Stardate 20020217.1656

(On Screen): I think that we've taken liability law right to the edge of the cliff and then kicked it over the side. Ford is being sued, and I think this one should be thrown out of court.

Air bags save lives and cost lives. There's no free lunch. An air bag is actually inflated by a small charge of plastic explosive, and if you're too close to it when it goes off, it can kill you. The driver-side air bag is inside the steering column. Some people of very small stature have to sit close to the steering wheel in order to reach the foot pedals on a car, and as a result are too close.

In 1997, a woman named Lynn Struttman died that way. She was 4-foot-9. But this lawsuit isn't about airbag safety. Since the airbags are mandated by law, Ford couldn't be sued for that. But Struttman's family decided they were damned well going to sue for something.

So here's what they found: Ford sells adjustable foot pedals as an optional feature. They label it as a convenience. Small people can use them to move the pedals back, making it possible to sit further from the wheel and thus lower the risk of injury or death from the airbag. Struttman's car didn't have them.

So the contention is that Ford was negligent because it offered these pedals as an option instead of making them standard, or because it labelled them as a convenience instead of stressing in their advertising how they increased safety.

I'm sorry; I don't see it. Not only should this one be tossed, Ford should be reimbursed for its legal expenses.

When is this country going to reform product liability law?