Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Occupant Crash Protection Child Restraint Systems

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. 74-14; Notice 116]

RIN 2127-AG14

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Occupant Crash Protection

Child Restraint Systems

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This document amends Standard No. 213, ``Child Restraint

Systems,'' to modify the air bag warning label which rear-facing child

seats are required to bear beginning May 27, 1997. This document

responds to a request from Mercedes-Benz, asking that the standard

allow for additional wording in the required text of the label. NHTSA

by this document makes final on an interim basis the amendment

requested by Mercedes, which would clarify the warning and which would

not lessen the safety of child restraints. The agency also solicits

comments on this amendment. Because this amendment will clarify the

required warning label and will relieve a restriction currently imposed

by the standard, NHTSA has determined that it is in the public interest

to make the changes effective immediately on an interim basis. Assuming

that a final rule is issued, the final rule would respond to any

comments and would be effective upon publication in the Federal

Register.

DATES: Effective April 11, 1997. Comments must be received by June 2,

1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to the docket and notice numbers above

and be submitted to: Docket Section, National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590.

Docket hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For nonlegal issues: Mary Versailles, Office of Safety Performance

Standards, NPS-31 , telephone (202) 366-2057.

For legal issues: Deirdre Fujita, Office of the Chief Counsel, NCC-20,

telephone (202) 366-2992.

Both can be reached at the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document amends Standard No. 213,

``Child Restraint Systems,'' on an interim basis to modify the air bag

warning label which rear-facing child seats are required to bear

beginning May 27, 1997. This document also solicits comments on this

amendment. The requirement for the label was adopted by a November 27,

1996 final rule (61 FR 60206),1 which also adopted new warning

label requirements for vehicles with air bags. The labels will help

reduce the adverse effects of air bags, especially for children, by

increasing the number of people who place child restraints in the rear

seat instead of the front.

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1 Corrected December 4, 1996 (61 FR 64297), December 11,

1996 (61 FR 65187), and January 2, 1997 (62 FR 31).

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The requirement for the enhanced child seat label is set forth in

S5.5.2(k) of Standard 213. The requirement specifies, among other

things, the exact content of the message that must be provided by the

label. The message of the label must be preceded by a heading

(``WARNING''), with an alert symbol, and state the following:

DO NOT place rear-facing child seat on front seat with air bag.

DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY can occur.

The back seat is the safest place for children 12 and under. Also

required for the label is a pictogram showing a rear-facing child seat

being impacted by an air bag, surrounded by a red circle with a slash

across it. Flexibility as to the content of the label is not provided;

thus, additional wording is not permitted.

On April 2, 1997, Mercedes asked NHTSA to amend the warning label

for child restraints that meet certain criteria. Mercedes has developed

a rear-facing child restraint system that has a device that

automatically cuts off the passenger-side air bag in vehicles designed

to respond to such a device. Mercedes intends to market this child

restraint initially to customers purchasing vehicles without rear

seats, and that are equipped with the cutoff feature. The cutoff

feature makes it possible to safely use a child restraint system on the

front seat of these vehicles without subjecting the child to risk of

injury from an air bag deployment. While NHTSA recommends that any

child be in the rear seat of a vehicle equipped with one, if Mercedes

later installs the cutoff feature in vehicles with rear seat, the

cutoff feature will avoid the risk of injury from an air bag deployment

if a rear-facing child seat in used on the front seat. Mercedes

believes that the first statement (``DO NOT place rear-facing child

seat on front seat with air bag'') is inappropriate for child

restraints with a feature to turn off the air bag. It could also be

potentially confusing to owners of these vehicles who have such a child

restraint, when they have been instructed that the child restraint will

automatically deactivate the air bag and thus can be used on the front

seat. The amendment requested by Mercedes would amend the sentence

stating ``DO NOT place rear-facing child seat on front seat with air

bag'' by adding the phrase ``unless air bag is off.''

The statements on the air bag warning label were designed to

improve the likelihood that people will read the label, understand its

message, and place child restraint systems in the rear seat. The

required phrase ``DO NOT place rear-facing child seat on front seat

with air bag'' is incomplete and possibly confusing for child restraint

systems, such as the Mercedes system, that automatically deactivate the

air bag in vehicles, since those child restraints are intended for use

on and marketed as appropriate for front seat positions on vehicles

equipped with complimentary air bag cutoff devices. Adding the phrase

``unless air bag is off'' at the end of the statement clarifies the

message and tailors it more appropriately for a system such as the one

offered by Mercedes. Moreover, NHTSA already permits vehicles that have

manual cutoff switches for the passenger-side

[[Page 18724]]

air bag to add the phrase ``unless air bag is off'' to the end of a

warning about never placing a rear-facing child restraint in the front

seat. (S4.5.1(b)(2) of Standard No. 208, as amended November 11, 1996.)

Since NHTSA can see no diminution of safety resulting from this change,

the agency tentatively amends the standard to accommodate Mercedes'

request.

The following restrictions would be placed on the ability to add

the words. The phrase ``unless air bag is off'' may be added to a label

on a child restraint, provided that the restraint is equipped with a

device that--

(a) automatically deactivates the passenger-side air bag; and

(b) activates a telltale light in the vehicle that complies with

S4.5.4.3 of Standard 208.

