95-12801. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Systems  

  • [Federal Register Volume 60, Number 111 (Friday, June 9, 1995)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 30696-30700]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 95-12801]
    
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
    49 CFR Part 571
    
    [Docket No. 74-09; Notice 41]
    RIN 2127-AF46
    
    
    Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Systems
    
    AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
    Department of Transportation.
    
    ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
    
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    SUMMARY: This proposed rule, and a companion proposed rule issued by 
    the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), address the use of child 
    harnesses and backless child restraints in aircraft. This document 
    proposes to amend a provision in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
    No. 213, ``Child Restraint Systems,'' that permits those restraints to 
    be certified for use in both motor vehicles and aircraft.
        Under the current FAA regulations, aircraft-certified child 
    restraints may be used on aircraft. However, because testing has raised 
    concerns about the safety of using harnesses and backless child 
    restraint systems on the types of seats found in aircraft, FAA is 
    publishing, in today's Federal Register, an NPRM that would prohibit 
    the use of booster seats, and vest- and harness-type child restraint 
    systems on aircraft even if they are certified for aircraft use.
        NHTSA is, in turn, concerned that if FAA were to ban harnesses and 
    backless booster seats from being used on aircraft, continuing to 
    permit the certification of those restraints for aircraft use could be 
    confusing to the public. Accordingly, this document proposes to require 
    manufacturers to label these restraints as not being for aircraft use.
    
    DATES: Comments on this proposed rule must be received by the agency no 
    later than July 10, 1995.
    
    ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to the docket number and notice number 
    and be submitted in writing to: Docket Section, National Highway 
    Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5109, 400 Seventh Street SW., 
    Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-5267. Docket hours are 9:30 
    a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. George Mouchahoir, Office of 
    Vehicle Safety Standards (telephone 202-366-4919), or Ms. Deirdre 
    Fujita, Office of the Chief Counsel (202-366-2992), National Highway 
    Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC 
    20590. For information on FAA's proposal, contact Ms. Donell Pollard 
    (AFS-203), Air Transportation Division, Flight Standards Service 
    (telephone 202-267-3735), Federal Aviation Administration, 800 
    Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document proposes to amend the 
    provision in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213, ``Child 
    Restraint Systems,'' that permits child restraint systems to be 
    certified for use in both motor vehicles and aircraft. This rule 
    complements an FAA proposal, published elsewhere in today's Federal 
    Register, that would prohibit the use of booster seats, and vest- and 
    harness-type child restraint systems on aircraft even if the restraints 
    are certified for aircraft use.
        The types of child restraint systems that are the subject of this 
    NPRM are harnesses and backless child restraints. A harness typically 
    consists of a vest or a series of straps that form a vest-like garment, 
    that attaches at the back of the harness to a vehicle seat's lap belt. 
    Harnesses are generally intended for children who weigh from 25 to 50 
    pounds, and some require the use of a tether strap to supplement the 
    lap belt. A backless child restraint system is a type of child booster 
    seat that has a structural element (typically a shield) designed to 
    restrain forward motion of the child's torso in a frontal crash. 
    Backless child restraint systems are generally intended for children 
    weighing from 30 to 60 pounds. [[Page 30697]] (``Backless child 
    restraint system'' is defined in S4 of FMVSS 213; see, 59 FR 37167, 
    July 21, 1994). Backless child restraint systems are also known as 
    ``backless booster seats'' or ``shield-type'' booster seats.
    
    Background
    
        Standard 213 permits manufacturers to certify their restraints 
    1 for aircraft use if they are certified for use in motor vehicles 
    and meet an additional requirement, an inversion test. The provisions 
    permitting such certification were added to the standard in 1984 (49 FR 
    34357; August 30, 1984), partly in response to suggestions of the 
    National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that DOT simplify its 
    standards for the performance of child restraints on aircraft by 
    combining all technical requirements into a single standard (NTSB 
    Safety Recommendations A-83-1, February 24, 1983). Prior to the 
    amendment, FAA had its own child restraint standard, Technical Standard 
    Order C100 (TSO C100). TSO C100 and FMVSS 213 had different performance 
    requirements, methods of certification and testing procedures.
    
