European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 13, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 a the stars and stripes Friday september 13, 1991 trend shows death rate on highways at record Low Washington apr the government said wednesday that the nations Highway fatality Rale for 1991 May Register an All time yearly Low. Transportation department officials said that As of april the rate had dropped to two deaths per 100 million vehicle Miles travelled and that if the trend holds the figure for the year would be the Best since records were begun in 1921. The 1990 rate was 2.1 per 100 million Miles. Highway deaths totalled 44,529, the lowest in five years. The improvement results largely from states enactment and enforcement of tougher Laws on Drunken driving and mandatory seat Belt use said Jerry r. Curry head of the National Highway traffic safety administration. Government regulations requiring that cars be made More crash worthy Are of secondary importance he said. Death rates have increased in some states. Most have no seat Belt Laws or Laws with no penalty for noncompliance Curry said. In a related matter transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner said he believes the push for government required improvements in automobile fuel Economy has lost momentum. A i think the steam is out of the steam roller a Skinner said. The Bush administration opposes legislation pending in the House and Senate that would Force automakers to improve new car gasoline mileage. Skinner said the Senate might narrowly approve a Bill sponsored by sen. Richard h. Bryan d-nev., to mandate a 40 percent improvement in fuel Economy. A vote is expected this fall possibly during debate of a National Energy strategy. But Skinner said administration head counters had not detected widespread support for the Bill in the House. Even if legislation clears both houses a we think we can sustain a veto a he said. The transportation department supports the automobile Industry a Contention that requiring such drastic mileage improvements would Force manufacturers to Quot downsized cars making them less Safe. Supporters of the legislation say the companies could use existing technology to improve mileage without reducing car size. Survey finds High school seniors Lack Basic consumer knowledge Cox news service Washington a High school seniors on the threshold of managing their own finances have a poor grasp of Basic consumer knowledge results of a nationwide test showed wednesday. A financially illiterate High school seniors Are not prepared to Cope with the world of consumption a said Stephen Brobeck executive director of the consumer federation of America. The federation the nation s largest consumer advocacy group sponsored the exam along with american express travel related services. Quot eight million kids own cars but they Haven to the faintest idea about what Auto insurance covers a Edwin Cooperman of american express told reporters at a news conference. He said the students earn More than $100 billion a year and spend $79 billion of it but they often make frivolous shopping decisions and a a done to understand the fundamental differences Between a checking and savings  the students scored an average of 42 percent on the exam which tested six areas of Basic consumer knowledge food shopping Home rental automobile Purchase Auto insurance obtaining credit and checking and savings accounts. Pure Guesswork would yield a score of 25 percent on the multiple Choice test. The 52-question test was Given to 428 High school seniors at shopping malls in the Atlanta Boston Chicago Cincinnati Dallas Denver los Angeles and new York City areas. The students with the least consumer knowledge the researchers found were those who needed it most those from the poorest families and those who plan to enter the work Force soon. Students with family incomes under $15,000 a year scored 35 percent on the test. Students from higher income groups did progressively better with those from families earning $50, my or More scoring 44  questionnaire Here Are Sample questions from the nationwide test of consumer knowledge administered to High school seniors on behalf of the consumer federation of America and american express co. 1. The Best indicator of the Cost of loan is the a number of monthly payments b monthly payment amount c interest rate d annual percentage rate. 2 Auto insurance prices offered by different insurance companies to people who live in the same area have the same Accident history and drive the same Type of Auto can vary by As much As a 100 percent or More b about 60 percent c about 30 percent d 10 percent or less 3. The ingredients on food labels Are listed a alphabetical Jim b by nutritional importance from most to least c in any order the manufacturer chooses d by weight from most to least. 