NHTSA believes these conditions are needed to ensure that a rear-

facing child restraint will be safely used on a passenger seat with an

air bag. These conditions reduce the likelihood that a child restraint

would be used with an active air bag.

Because this amendment clarifies a requirement and avoids possible

confusion resulting from the required labeling, NHTSA finds for good

cause that an immediate amendment of the requirement is in the public

interest.

Submission of Comments

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on this rule. It

is requested but not required that 10 copies be submitted.

All comments must not exceed 15 pages in length. (49 CFR 553.21).

Necessary attachments may be appended to these submissions without

regard to the 15-page limit. This limitation is intended to encourage

commenters to detail their primary arguments in a concise fashion.

If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim

of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including

purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to

the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address given above, and seven

copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been

deleted should be submitted to the Docket Section. A request for

confidentiality should be accompanied by a cover letter setting forth

the information specified in the agency's confidential business

information regulation. 49 CFR Part 512.

All comments received before the close of business on the comment

closing date indicated above for the notice will be considered, and

will be available for examination in the docket at the above address

both before and after that date. To the extent possible, comments filed

after the closing date will also be considered. Comments received too

late for consideration in regard to the final rule will be considered

as suggestions for further rulemaking action. Comments on the notice

will be available for inspection in the docket. The NHTSA will continue

to file relevant information as it becomes available in the docket

after the closing date, and it is recommended that interested persons

continue to examine the docket for new material.

Those persons desiring to be notified upon receipt of their

comments in the rules docket should enclose a self-addressed, stamped

postcard in the envelope with their comments. Upon receiving the

comments, the docket supervisor will return the postcard by mail.

Regulatory Analyses and Notices

A. Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures

NHTSA has considered the impact of this rulemaking action under

E.O. 12866 and the Department of Transportation's regulatory policies

and procedures. This rulemaking document was not reviewed under E.O.

12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review.'' This action has been

determined to be ``nonsignificant'' under the Department of

Transportation's regulatory policies and procedures. The amendments

pertain to optional label changes that are minor in nature. The agency

concludes that the impacts of the amendments are so minimal that a full

regulatory evaluation is not required.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

NHTSA has also considered the impacts of this notice under the

Regulatory Flexibility Act. I hereby certify that this rule does not

have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small

entities. The rule will not impose any new requirements or costs on

manufacturers, but instead will permit a manufacturer to use an

optional label on its child restraint if conditions on the use of the

label are met. Further, since no price increases are associated with

the rule, small organizations and small governmental units are not be

affected in their capacity as purchasers of child restraints.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-

511), there are no requirements for information collection associated

with this rule.

D. National Environmental Policy Act

NHTSA has also analyzed this rule under the National Environmental

Policy Act and determined that it will not have a significant impact on

the human environment.

E. Executive Order 12612 (Federalism)

NHTSA has analyzed this rule in accordance with the principles and

criteria contained in E.O. 12612, and has determined that this rule

will not have significant federalism implications to warrant the

preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

F. Civil Justice Reform

This rule has no any retroactive effect. Under 49 U.S.C. 30103,

whenever a Federal motor vehicle safety standard is in effect, a State

may not adopt or maintain a safety standard applicable to the same

aspect of performance which is not identical to the Federal standard,

except to the extent that the state requirement imposes a higher level

of performance and applies only to vehicles procured for the State's

use. 49 U.S.C. 30161 sets forth a procedure for judicial review of

final rules establishing, amending or revoking Federal motor vehicle

safety standards. That section does not require submission of a

petition for reconsideration or other administrative proceedings before

parties may file suit in court.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571

Imports, Motor vehicle safety, Motor vehicles.

In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA amends 49 CFR Part 571 as

set forth below.

PART 571--FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS

1. The authority citation for Part 571 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117 and 30166;

delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

2. Section 571.213 is amended by revising the introductory text of

S5.5.2(k), revising the introductory text of paragraph S5.5.2(k)(4),

and adding S5.5.2(k)(5), to read as follows:

Sec. 571.213 Standard No. 213, Child Restraint Systems.

* * * * *

S5.5.2 * * *

(k) At the manufacturer's option, child restraint systems

manufactured before May 27, 1997 may comply with

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the requirements of S5.5.2(k)(4) or S5.5.2(k)(5) as appropriate,

instead of the requirements of S5.5.2(k)(1)(ii) or S5.5.2(k)(2)(ii).

* * * * *

(4) Except as provided in (k)(5) of this section, in the case of

each child restraint system that can be used in a rear-facing position

and is manufactured on or after May 27, 1997, instead of the warning

specified in S5.5.2(k)(1)(ii) or S5.5.2(k)(2)(ii) of this standard, a

label that conforms in content to Figure 10 and to the requirements of

S5.5.2(k)(4)(i) through S5.5.2(k)(4)(iii) of this standard shall be

permanently affixed to the outer surface of the cushion or padding in

or adjacent to the area where a child's head would rest, so that the

label is plainly visible and easily readable.

* * * * *

(5) If a child restraint system is equipped with a device that

automatically deactivates the passenger-side air bag in a vehicle and

activates a telltale light in the vehicle that complies with S4.5.4.3

of FMVSS No. 208, the label specified in Figure 10 may include the

phrase ``unless air bag is off'' after ``on front seat with air bag.''

* * * * *

Issued on April 11, 1997.

Ricardo Martinez,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97-9879 Filed 4-11-97; 4:59 pm]

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