[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 77 (Thursday, April 22, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 19742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10084]
[[Page 19742]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 572
[Docket No. NHTSA-99-5156]
RIN 2127-AG78
Anthropomorphic Test Dummy; Occupant Crash Protection
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: This document grants a request to extend the comment period on
an agency proposal to adopt new design and performance specifications
for a 12-month-old infant dummy. Subsequent to publication of the
proposal, the agency received a request for extension of the comment
period for 60 days in order to prepare a considered comment to submit
in response thereto. NHTSA is extending the comment period from April
22, 1999 to June 22, 1999.
DATES: Extended comment closing date: Comments on the March 8, 1999
proposal, 64 FR 10965, Docket No. 99-5156, must be received by the
agency on or before close of business on June 22, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to Docket No. 99-5156 and be submitted
to: Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington,
DC 20590. Docket room hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday
through Friday.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues, you may call
Stan Backaitis, Office of Crashworthiness Standards, at 202-366-4912.
For legal issues, you may call Rebecca MacPherson, Office of the
Chief Counsel, at 202-366-2992.
You may send mail to both of these officials at National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C.,
20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 8, 1999, NHTSA published a notice
of proposed rulemaking to incorporate the Child Restraint Air Bag
Interaction (CRABI) 12-month-old dummy into 49 CFR Part 572, and to
adopt new design and performance specifications for that dummy. The
modified CRABI is especially needed to evaluate the effects of air bag
deployment on children who are out of position at the time of a crash.
The proposed modifications would provide more useful information to
better evaluate child safety in a variety of crash environments.
Adopting the modified CRABI dummy would facilitate its use in
evaluating the safety of air bags for infants and very young children.
The separate issue of specifying the use of the dummy in performance
tests, e.g., as part of the occupant protection standard and/or child
restraint standard, will be addressed in other rulemakings, most
notably the current rulemaking on advanced air bags.
The NPRM specified a comment closing date of April 22, 1999 (45
days after date of publication). However, on April 14, 1999, we
received a request for an extension of the comment closing date from
the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM). The AAM stated that,
although it has used the CRABI dummy, it has been unable to adequately
access our proposed changes. Upgraded dummies will apparently not be
available for evaluation until early May. Accordingly, AAM stated that
it will not be able to complete its review and prepare comments prior
to the closing date of April 22, 1999. Therefore, AAM requested an
additional 60 days for submission of its comments.
Since AAM is the national trade association for vehicle
manufacturers representing the majority of new vehicle sales, the
agency is interested in its comments. Thus, in order to provide the AAM
and other interested parties ample time and opportunity to express
their views on the CRABI proposal, NHTSA believes that there is good
cause for the extension of the comment period and that such extension
is consistent with the public interest. Accordingly, the AAM request to
extend the comment period for an additional 60 days is granted.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166;
delegation of authority is at 49 CR 1.50.
Issued on: April 16, 1999.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 99-10084 Filed 4-21-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-U