4. In which year after a car is bought does it lose its value fastest a first year b second year c fourth year d seventh year. Answers 1. D 2. A 3. D 4. A group critical of school lunches washing Ion it up the eating patterns of average schoolchildren Are so bad the nation May face a future a health crisis a and those relying on government supplied school if Ches Are faring even worse nutritionally a new study concluded. The study by Public voice for l Ood and health policy found wednesday that nine of 10 schoolchildren of All income Levels consume too much fat and cholesterol and not enough dietary fiber and that the nutrient intake supplied by the National school lunch program a is even worse than these average intakes Quot according to Ellen Haas director of the nutrition advocacy group. Haas pointed particularly to school meals emphasizing High fat menu items such As hot dogs and hamburgers while not providing enough fruits and vegetables. In a separate news conference. Agriculture Secretary Edward Madigan agreed the school lunch program his department administers needs to improve the nutritional Content of meals served to schoolchildren particularly by lowering fat Content. On average the National school lunch program provides 37.9 percent of lunches eaten by children. To improve the school lunch program Madigan said official guidelines for children a nutrition will be made available to 90,000 schools next Spring. Additionally he said the department s food and nutrition service is currently testing menu modifications to lower fat Salt and sugar contents in lunches. The 1990 . Dietary guidelines recommends daily fat intake of no More than 30 percent of total calories consumed and daily consumption of 20 to 30 Grams of fiber. The Public voice study found that schoolchildren 6 through 11 arc eating More than the recommended amount of fat at 36.4 percent of calories consumed and far less than the recommended amount of fiber a Only 11.5 Grams daily. The nations poorest children Are eating even higher Levels of fat and lower amounts of fiber the study said.  asks Washington to take Over . Safety from wire reports Washington a the Al Cio petitioned the Federal government wednesday to take Over work safety enforcement in North Carolina saying the fire that killed 25 poultry workers there shows that the state has been a grossly  a recent events have shown that North Carolina has neither the resources or the ability to run its state plan Quot the 14.2 million member labor federation said in a letter to the labor department. The Al Cio asked that jurisdiction for worker safety be returned to the . Occupational safety and health administration. Right now the Federal government does not maintain responsibility for enforcing Osha Laws because the state of North Carolina has a federally approved enforcement program. Last weeks fire at a Hamlet ., Chicken processing Plant prompted complaints about North Carolina s system for inspecting and enforcing worker safety  meeting moved Boston a the International aids meeting originally scheduled for Boston next year has been moved to Amsterdam Netherlands in the Wake of a juror Over . Restrictions on foreign visitors sponsors of the meeting said wednesday. The Bush administration rules require that Short term visitors to the United states declare whether they Are infected with the aids virus. Groups representing people with aids threatened to disrupt the meeting to protest the policy under which foreigners infected with the virus can be barred from the United states unless they get a waiver. Officials of Harvard University which is cosponsoring the meeting with the world health organization said they had moved the meeting to a country without travel restrictions for people infected with the aids virus because the Bush administration did not change its  shirts seized Detroit a Federal agents arrested two British nationals wednesday and seized More than $2 million Worth of counterfeit Polo Ralph Lauren shirts made in China. Hal h. Helterhoff special agent in charge of the Fri in Michigan said Robert Mcangus 46, and his wife China Mcangus 30, were arrested by Fri and customs service agents in Detroit As a result of an undercover operation. They were charged with trademark violations and fraud by wire felonies carrying penalties of up to five years in prison and $250,000 in  rethinks retirement los Angeles police chief Daryl f. Gates appeased critics after the videotaped police beating of a Black Motorist by announcing he would retire next april. But now he says he is rethinking his departure plans. Gates said at a luncheon tuesday he had agreed to retire in april after City Council members assured him a special referendum on police department reforms would be held in february or March. A i told Council president John Ferraro that if it was going to be in june a Fine i will be out of Here the Day after the  but they said a no we re going to move it  so i selected april Quot Gates said. The City Council has yet to schedule a referendum on reforms. Asked if he would delay his retirement until alter a june 1992 referendum. Gates said a i think it s something for everyone to think about i myself included and i m thinking about  influx of refugees Washington a record 122,000 refugees were admitted to the United states in the last fiscal year with most coming from the soviet Union and Vietnam Federal officials said wednesday. The 1990 figure was 15,000 More than the 107,000 who were admitted in fiscal 1989, according to the health and human services department s annual report to Congress on the refugee resettlement program