Taking The Hill
by Stephen B. McDonald Air Bag Labels
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has promulgated final regulations requiring vehicles with air bags to bear warning labels about the risk of air bag injuries, especially to children. Two of the labels replace existing labels on the sun visor. The third is a temporary label on the dash. These new labels would not be required on vehicles having a "smart" passenger-side air bag (i.e. an air bag that would automatically shut off or adjust its deployment so as not to adversely affect children). This rule also requires rear-facing child seats to bear a new, enhanced warning label to replace the existing label. NHTSA hopes that the new labels will increase the number of people who read and understand the message on the warning labels.EPA Air Quality Regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new air quality standards to reduce emissions or air particulates, while also lowering the limit for ozone. The rules, if promulgated, will replace standards that have been in effect since 1979. Despite a host of measures, including tailpipe testing and stricter new car emission standards, a number of counties and cities cannot meet the current limits. Others currently complying with federal standards will be unable to meet the new limits unless they take steps to reduce pollution from motor vehicles and industries. With regard to ozone, the proposal will call for the establishment of a new eight-hour standard that caps allowable ozone levels at .08 parts per million. However, unlike the existing standard, which only allows an area to exceed the .12 standard once a year, the EPA's new standard would determine compliance by averaging an area's third highest reading over a three-year period. In the case of particulate matter, the EPA's proposal calls for the establishment of a fine particle standard that is targeted at those particles that are less than 2.5 microns in diameter.Air Bag Deactivation
NHTSA has issued a proposal allowing dealers or other authorized automotive technicians to deactivate the air bags of any vehicle owner who requests it. The agency is also proposing to require that warning labels be installed as a condition of deactivation. The proposal, should it become a regulation, would have the effect of rendering voluntary the use of a safety device for which the federal government set requirements in 1991. Auto manufacturers still would have to install driver and passenger air bags in all cars by next fall and in all trucks a year later. ASA has opposed the proposal, citing liability concerns.Anti-lock Brakes
A study released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reveals that cars equipped with anti-lock brakes are more likely to be involved in fatal crashes than cars with regular brakes. The institute believes that many of these fatal crashes stem from a lack of familiarity with how anti-lock brakes should be operated and not because the anti-lock brakes are defective. The correct way to handle anti-lock brakes is to press hard on the brake pedal and maintain the pressure until the driver is able to steer safely around the hazard. Many drivers are pumping these brakes, increasing the stopping distance. Others disengage the brake prematurely when they mistake the pulse of the brakes as brake failure.EPA
The EPA Office of Compliance is preparing a general survey checklist to determine the compliance of automotive repair shops with agency regulations. The information will be collected by students from four community colleges in different regions of the country. The survey will be repeated 24 months after the initial survey is completed to determine if compliance outreach programs developed by the agency have had an impact on compliance rates. Repair shops will participate on a voluntary basis and the information collected will be treated with confidentiality. In addition, the EPA will not know which shops were surveyed.ASA Main Page || AutoInc. Main Page
1997: A Test For Regulatory Review || Directions In Management || DIS: Using An Automotive Scope || Bridging The Gap || Paint Shop Health Concerns || Adequate Respirators Crucial For Employee Health || Guest Editorial: Nine Characteristics Of A Target Customer || Tech To Tech || Tech Tips || News Briefs || Taking The Hill || Around ASA || Shop Profile || Net Worth || Chairman's Message
AutoInc. Magazine ®, Vol. XLV No. 2, February 1997