        \1\ One type of child restraint, the ``belt positioning'' 
    booster seat, is not eligible for such certification. These 
    restraints, which are intended for use by children weighing from 30 
    to 60 pounds, are designed for use with a lap/shoulder belt system. 
    FMVSS No. 213 does not permit these restraints to be certified for 
    aircraft use because aircraft passenger seats typically lack 
    shoulder belts. See amendment of FMVSS 213 to permit manufacture of 
    belt-positioning child seats (59 FR 37167; July 21, 1994). In its 
    NPRM, the FAA proposes to ban the use of belt-positioning booster 
    seats on airplanes.
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        In the 1984 rulemaking, NHTSA and FAA concluded that the DOT child 
    restraint requirements should be consolidated in FMVSS 213 and that a 
    TSO C100 inversion test was the only performance requirement from the 
    FAA standard that needed to be incorporated into FMVSS 213. In the 
    inversion test, the combination of a child restraint, test dummy and 
    aircraft passenger seat is rotated to an inverted position and held 
    there. During the test, the child restraint must not experience any 
    failure or deformation that could seriously injure or prevent the 
    subsequent removal of the occupant.
        Prior to the 1984 rulemaking, a manufacturer wishing to designate a 
    child restraint model as suitable for aircraft had to submit 
    information to FAA to obtain its approval of the model. As a result of 
    this pre-1984 approval process, there was a disparity between the 
    number of child restraints available for use in motor vehicles and the 
    number available for use in aircraft. In 1984, approximately 28 models 
    of child restraints were produced under FMVSS 213 for use in motor 
    vehicles. The child restraint manufacturers obtained TSO authorizations 
    for only five of the 28 models, or only 16 percent of the total 
    production of child restraints.
        The lack of FAA approval of most motor vehicle child restraints for 
    use in aircraft aroused several safety concerns. One was that some 
    families traveling by air were discouraged from taking unapproved child 
    restraints with them and thus did not have them available for use at 
    their destination to protect their children while the family was 
    driving. The other concern was that those families who nevertheless 
    took their unapproved child restraints on trips had to stow the 
    restraints in the aircraft cargo compartment, and thus were not able to 
    use them to protect their children during the flight.
        The effect of the 1984 rulemaking was to speed certification of 
    child restraints for use in aircraft, and thereby increase the 
    availability of aircraft-certified child restraints. Since then, 
    manufacturers have been able, under FMVSS 213, to ``self-certify'' 
    their child restraints for aircraft use by ensuring that they pass all 
    of the standard's motor vehicle requirements and the inversion test. As 
    a result, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of child 
    restraints certified for use in aircraft.
        FAA complemented NHTSA's rulemaking by amending its Federal 
    Aviation Regulations (FARs) (14 CFR Parts 91, 121, 125 and 135) to 
    provide for the in-flight use of aircraft-certified child restraints. 
    The amendments required the air carriers to allow the use of any child 
    restraint having a labeling indicating that it is certified to FMVSS 
    213, manufactured under the standards of the United Nations, or 
    approved by a foreign government, as long as the restraint can be 
    secured to a forward-facing passenger seat. An infant or child who is 
    accompanied by a parent, guardian, or properly designated attendant and 
    who is properly placed in a device that meets the labeling requirements 
    of the FARs and that, in turn, is properly secured in an approved 
    aircraft seat using the safety belt, has been considered by FAA to 
    comply with its regulations requiring each person to occupy an approved 
    seat during takeoff and landing.
        There are currently many different types of child restraint systems 
    that are certified as complying with FMVSS 213's motor vehicle and 
    aircraft requirements, and thus permitted by FAA for use on aircraft. 
    In addition to harnesses and shield boosters, these systems included 
    ``infant seats,'' which position an infant so that the baby faces 
    toward the rear of the motor vehicle or aircraft; ``car beds,'' which 
    position the child laterally across the vehicle or aircraft seat; and 
    ``convertible'' child seats, which convert so that they can be used 
    rear-facing with infants and forward-facing with toddlers. In addition, 
    there are restraint systems, such as the ``belly belt,'' that are 
    certified for use in airplanes by foreign countries. Belly belts 
    restrain a small child on the lap of an adult and consist of a short 
    loop of webbing with buckle hardware on the ends. The belt is buckled 
    around the child's abdomen and is secured to the adult's safety belt by 
    routing the adult's safety belt through a small loop of webbing sewn on 
    the belly belt. Belly belts are certified for airplane use by the Civil 
    Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom. However, belly belts cannot 
    meet the performance requirements of FMVSS 213 and therefore have not 
    been certified for use in the United States.
    
