RALPH HOAR
IN MEMORIAM

Raging Hoar Moans
Blaming Claybrook

The media and political fuss over air bags continues to rage with scant attention to the fact that tens of thousands of lives would have been saved if air bags had been installed in vehicles during the 1970's when the technology became available. A few fascinating twists:

While publicly extolling the virtues of air bags, GM operatives, according to one journalist, quietly passed a self-serving time line to Washington area reporters. We got a copy. The time line claims to have first warned NHTSA in 1969 that air bags were dangerous to children. One of the most curious things is that the GM document reads like an outline for an article by The Washington Post's automotive writer Warren Brown. Perhaps the most revealing thing here is that both The Washington Post article and the "GM time line" both demonize Joan Claybrook for wantonly disregarding auto industry warnings. Both ignore the fact that Claybrook, as powerful as she might be, hasn't held public office for more than 15 years. After Claybrook departed NHTSA, the Reagan Administration abandoned the requirements; the Supreme Court ordered them reinstated and new requirements were issued by Reagan and Bush Administrator Diane Steed. Since then Steed has worked as a consultant, lobbyist and flack for the auto industry. Artful spin and unartful reporters are a dangerous combination.

We have heard speculation from several quarters that the auto industry is fanning the flames of negative air bag reports to discourage litigation that challenges their decision to withhold air bag technology for more than a decade after it was ready. If they succeed, the automakers will save their own butts from being held accountable for withholding lifesaving technology; divert attention from the fact that they have historically, and continue to shun, advanced technology in favor of whatever's cheapest that they can get by with; convince the public that the government, not the industry, is responsible for whatever is wrong and they will have tarnished the reputation of someone who is part of an endangered species--a public servant who doesn't cash in by going to work for the industry they've regulated. Joan Claybrook and the public deserve better.

OPTSF431

1/17/97