[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 2, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39308-39309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19024]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 571
RIN 2127-AF49
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Termination of Rulemaking
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
ACTION: Termination of rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: This notice terminates rulemaking in response to a petition
filed by Karen Slay, asking that NHTSA require manufacturers of pickup
trucks to place some kind of warning or recommendation on the cargo
beds and in the owner's manual ``stating the dangers of passengers
riding in the cargo area of these vehicles.'' Pickup manufacturers have
agreed to include in their owners' manuals clear and specific warnings
about the dangers of riding in cargo areas of vehicles and to join with
the agency, vehicle dealers, and other interested organizations in a
broad-based effort to educate the public about the dangers associated
with riding in the cargo areas of vehicles. In these circumstances,
NHTSA has concluded that no regulatory action is needed at this time.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Kratzke, Office of Vehicle
Safety Standards, NHTSA (NPS-10), 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington,
DC 20590. Mr. Kratzke can be reached by telephone at (202) 366-5203 or
FAX at (202) 366-4329.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Karen Slay, a Lubbock, Texas housewife and
mother of four, filed with NHTSA a petition for rulemaking dated
October 13, 1994. In this petition, Ms. Slay requested that NHTSA
require manufacturers of pickup trucks to place some kind of warning or
recommendation on the cargo beds and in the owner's manual ``stating
the dangers of passengers riding in the cargo area of these vehicles.''
Ms. Slay referred to a July 3, 1994 crash in Scurry County, Texas, in
which eight children were killed and four others seriously injured.
These 12 children were riding in the cargo bed of the pickup and all
were ejected upon impact.
Ms. Slay indicated her understanding that State, not Federal, laws
and regulations address how vehicles may be operated on the public
roads. She stated that she has begun a ``campaign or crusade'' to get
the law in her home State of Texas changed as it relates to persons
riding in the cargo bed of pickups, ``so that Texas children do not
lose their lives as innocent victims.'' However, Ms. Slay believed that
a Federal requirement for a warning label and information in the
owner's manual would serve a useful purpose by alerting persons to the
hazards of riding in the cargo bed. In addition, Ms. Slay indicated her
belief that not one pickup designer ever intended for the cargo area to
be used for passengers.
NHTSA began its consideration of this request by determining the
size of the safety problem. From 1983 to 1993,
[[Page 39309]]
there were about 210 fatalities to occupants of pickup cargo beds each
year. The number of deaths each year shows remarkably little variation,
beginning with 213 fatalities in 1983 and concluding with 211
fatalities in 1993. While the total size of the problem of injuries and
fatalities to cargo bed occupants is small in the context of overall
traffic safety (about one-half of one percent of annual motor vehicle
fatalities), the relative constancy of the number over this decade
suggests that it has not been much affected by the many safety
improvements made to pickups during that decade, nor has it been much
affected by the changes in personal behavior by vehicle occupants
during that decade, such as significant increases in safety belt use by
occupants and significant decreases in drunk and drugged driving. This
suggests it may be appropriate for NHTSA to try a new approach
specifically targeted to reduce injuries and deaths to passengers in
cargo beds. NHTSA granted Ms. Slay's petition on January 25, 1995, to
allow for a full and careful consideration of the issues raised.
However, the grant of the petition did not mean the agency endorsed
Ms. Slay's suggested solution to the problem. The fatality data show
that most of the fatalities in pickup cargo beds are teenagers or young
adults aged 20-29. People in these age groups have traditionally been
among the least receptive to safety warnings on labels. This
information raises doubts about the effectiveness of a warning label as
a solution to this problem.
Given all of this information, NHSTA sought a creative alternative
to address this safety risk outside of the traditional regulatory
process. NHTSA began by sending a letter to each of the pickup
manufacturers asking for their reaction to Karen Slay's petition and
her suggested solution to the problem. Although the manufacturers did
not agree with labeling their trucks, they did agree with Ms. Slay that
something ought to be done. All of the pickup manufacturers agreed to
voluntarily include clear language in each pickup owner's manual
warning against riding in beds. Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors,
whose vehicles collectively comprise more than 86 percent of annual
pickup sales in the U.S., went a step further. These three
manufacturers agreed to provide a simple and uniform warning about the
hazards of riding in cargo areas in the owner's manuals for each of
their vehicles starting no later than the 1997 model year. All of the
pickup manufacturers also committed to join in a broad-based effort to
raise the public's awareness of this safety concern, including joining
in promoting the adoption and enforcement of State laws restricting
people from riding in pickup cargo beds and joining in a public
education campaign on this subject.
Having this understanding with the pickup manufacturers was
encouraging, but NHTSA believed it needed to involve more potential
partners in this effort if it was to be successful. Accordingly, the
agency contacted the National Automobile Dealers Association to see if
they would join in the effort to address this problem. The dealers'
organization agreed. Also, the National PTA had written a letter to
NHTSA in support of Karen Slay's petition. NHTSA contacted the National
PTA to see if it would agree to participate in an information campaign
on the hazards of riding in cargo beds, and the National PTA agreed to
do so.
NHTSA held a news conference on May 25, 1995 to announce this new
cooperative effort to reduce injuries and deaths in pickup truck cargo
beds. This cooperative effort will rely on the slogan ``Kids Aren't
Cargo'' to raise the public's awareness about this safety risk. NHTSA
has followed this up by including some ``Kids Aren't Cargo'' materials
in the Campaign Safe and Sober materials made available to all of the
States and by contacting national organizations other than the National
PTA to see if they are interested in joining this effort.
Since manufacturers and others have already voluntarily committed
to join in a broad-based effort to reduce the injuries and deaths to
occupants of cargo beds, there is no reason to proceed with
consideration of a regulatory requirement to achieve that same goal.
Accordingly, the rulemaking action associated with the January 25, 1995
grant of Karen Slays's petition for rulemaking is hereby terminated.
This termination should not be misinterpreted. If at some point in
the future it becomes clear that the ``Kids Aren't Cargo'' campaign has
not achieved its purpose, the agency will evaluate all of its options
to reduce injuries and deaths to occupants in cargo areas, including
possible regulatory requirements. At this time, however, the agency
believes the ``Kids Aren't Cargo'' campaign represents an approach that
is more likely to address effectively this safety risk than a
regulatory approach would be. Therefore, rulemaking action on the Slay
petition is terminated.
The agency would like to close by expressing its appreciation to
Ms. Slay for her petition and her work in this area. It is rare that an
individual citizen with no previous involvement in the area of highway
safety or dealing with State and Federal government can get a bill
introduced in the State legislature and pass one of the two houses
easily on its first hearing, and move the Federal government to put
together a coalition of parties to try to address the issue on a
National level. These accomplishments can be traced to a single citizen
working out of her house with no funding, no list of members for whom
she purported to speak--nothing more than her dedication to this issue
and her ability to present clear, reasonable, and articulate arguments
for why some action was necessary.
Issued on July 27, 1995.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 95-19024 Filed 8-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-M
