. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/USA/507 
21 December 2009  
 (09-6646) 
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 governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  National Highway Traffic Safety  Administration (NHTSA) (524) 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
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 applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Ejection mitigation 
(ICS 43.020, 43.040) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Federal Motor Vehicle 
Safety Standards, Ejection Mitigation; Phase-In Reporting Requirements (55  pages, English)   
6. Description of content:  This notice of proposed rulemaki ng would establish a new Federal 
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 226, to reduce the partial and complete ejection 
of vehicle occupants through side windows in crashes, particularly rollover crashes. The 
standard would apply to the side windows next to the first three rows of seats in motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 4, 536 kilogram (kg) or less (10,000 
pounds (lb) or less). To assess compliance, th e agency is proposing a test in which an 
impactor would be propelled from inside a test vehicle toward the windows. The ejection 
mitigation safety system would be required to prevent the impactor from moving more than a 
specified distance beyond the plane of a window. To ensure that the systems cover the entire 
opening of each window for the duration of a roll over, each side window would be impacted 
at up to four locations around its perimeter at two time intervals following deployment.  
The agency anticipates that manufacturers would meet the standard by modifying existing 
side impact air bag curtains, and possibly supplementing them with advanced laminated 
glazing. The curtains would be made larger so that they cover more of the window opening, 
made more robust to remain inflated longer, a nd made to deploy in both side impacts and in 
rollovers. In addition, they would be tethered or otherwise designed to keep the impactor 
within the vehicle. 
This NPRM advances NHTSA's in itiatives in rollover safety and also responds to Section 
10301 of the Safe, Accountable, Fl exible, Efficient Transportati on Equity Act: A Legacy for 
Users (SAFETEA-LU). That section directs NHTS A to initiate and complete rulemaking to 
reduce complete and partial ejections of vehi cle occupants from out board seating positions, 
considering various ejection mitigation systems. G/TBT/N/USA/507 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Protection of human life.  
8. Relevant documents:   74 Federal Register (FR) 63179, 2 December 2009; Title 49 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 571 and 585. Wi ll 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:  1 February 2010 
11. Text available from: National enquiry po int [ X], or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addres ses, if available of the other body:    
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-28177.htm  
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-28177.pdf