European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes tuesday May 21, 1991 Cut deaths Gao says Washington a automobile safety belts arc effective in cutting deaths and injuries by roughly half Congress investigative Agency concludes after reviewing a series of studies. The general accounting offices report coincided with the launching monday of a renewed transportation depart meat Campaign to persuade All 50 states to pass seat Belt Laws and to enforce Belt use. The Gao said 11 recent studies varied greatly in pinpointing the effectiveness of safety belts in reducing fatalities ranging from 41 percent to 94 percent. A Brut most of the estimates clustered in the Range of 50 percent to 75 percent it said and added a the consistency anti relatively narrow Range of estimates pro Vidics Strong evidence of safety Belt effect tivcness.�?�. The report said eight studies on injury reduction attributed to the use of scat belts ranged from 17 percent to 88 percent but a a most of the estimates clustered in the Range of 44 percent to 66  four studies reviewed by the Gao slammed the effect of scat Belt use on Hospital admissions examining the hospitalization rate for belted and unbelted vehicle occupants a Hospital admission rates Quot for belted occupants were 56 percent to 74 percent said lower thatt for unbelted occupants the Gao. The transportation department has encouraged states to pass mandatory Auto scat Belt Laws but has not required them. Thirty eight slates and the District of Columbia now have safety Belt use Laws. The holdouts Are Alabama Delaware Kentucky Maine Massachusetts Nebraska new Hampshire North Dakota Rhode Island South Dakota Vermont and West Virginia. \. Among the states with Laws the Gao said the provisions penalties for non use and the rate of compliance vary widely. Only a handful of states permit the issuing o a t r a f i c c it a i Ion sol e by. Of r a i 1 u re t o u so seat belts. A a a transportation Secretary Samuel a Skinner earlier this month announced a summer Long Campaign to boost the use of car safety belts to 70 percent by 1992, principally by. Encouragement the strict enforcement of state Laws requiring the belts to be used. A .����.�?�. Jerry1 Ralph Curry head of the departments National Highway traffic safety administration said then that Seatbelt use has stabilized at about 49 percent and that improvements in that rate of use would save thousands of lives every year. Curry said enforcement efforts in Canada have brought seat Belt use to about.90 percent in most provinces. A arriving at Kennedy space Center arc from left Tamara Jurnigan Millie Hughes Fulford and Rhea Seddon. Astronauts All to go Cape canaveral Fla. Apr the countdown continued monday toward the first shuttle Mission do voted entirely to biomedical research a the flight of co Lumbia with seven astronauts 30 ruts and 2,478 jellyfish aboard. Columbia is scheduled to blast off at 8 a.m.-edt2 . Central european time wednesday. Three physicians and a biologist will perform test alter test on one another in orbit. The three other astronauts will lend to the ship during the nine Day journey 184 Miles above  ,. A a we re All ready to go Light Mem a astronaut Tamara Jurnigan said grinning after the Crew arrived at Kennedy space Centerton sunday. 1 _ _ a a if Columbia lakes off As planned it will be nasal a third shuttle flight in 48 Days. The space Agency has never sent up three ships in such Quick succession. ,. A we feel real Good a a said Nas a test director Mike Milton . Apr Nitro High school missed its Chance to play the defending slate Champion softball team in a regional final because its players did no to want to miss the prom. Nitro was scheduled to play Milton on saturday but Nitro coach Ken Ash had to Tell Milton athletic director and tournament director Rill Adams that he  get enough players for a starting lineup. L a these Young Gills had to make a decision Quot Adams said a apparently the decision was to go to the prom As opposed to playing  Lein Bach a we wish vec Puld do it three in Jiajow this Quick All year  _ Linbach said the countdown was proceeding As planned. A a _ a a technicians will lower themselves by Cable into the 12-Story orb iter of tuesday carrying White rats in cages and tiny jellyfish in plastic bags and bottles. The workers will Stow the animals then pull themselves Hack out. The Crew of three women and four men will float through a Tunnel to get from the Cabin tothe Buji sized Laboratory module space lab. Quot Quot ii is the first. Space lab Mission since 1985, a in he four medical specialists will Monitor each others blood pressure heart and lung functions and the nervous systems reaction to weightlessness. Each Day they i i draw blood measure their body mass and colled urine samples a i thought they were bidding when they told us at first a a said Milton senior Pitcher Brooke Adkins. A your team  do  _ _ _ _ _  players had no problem their Proni was Friday night. Nitro which finished the season 17-9, tried to get the game moved up but another regional final was being played on the same Field said Nitro athletic director Pat Vance. No other Field was available and Milton  agree to a delay. Teamsters reportedly ban Foster son of Hoffa from wire reports a Detroit Charles a chuckle Quot of Brien the Foster son of former teamsters president James Hoffa was ordered banned from the Union for allegedly associating with organized crime leaders a newspaper said a the order came from Frederick Lacey a court appointed Union administrator in new York who is attempting to rid the teamsters of. Influence from organized crime the Detroit news reported sunday a Lacey a order requires final approval from . District judge David Edc Stcin in new York the paper said. Edelstein presided Over the governments 1988 anti racketeering lawsuit against the 1.6 million member Union. Film Crew fired on 1 Hurt los Angeles a suspected gang members fired on a Crew filming a movie  gangs wounding a caterer police said.1 workers were taking Down a set used in the latino gang film a blood in a blood out on. Saturday when at least five shots were fired from a passing car said sgt. Robert Gruszecki. A 27-year-old caterer was wounded in the shoulder and listed in serious condition at county us medical Center Gruszecki said. No one was arrested in the shooting in the i ser no area which the sergeant said possibly was gang related. _ a. A there were some officers there. Maybe they were the targets a Gruszecki said. A one of our big concerns was the number of actors roaming around the area dressed up in gang clothes. It could have been that a or any of 100 different reasons a he added. Gasoline prices Inch upward _ los Angeles a gasoline prices inched up pm average of More than 2 cents a gallon nationwide in the past two weeks an Oil Industry analyst said sunday. Trilby Lundberg publisher of the Lundberg letter also said the composite Price of a gallon of gasoline is 8.87 cents higher than it was a year it ago a due mostly to hikes in state and Federal Gas taxes. Quot a r Lundbergh a May 17 Survey of More than 13,000 service stations across the it country found that a a Jion u a was going Tor almost $ 1,25 a gallon a 2.15 cent increase Over a similar Survey con. Ducted two weeks ago. A the Lundberg Survey also found that Overall Gas prices Are currently 8.87 cents higher than during a May 18, 1990, Survey a a great Deal of it has to do with higher taxes Lundberg said. A Nickel Federal Gas tax  , 1, and several states imposed their own local Gas taxes. California which con Sumes More gasoline than any other state raised. Us Gas Lew an additional 5 cents aug. L at the self service pump the latest Survey found r c g a a run 1 e a d e d Gas going for $ 1,1287, Premium unleaded Selling for $1,2865 and regu a Lar leaded pumping at $1.0714. A Muli service pump regular unleaded was a i 0r s�?T1-31, Premium unleaded was 1.5369 and regular leaded was $l.36 48. Players prefer prom skip ballgame