. /. WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/TBT/N/USA/57 
26 May 2004  
 
(04-2268) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:  English 
   
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   UNITED STATES 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):         
2. Agency responsible:   Department of Transportation’ s National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration (NHTSA) (61) Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:         
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:         
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where app licable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):   Motor Vehicle Safety  
(HS Chapter 8703)  (ICS 43.020 and 43.040). 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standards; Side Impact Protection;  Side Impact Phase-In Reporting Requirements;  Proposed Rule  (45 pages, English) 
6. Description of content:   This NPRM would substantially upgrade the agency's side impact 
protection standard, especially by requiring protection in crashes with narrow objects and 
protection against head injuries in side impact crashes with both narrow objects and other 
vehicles.  First, it would upgrade the standard by requiring that all passenger vehicles with a 
gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kilogr ams (10,000 pounds) or less protect front seat 
occupants against head, thoracic, abdominal a nd pelvic injuries in a vehicle-to-pole test 
simulating a vehicle's crashing sideways into  narrow fixed objects like telephone poles and 
trees.  To meet the head injury criteria in the pole test, vehicle manufacturers would likely 
need to install dynamically deploying side head  protection systems, such as head air bags or 
inflatable air curtains that drop down from the roof line above the door frame. Air curtains can reduce head injuries in side crashes of p assenger vehicles with poles and trees as well as 
side impacts from vehicles with high front ends.  They also can help reduce partial and full ejections through side windows.  Compliance with  the pole test would be determined in two 
test configurations, one using a new, second- generation test dummy representing mid-size 
adult males and the other using a new test  dummy representing small adult females.  
Second, this NPRM would upgrade the standard 's existing vehicle-to-vehicle test that 
requires protection of front and rear seat occupa nts against thoracic and pelvic injuries in a 
test that uses a moving deformable barrier to simulate a moving vehicle's being struck in the side by another moving vehicle.  This NPRM would upgrade that test by requiring 
protection against head injuries.  It would replace the mid-size male dummy currently used 
in that test with the new mid-size male dummy mentioned above and require compliance 
with the head, thoracic and pelvic injury cr iteria developed for the new dummy.  It would 
also enhance protection for small adult occ upants by adding the new small female test G/TBT/N/USA/57 
Page 2  
 
dummy mentioned above and requi ring compliance with the injury criteria developed for 
that dummy.  Thus, the number of test configurations would increase from one to two. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Protection of Human Life and Health. 
8. Relevant documents:   69 Federal Register (FR)  27989, 17 May 2004; Title 49 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) Part s 571 and 598.  Will appear in the Federal Register when 
adopted. 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:   To be determined 
10. Final date for comments:   14 October 2004 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:   
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/24 22/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/04-
10931.htm  
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/ 14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/
04-10931.pdf