    FAA Withdrawal of Approval
        Elsewhere in today's Federal Register, FAA is proposing to withdraw 
    approval for the use of harnesses and booster seats on aircraft. The 
    FAA is also emphasizing the existing prohibition in all aircraft 
    against the use of lap held child restraints, including belly belts. 
    The action responds to recent research by FAA's Civil Aeromedical 
    Institute (CAMI). The practical effect of that amendment would be to 
    ban all use of these restraints on aircraft.
        The CAMI research is discussed in a report entitled, ``The 
    Performance of Child Restraint Devices in Transport Airplane Passenger 
    Seats,'' a copy of which has been placed in the NHTSA rulemaking docket 
    for this notice. (Persons wishing to obtain a copy of the report should 
    contact FAA at the address given in the ``For Further Information'' 
    section at the beginning of this final rule document.) CAMI dynamically 
    tested six types of restraining devices: Child harnesses, booster 
    seats, rear-facing infant seats, convertible child restraint systems, 
    airplane seat lap belts, and belly belts. The first four devices were 
    evaluated for their ability to fit and adjust to an airplane passenger 
    seat and lap belt. The lap belt was evaluated for its ability to secure 
    test dummies representative of children two and three years old. Fit 
    and adjustment was not considered an issue for the installation of the 
    belly belt. All of the devices were evaluated for their performance in 
    aircraft seats with and without ``breakover'' seat backs (a breakover 
    feature allows the seat back to rotate forward easily when impacted by 
    an occupant from behind). [[Page 30698]] They were also evaluated, 
    using anthropomorphic test dummies representing children, for their 
    ability to limit occupant head excursion, head and chest acceleration 
    and abdominal forces. In addition, the test program evaluated the 
    effect that the impact load of an ``aft row occupant'' had on the 
    performance of a child restraint located in an aircraft seat 
    immediately in front of the aft row occupant. The aft row occupant 
    impact load was generated in tests called ``double row tests,'' using 
    an adult test dummy placed in the aft row seat.
    
    Booster Seat Tests
    
        CAMI tested four models of shield-type booster seats in six dynamic 
    tests, three of which involved single row tests, and the other three, 
    double row tests. With regard to fit and adjustment of the booster 
    seats to the airplane seat, CAMI found that three had fit and 
    adjustment problems. One booster seat had problems fitting an airplane 
    seat because of the limited width between arm rests on the passenger 
    seat. This may have occurred because of the difference in width between 
    the representative aircraft seat (about 20 inches wide) used in FMVSS 
    213 and the aircraft seat (17.25 inches wide) used in the CAMI testing. 
    Two booster seats had incompatibility problems between the buckle/
    webbing path molded in the front shield and the airplane web path and 
    buckle position of the lap belt on the airplane passenger seat used by 
    CAMI. In fact, the webbing could not be installed over the front shield 
    in accordance with the positioning instruction of the booster seats' 
    manufacturers. CAMI also found that one of the four booster seats 
    failed structurally, and two of the others allowed forward head 
    excursion in excess of the 32-inch distance permitted by FMVSS 213.
        CAMI also found a problem with the loads that the child dummies 
    restrained in the tested booster seats experienced when the boosters 
    were on a seat with a breakover seat back and exposed to loads from the 
    aft row occupant. Its tests showed that loads from an aft row adult 
    occupant resulted in an increase in abdominal loading of the dummy in a 
    booster seat, as compared to the abdominal loading of a dummy in an 
    aircraft lap belt with an adult aft-row occupant. The CAMI study states 
    that, when placed in a seat with a breakover seat back, the booster 
    seat encounters problems because:
    
        With no back shell, the typical booster seat does not provide 
    protection from the forces transmitted by the airplane seat back 
    during horizontal impact conditions. Traditionally, restraint 
    systems in airplanes have been designed to avoid loads transmitted 
    to the soft tissues of the abdomen. A child restrained in a booster 
    seat may be forced against the rigid shield due to the seat back 
    breakover action. For the intended size of children in booster 
    seats, the load path of these breakover forces may include the 
    abdominal region.
    
