford Motor Company, which has one plant in St. Louis that manufactures the four-door Ford Explorer, also offers child seat tethers in the back seat to improve child safety. In addition, Ford is installing a new child safety seat anchorage system to provide a more secure attachment of the seat to the vehicle, reducing the likelihood of improper installation and increasing protection for children in an accident. The Windstar minivan and the new Ford Focus will be the first to have this system. All Ford vehicle lines will eventually have the system.
The new Ford system incorporates universal rigid metal securing points that connect directly to the vehicle. The child safety seat is placed directly onto the rear seat and connects to the rigid metal securing points. These points not only make installation of child seats easier and more secure, but eliminate the variability and guesswork associated with an array of non-standard designs and components.
“There’s nothing parents are more concerned about in their vehicles than those features that relate to their children’s safety,” says Lou Camp, director of Ford’s Automotive Safety Office. “This child seat anchoring system will not only be easy to use, but will be available in advance of any government timetable.”
Trunk entrapment is one key safety issue nearly every car maker is addressing. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) asked the National SAFE KIDS Campaign to convene an expert panel on trunk entrapment. The panel released recommendations calling for automakers to offer trunk release devices that can be installed on existing vehicles by the summer of 2000; and to include trunk safety features as standard equipment on all new vehicles by Jan. 1, 2001.
When 11 children died last summer after being trapped in car trunks, a team of GM engineers and other staff members sprang into action and took just four months to develop a Trap-Resistant Trunk Kit, available at a low-cost installation to customers. GM received national recognition for its immediate response.
The GM trunk latch kit includes an illuminated escape handle that is easy for children to use if they become entrapped. The kit includes a trunk “lock-out” latch that makes it difficult for young children to close trunk lids. Once a trunk is opened, it can’t be shut again until a lever is reset. Cars with a pass-through from a rear seat into a trunk have a third element—a tether that prevents children from folding down the rear seat.
To help parents learn more about the dangers of playing in cars and about the availability of the trap-resistant trunk kit, GM has produced a brochure together with the National SAFE KIDS campaign called “Trunks are for elephants...not for kids.”
DaimlerChrysler Corporation also offers a dealer-installed trunk-escape kit for most Dodge, Chrysler and Plymouth vehicles. Plus, a release mechanism is being developed for Mercedes Benz vehicles.
The trunk-escape kit includes a trunk latch and a small yellow handle. The handle is mounted inside the trunk lid and is connected to the latch by a cable. With a gentle turn, the handle releases the latch and opens the trunk. The device was designed to be operable by a 3-year-old child.
The trunk-escape device, designed to fit a child’s hand but also can accommodate an adult, is wired to the vehicle’s electric system. Each time the trunk closes a soft light is activated to illuminate the escape handle for one hour.
DaimlerChrysler is developing a plan to include the safety feature on all new vehicles by 2001. “We’re committed to making our vehicles as safe as possible,” says Susan Cischke, vice president of safety affairs at DaimlerChrysler. “We fully support NHTSA and the expert panel in their effort to prevent serious injuries and deaths caused by trunk entrapment. We also are adding warnings to our owner manuals and other educational materials emphasizing the importance of keeping children away from trunks.”
Ford is the first automaker to install a standard emergency trunk release system on a range of passenger cars beginning with the 2000 models.
“All Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars sold in the United States and Canada will come equipped with this potentially lifesaving technology at no cost to customers,” says Ken Kohrs, vice president, Ford’s Large and Luxury Vehicle Center.
Ford’s new emergency trunk release system uses a cable-operated release to help prevent children and victims of carjackings from becoming trapped inside car trunks. Inside the trunk, a cable is attached to a T-shaped handle made of a special phosphorescent material that glows in the dark following brief exposure to light.
