Insurer Applauds New Auto Standard

The motor vehicle safety standard for side impacts, announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this month, should save an estimated 300 lives a year and reduce hundreds of injuries, an insurer said.

Los Angeles-based Farmers Insurance Group Inc., noting the projected reduction in fatalities, said it supports Safety Standard 214 requiring automakers to conduct new side-impact crash tests that will likely lead to installation of more side air bags.

The NHTSA, in announcing the rule Sept. 5, said while it does not require specific technologies to meet its new performance requirements, manufacturers likely would meet this upgraded rule with various types of innovative head, chest and pelvis protection systems, such as side curtain air bags and thorax air bags.

The new rule will require that manufacturers begin equipping all vehicles with improved side-impact protection that meets the federal standard, beginning with a phase-in schedule that starts in 2009.

For the first time, automakers, under the new rule, will have to use a dummy representing a small adult female in side-impact performance testing and a new and more technically advanced dummy representing an adult male of average height will also be used in crash testing.

“Farmers fully supports this effort as a means to protect our customers,” noted Kevin Mabe, a Farmers economist.

He said, “The standard mandates a new crash test for automakers that mimics a 20-mph impact at a 75-degree angle. Additionally, the NHTSA has introduced guidelines for automakers to provide head protection for rear seat passengers.”

Mr. Mabe noted a requirement that vehicles under 8,500 pounds must provide safety measures to comply with the test by late 2012. Heavier vehicles, from 8,500 to 10,000 pounds, have an additional year to fully meet regulations.

Farmers mentioned that automakers' efforts to install side air bags across their vehicle fleets began as early as late 2003, even before an original NHTSA proposal in 2004 that called for side air bag guidelines.

“Both the NHTSA and automakers recognize the safety benefit of such measures,” Mr. Mabe said. “In our own study released earlier this year, Farmers shows that air bags of all types reduce the odds of a driver fatality by nearly 10 percent. Coupled with seat belt use, the odds plummet by nearly 75 percent,” he added.

Mr. Mabe said he also expects a dampening effect on both the frequency and severity of bodily injury claims because of the new measure. “We've quantified the effects of safety devices on our loss trends,” he said. “Aside from protecting our customers' lives, increased use of safety devices lowers the probability for injury claims.”