        It is to be noted that CAMI also found that the abdominal loads on 
    a child dummy placed in a shield-type booster seat secured to an 
    airplane seat with a locked seat back were higher than on a child dummy 
    secured in a typical airplane seat lap belt with a locked seat back. 
    The FAA recognizes in its NPRM, however, that there are no accepted 
    criteria to assess the relationship between differences in measured 
    levels of abdominal loadings and any resulting risk of abdominal 
    injury, and the type and severity of such injury.
    
    Harness Tests
    
        CAMI tested one type of harness restraint. The restraint consisted 
    of a torso vest with straps over the shoulders and around the waist, 
    and a crotch strap. The shoulder and abdomen straps were attached to a 
    rectangular metal plate on the back of the restraint. The airplane lap 
    belts were routed through a loop of webbing attached to the metal back 
    plate on the restraint.
        The restraint was tested with a three-year-old test dummy in two 
    single row tests. CAMI found incompatibility problems between the 
    harness and the airplane seat lap belts: ``With the lap belts adjusted 
    to the minimum length, the [harness] could be moved forward 
    approximately 7 inches before tension was developed in the belts. This 
    was considered unsatisfactory for testing.'' CAMI also found grossly 
    excessive excursion of the child anthropomorphic test dummy(ATD) 
    restrained in the harness:
    
        The ATD moved forward and over the front edge of the seat 
    cushion and proceeded to submarine toward the floor. Elasticity in 
    the webbing of the harness and the lap belts then heaved the ATD 
    rearward. The force pulling the ATD back into the seat appeared to 
    be applied by the Gz [crotch] strap directly through the pubic 
    symphysis of the pelvic bone.
    
        Based on this finding, CAMI concluded that a harness performs 
    poorly in protecting the child occupant.
    
    NHTSA Proposal
    
        NHTSA has tentatively concluded that, if FAA were to adopt its 
    proposed ban on the use of harnesses and backless booster seats on 
    aircraft, consumers would be confused if manufacturers were to continue 
    nevertheless to certify these types of restraints for aircraft use. 
    Accordingly, NHTSA proposes to amend FMVSS 213 to require manufacturers 
    to label these child restraint systems as not being for use on 
    aircraft. The standard already requires that belt-positioning booster 
    seats be so labeled.
        In issuing this proposal, NHTSA believes that it is important to 
    emphasize several points about the use and performance of child 
    restraints. First, there are significant differences between the 
    seating environment of motor vehicles and that of aircraft. Second, 
    because of those differences, the problems encountered with child 
    restraint use in aircraft are not encountered with child restraint use 
    in motor vehicles. Therefore, notwithstanding this proposal, the use of 
    harnesses and booster seats in motor vehicles continues to be important 
    for child safety.
        The problems reported by CAMI, i.e., the combined effects of 
    aircraft seatback breakover designs and aft occupant impacts, are not 
    encountered in motor vehicles. The seat back in a motor vehicle is 
    designed to remain fixed in a crash and not ``breakover'' in the manner 
    of an airplane seat. Also, a vehicle seat containing a child restraint 
    is less likely to be impacted from the rear by an adult than is an 
    aircraft containing a child restraint. There are several reasons for 
    this. First, child restraints are recommended for use in the rear 
    vehicle seating positions. Thus, if a child restraint is installed as 
    recommended, there will not, in most cases, be any passenger rearward 
    of the child restraint who could impact and load the seat containing 
    the child restraint in the event of a frontal crash. Exceptions would 
    be in vehicles, such as vans and some station wagons, which have three 
    rows of seats. Second, if there were a passenger seated behind the seat 
    containing a child restraint, and that person were sitting in an 
    outboard seating position, the person would have a lap/shoulder belt 
    system available for use. Most aircraft lack shoulder belts. If the 
    vehicle passenger were restrained by that belt system, the person would 
    not load the seat with the child restraint in the manner observed in 
    the CAMI study. Third, given the number of persons typically carried in 
    a motor vehicle, it is unlikely there would be an adult seated behind a 
    child in a child restraint, regardless of the number or pattern of 
    seats in the vehicle.
        Further, harnesses and other child restraints are tested under 
    FMVSS 213 on a seat assembly that is representative of a motor vehicle 
    seat, and that is equipped with a safety belt 
    [[Page 30699]] representative of the lap belt in the center rear 
    seating position. In its compliance testing, the agency has not found a 
    problem between the vehicle lap belt and a child harness such as that 
    found by CAMI between an airplane lap belt and a harness. In addition, 
    NHTSA has not found in its compliance testing the type of fit and 
    adjustment problems between booster seats and the vehicle seats that 
    CAMI found between booster seats and the aircraft seats.
        Booster seats could fit better on vehicles than aircraft in part 
    because of the design of the belt restraints with which the boosters 
    are attached to the vehicle. The position of the buckle for an aircraft 
    seat belt assembly is very different from that of a buckle for a 
    vehicle seat belt assembly. An aircraft seat belt assembly is designed 
    so that when it is buckled, the buckle is located midway between the 
    anchorages, in front of the user's abdomen. A motor vehicle lap/
    shoulder belt or lap-only belt is designed so that the buckle is 
    located to the side of the user's torso, near the hip, when the belt is 
    buckled.
        Another reason for believing that the problems reported by CAMI are 
    not indicative of the performance of child restraints in motor vehicles 
    is the difference between the crash pulse used by CAMI and the crash 
    pulse used in FMVSS 213 testing. In its testing of head excursion, head 
    and chest acceleration and abdominal forces, CAMI used a crash pulse 
    appropriate for aircraft. FMVSS 213 testing, by contrast, involves the 
    use of a motor vehicle crash pulse.
        In view of the problems revealed by the CAMI testing, NHTSA and FAA 
    will consider whether there is a need for future rulemaking to improve 
    FMVSS 213's requirements for aircraft-certified child restraints other 
    than harnesses and booster seats. The agencies are developing possible 
    requirements and procedures that could improve the assessment of the 
    performance of child restraint systems in the aircraft environment. 
    Among other issues, the agencies will consider whether the seat 
    assembly used under FMVSS 213 in testing child restraints for aircraft 
    use sufficiently represents an aircraft passenger seat. Child 
    restraints certified as complying with FMVSS 213's aircraft 
    requirements are currently tested on a ``representative aircraft 
    passenger seat'' (S7.3 of FMVSS 213). FMVSS 213 also specifies that FAA 
    approved aircraft safety belts are used to test child restraints that 
    are certified to the aircraft requirements.
    
