Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-09-02

. Forty per cent Of all injured
drivers are hurt by steering wheel
assemblies SO per cent Of in
jured front seat passengers by in
strument panels, windshields, pro-
truding objects.
. Half the injury producing acci-
dents occur at impact speeds Of 40
miles an hour or below.
1856 Sow Forward Steps
Safety features introduced In
1856 cars were based partly on such
evidence and partly on research by
car makers.
The big three-Ford, Chrysler.
General Motors - devised safety
latcheS to keep doors closed when
distorted under impact Of fiipovers.
Seat belts to keep you from slid
ing forward or to take up much Of
the collision energy before giving
way, were made optional equip
ment. Padded instrument panels
not a brand-new idea-also were
optional, with new research con-
Quoted to find the best energy
absorbing materials.
Ford made q recessed steering
wheel standard equipment, de-
signed to give several inches under
impact and absorb as well as dis
tribute the blow to the drivers
chest If he pitched forward. At
least two companies experimental
with telescoping steering wheels,
finding them costly and probably
difficult to mass produce satisfac-
torily.
How effective are these steps?
Through official cooperation Of
State police and physicians in IL
States, facts. photographs and
sketches of thousands of accidents
are being gathered at Cornell and
analysed. The project is supported
now by the Army. United States
Public Health Service, and Ford and
Chrysler, the latter two contribu-
ting 100000 each for two years.
Some findings to date:
SEAT BELTS: Not enough COM
parative accidents yet for a solid
anSwer-expected sometime this fall
but evidence points to significant
savings Of lives and prevention of
injuries. Some auto makers and
physicians predict seat belts, worn
universally, might save 5000 to TO-
600 lives annually. Others are very
pessimistic about their value.
SAFETY DOOR LATCHES: Pre-
Hminary data on a small number of
comparative accidents indicates
nearly q two-thirds reduction in
frequency Of doors opening in &C
cidents in which there was no
Follower.
RECESSED STEERING
WHEELS: Not enough compare
tive data yet. but apparently a re-
duction In severe crushing type In
juries Of the chest.
PADDINGS: The special forms
used do not yet cover this.
More lnformotion Needed
Auto safety engineers. among
them A. L. Haynes Of Ford and
Howard c. Gandelot of General
Motors, declare one need is for more
medical facts on human tolerances
and variations in withstanding
whiplash or other shocks, and what
human hips and abdomens can take
in the restraint of seat belts.
Higher horsepower has not
greatly increased average speed,
but has given greater maneuver-
ability in passing on two-Iane roads.
in entering traffic flow, and sim
ilarly adding to accident avoidance,
the auto makers say.
There is no panacea for auto
safety, declares Roy c. Haeusler.
Chrysler safety engineer. Changes
can be expected gradually, building
on experience and facts, and fitted
in with necessities Of costs and
style.
Nothing is likely to help you
much II you want to crack UP at
30 miles an hour, the engineers
warn. The safety features are in
tended to minimize rtsks-they
cannot guarantee lack Of injury.
cine Associated PTssO