It`s A Question Of Safe Motoring  What Is An Air Bag`s Worth?
November 22, 1992|By Chuck Murray.  Chances are, you`ll never
need an air bag. But that doesn`t mean they are a waste of
money.  Just ask Laura Rist. A 76-year-old retired practical
nurse, Rist learned an air bag can save a life.  While driving
along California Highway 152 in Pacheco Pass last year, Rist`s
1991 Chrysler LeBaron was slammed from behind by a truck. The
impact sent her car sailing off the right side of the road and
down an almost vertical, 200-foot embankment.  ``As quick as I
could take a breath, I was airborne,`` Rist recalls.  The
LeBaron crashed front-end first, then rolled end-over-end three
times.  Rist`s first memory was awakening to the sound of
footsteps while she hung upside down in her car, held up by her
seat belt. Her car`s air bag, having deployed, hung limply in
front of her.  The bag, Rist believes, cushioned her head from
potentially fatal blows. It was so effective, she says, that her
eyeglasses weren`t broken. She