    Proposed Effective Date
    
        The proposed effective date is 90 days after the publication of a 
    final rule in the Federal Register.
    
    Rulemaking Analyses and Notices
    
    Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) and DOT 
    Regulatory Policies and Procedures
    
        NHTSA has evaluated the impacts of this proposal and has determined 
    that it is significant within the meaning of the Department of 
    Transportation's regulatory policies and procedures. The rulemaking 
    action is significant because of the substantial public interest in 
    issues involving child seats on aircraft. This rule is a significant 
    regulatory action under E.O. 12866.
        While this action is significant because of the public interest 
    associated with it, NHTSA tentatively concludes that a rule resulting 
    from this notice would have minimal impacts. In 1991, there were an 
    estimated 1,200,000 booster seats produced. The consumer cost of a 
    label is estimated to be $0.09 to $0.17, and total annual costs of a 
    separate label range from $108,000 to $204,000. However, adding a 
    sentence to the existing label, most likely the course of action taken 
    in response to this rulemaking, would cost much less. This cost might 
    be $0.01 per label, resulting in a total annual cost of $12,000. There 
    is an added economic benefit of this proposed rule. Since booster seats 
    would no longer be permitted to be certified for aircraft, there would 
    be no need to perform the inversion test. Thus, testing costs to the 
    child restraint manufacturer would be slightly reduced.
        The agency is concerned whether this rulemaking action could affect 
    consumers' use of booster seats before and after the air portion of 
    their trips. In the 1984 rulemaking that allowed child restraints to be 
    certified for use on motor vehicles and aircraft, NHTSA recognized that 
    parents might not use child restraints to transport their children to 
    and from the airport if the child restraint could not be used on the 
    aircraft. The data indicated that child safety was not a critical issue 
    for aircraft in terms of the number of child deaths, but that it was a 
    large problem for motor vehicles before and after the flight. Many 
    State laws that require the use of child seats in motor vehicles do not 
    cover all the ages of children that might use booster seats. If booster 
    seats may not be used on aircraft, and if parents are not willing to 
    stow them with their luggage, NHTSA is concerned about the possibility 
    that they could be left home altogether. As a result, the number of 
    child injuries in motor vehicle accidents might increase. NHTSA 
    requests comments on how it should assess this issue. The agency is 
    particularly interested in information concerning how many of these 
    booster seats are currently in use and on the availability of booster 
    seats at car rental agencies.
    
