REGION

REGION

F.N.B. presentation

HERMITAGE, Pa. — Executives from F.N.B. Corp. will make a presentation at the FTN Midwest Securities Small and Mid Cap Bank Conference in New York at 12:45 p.m. today. The presentation can be seen live on a webcast, which can be viewed at www.fnbcorporation.com. Click on the “Investor and Analyst Presentation” tab. Making the presentation will be Stephen Gurgovits, F.N.B. president and chief executive, and Brian Lilly, chief financial officer.

NATION

New rules could save lives

WASHINGTON — The government wants new passenger vehicles to provide head protection in dangerous side-impact crashes, which kill thousands of motorists every year and leave others with serious brain injuries.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued new rules Wednesday requiring the improved safety protections in new passenger vehicles by September 2012.

The upgrades, which have been under review since 2004, are designed to reduce deaths and injuries of motorists who are struck by another car or truck along the vehicle’s side. Side-impact crashes killed 9,200 people in 2005, the most recent figures available.

Changes to the safety systems could save 311 lives and prevent 361 serious injuries a year, the agency estimated, through the installation of side air bags that protect a person’s chest and abdomen and window curtain air bags guarding the head.

Nicole Nason, the safety agency’s administrator, said the crashes often lead to debilitating injuries. “Even people who survive the crash can end up with long-term medical costs and permanent brain injuries, so we think [the rules] are important for both injuries and fatalities,” she said.

From Vindicator staff and wire reports