A Senate panel on Wednesday criticized a Transportation Department proposal to require automakers to enhance the roof strength of new cars and trucks, questioning whether it would reduce deaths in deadly rollover crashes.

Lawmakers said a proposal being developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offered little promise of significantly preventing fatalities from collapsing roofs in rollover accidents.

"If we have a little increase in roof strength that doesn't result in a major decrease in fatalities and injuries, we've done nothing," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

Safety groups have said the roof strength rules, which have not been updated since 1973, need to be improved because more than 10,000 motorists are killed annually in rollovers. NHTSA is expected to release new regulations next month.

Members of a Senate committee railed against a provision that would limit the ability of plaintiffs to sue automakers in rollover cases. They warned that Congress would oppose the restrictions.

"I would strongly encourage NHTSA to back off that because I think it's a big mistake," said Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.

James Ports, a NHTSA deputy administrator, said the agency had not decided on whether the pre-emption clause would be included in the final regulations. He said it would not apply to lawsuits involving manufacturing defects.

The NHTSA proposal, first released in August 2005, would require a vehicle's roof to withstand a force equal to 2.5 times the vehicle weight and allow sufficient head room for a buckled-up adult male to avoid being struck. It would cover vehicles of up to 10,000 pounds.

Current vehicles need to withstand direct pressure of 1.5 times the weight, and that limit only applies to vehicles of 6,000 pounds or less, excluding many sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

Automakers said they have tried to reduce rollover accidents by implementing anti-rollover technology called electronic stability control. They urged the administration to give them enough time to improve roof strength.

The plan is estimated to cost the auto industry up to $95 million a year and save up to 44 lives annually. NHTSA has said electronic stability control could save about 5,000 lives a year.

Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen, a watchdog group, said the low lifesaving estimates in the plan showed that NHTSA has not made "a real attempt to correct the problem." Safety groups want vehicles to withstand a force of about 4 times the vehicle weight.

Pryor and Coburn suggested that NHTSA ask for an extension to its July 1 congressional deadline so it can improve the proposal. NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said the agency intends to meet the deadline.

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