    Regulatory Flexibility Act
    
        NHTSA has considered the effects of this proposal under the 
    Regulatory Flexibility Act. I hereby certify that this rule, if 
    adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
    number of small entities. Of the 11 current child restraint 
    manufacturers known to the agency (not counting manufacturers of built-
    in restraints), there are six that qualify as small businesses. This is 
    not a substantial number of small entities. Regardless of the number of 
    small entities, the proposed rule would not have a significant economic 
    impact on these entities. As noted above, the labeling costs associated 
    with this rulemaking would be minimal. Further, the agency believes 
    sales of booster seats would be minimally affected by this rulemaking, 
    if at all. NHTSA believes almost all consumers decide to purchase a 
    child restraint based on their intent to use the restraint in a motor 
    vehicle, not in aircraft.
    
    Executive Order 12612 (Federalism)
    
        This rulemaking action has been analyzed in accordance with the 
    principles and criteria contained in Executive Order 12612. The agency 
    has determined that this proposed rule would not have sufficient 
    federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a Federalism 
    Assessment.
    
    National Environmental Policy Act
    
        NHTSA has analyzed this rulemaking action for the purposes of the 
    National Environmental Policy Act. The agency has determined that 
    implementation of this action would not have any significant impact on 
    the quality of the human environment.
    
    Executive Order 12778 (Civil Justice Reform)
    
        This proposed rule would not have any retroactive effect. Under 
    section 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 
    [[Page 30700]] 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.
    
    Submission of Comments on This Proposal
    
        There is a 30-day comment period for this notice. The FAA provides 
    a 30-day comment period for its proposal. NHTSA believes the comment 
    period for the agencies' proposals should be identical since the two 
    rulemaking actions complement each other. The comment period is shorter 
    than 60 days so that FAA can expeditiously assess what action should be 
    taken to address what that agency has tentatively concluded to be a 
    possible safety problem.
        Interested persons are invited to submit comments on this proposed 
    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 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 proposal will be considered as 
    suggestions for further rulemaking action. Comments 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.
    
    List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571
    
        Imports, Motor vehicle safety, Motor vehicles.
        In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA proposes to amend 49 CFR 
    Part 571 as set forth below.
    
    PART 571--[AMENDED]
    
        1. The authority citation for Part 571 would continue 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 would be amended by revising S5.5.2(n) to read 
    as follows:
    
    
    Sec. 571.213  Standard No. 213, Child Restraint Systems.
    
    * * * * *
        S5.5.2 * * * * *
        (n) Child restraint systems, other than belt-positioning seats, 
    harnesses and backless child restraint systems, that are certified as 
    complying with the provisions of section S8, shall be labeled with the 
    statement ``This Restraint is Certified for Use in Motor Vehicles and 
    Aircraft.'' Belt-positioning seats, harnesses and backless child 
    restraint systems shall be labeled with the statement ``This Restraint 
    is Not Certified for Use in Aircraft.'' The statement required by this 
    paragraph shall be in red lettering and shall be placed after the 
    certification statement required by paragraph (e) of this section.
    * * * * *
        Issued on May 19, 1995.
    Barry Felrice,
    Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
    [FR Doc. 95-12801 Filed 6-7-95; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
    
    

Document Information

Published:
06/09/1995
Department:
Transportation Department
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
Document Number:
95-12801
Dates:
Comments on this proposed rule must be received by the agency no later than July 10, 1995.
Pages:
30696-30700 (5 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. 74-09, Notice 41
RINs:
2127-AF46: Certification of Child Restraints for Use on Aircraft
RIN Links:
https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/2127-AF46/certification-of-child-restraints-for-use-on-aircraft
PDF File:
95-12801.pdf
CFR: (1)
49 CFR 571.213