Home

« ‘BLACK BOX’ RULE ISSUED, CALLED INADEQUATE | Main | REAR CRASH PROTECTION LAGGING, IIHS CRASH TESTS SHOW »

August 23, 2006

CHILD-PROOF BRAKE-SHIFT INTERLOCK PROMISED

In a ceremony in Concord, New Hampshire, site of a death resulting from accidental gear shifting that caused a vehicle to roll over a child, auto companies and government officials announced an agreement that by 2010, all new-car models will be equipped with technology that that prevents children and others from unintentionally shifting a vehicle into gear. The agreement does not mandate the technology and is not a federal safety standard.

Prior to the announcement the Detroit News obtained a copy of the three-page voluntary agreement between the 19 largest automakers in the United States and the NHTSA. The Detroit News article noted, "Numerous deaths and injuries have resulted from accidents involving runaway vehicles that weren't equipped with so-called brake-shift interlock systems, which prevent vehicles from being shifted out of park unless the brake is depressed… Automakers have been hit with numerous lawsuits stemming from accidents involving runaway vehicles." A New Hampshire state representative, Packy Campbell, "lost his 22-month-old son, Ian, in 2004 when Ian's 4-year-old brother put the keys in the family truck and shifted it out of park causing it to become a roll-away."

The industry first began installing the brake systems in the 1990s and most or all new vehicles are due to provide them by 2007. Safety advocates praised the agreement, but questioned why the equipment isn't mandatory. In March, U.S. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Sununu introduced legislation called the Kids and Cars Safety Act to require new regulations from NHTSA, including a requirement to install the brake-shift interlocks, which the senators said cost $5 per car. Automakers wouldn't elaborate on the costs.

Posted by MVHAP at August 23, 2006 09:46 PM