President's Perspective

In November the U.S. government unveiled rules to allow on/off switches for air bags to be fitted to some vehicles; within a few days, the Canadian government followed suit. We hope very few Canadians will apply for the switches.

North America wide, air bags have saved thousands of lives over the last 10 years. Fewer than 90 deaths have been attributed to the devices, mainly individuals who were not properly restrained.

Who will assume the cost to install a deactivation switch? More importantly, who will assume the liability if someone is needlessly killed because the air bag was turned off? In both cases, the answer appears to be the vehicle owner.

Fears that air bags kill children prompted the demand for on/off switches. Unfortunately, these fears deflect from the real safety issue - that most child passengers are not properly restrained.

During the month of December in our local Ottawa area alone, six children were killed in vehicle crashes. Evidence indicates these children could not have been properly restrained. Such incidents are far too common, yet during the entire year of 1997, not one child in Canada was killed by an air bag.

If you're concerned about keeping children safe in your car, truck or van, our advice is simple. Buckle them up properly.

Emile-J. Therien

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