as never a concern to the public due to the fact that automobiles were limited to a top speed of fifteen to twenty miles per hour. Auto manufactures were more concerned with cheaper production than safety. As speed increased and time moved on, safety concerns started to rise. These concerns led to the improvement of many safety features from seatbelts to the new "smart airbags". Recent General Motors studies show that consumers rate safety as the number two item they look for when purchasing a new vehicle. The first item consumers look for is price. "Safety is now something people want and expect in an automobile" according to Dee Allsop, a pollster and senior vice president of Wirthlin Worldwide, which assesses marketing issues for consortium of auto makers (ElBoghdady). The one safety feature expected in today's automobiles is a state of the art airbag system.Airbags have become one of the most heated issues in the automotive industry. As airbags continue to reduce fatalities and prevent injuries, the consumer demand for airbags rises. Estimated airbag life saving benefits calculated as of October 1, 1999 were that 4,011 drivers were saved and airbags while 747 passengers were saved (from NHSTA). As a result, car driver fatalities was reduced by 31 percent and car passenger fatalities reduced by 32 percent. Light truck driver fatalities was also reduced by 36 percent (from NHSTA). More people are becoming concerned over their children's safety and are looking for and demanding safety features. This is making the safety technology departments race to make their company's vehicles safer quicker (ElBoghdady). The airbag demand has Ford installing as standard equipment side-curtain airbags installed in addition to the driver and passenger side airbag on the Focus and the 2002 Explorer. The passenger airbags on the 2000 Ford Taurus has sensors that adjust for a person's height and sitting position. They will deactivate the ...
