Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 228 / Monday, November 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules 70687

Issued on: November 20, 2000.

Noble N. Bowie,

Acting Associate Administrator for Safety

Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 00–30054 Filed 11–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA–7938]

Child Restraint Systems Safety Plan

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Request for comments.

SUMMARY: This document announces the

availability of a planning document that

describes the agency’s ongoing and

planned initiatives to improve the safety

of motor vehicle occupants from birth

through age 10. To realize our goal to

have every child be protected by an

appropriate, and properly used child

restraint system on every trip, NHTSA

has developed a child restraint system

plan that employs three key strategies:

Encourage correct use of child restraints

for all children; ensure that child

restraint systems provide optimal

protection; and provide consumers with

useful information on restraining their

children. For each of the defined

strategies, the plan provides background

information, describes recent agency

actions, and presents ongoing and

planned programs to achieve our goals.

NHTSA seeks public review and

comment on the planning document.

Comments received will be evaluated

and incorporated, as appropriate, into

the planned agency activities.

DATES: Comments must be received no

later than December 22, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may

obtain a copy of the planning document

by downloading a copy of the document

from the Docket Management System,

U.S. Department of Transportation, at

the address provided below, or from

NHTSA’s website at http://

www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/

childps. Alternatively, interested

persons may obtain a copy of the

document by contacting the agency

officials listed in the section titled, FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT,

immediately below.

Submit written comments to the

Docket Management System, U.S.

Department of Transportation, PL 401,

400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington,

D.C. 20590–0001. Comments should

refer to the Docket Number (NHTSA–

7938) and be submitted in two copies.

If you wish to receive confirmation of

receipt of your written comments,

include a self-addressed, stamped

postcard.

Comments may also be submitted to

the docket electronically by logging onto

the Docket Management System website

at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ‘‘Help &

Information’’ to obtain instructions for

filing the comment electronically. In

every case, the comment should refer to

the docket number.

The Docket Management System is

located on the Plaza level of the Nassif

Building at the Department of

Transportation at the above address.

You can review public dockets there

between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,

Monday through Friday, except Federal

holidays. You can also review

comments on-line at the DOT Docket

Management System web site at ‘‘http:/

/dms.dot.gov/.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Cathy Gotschall, Office of Plans and

Policy, NPP–12, National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration, Room

5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20590. Telephone:

202–366–1653. Email:

cgotschall@nhtsa.dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

February 2000, NHTSA held a public

meeting to discuss child restraint

system issues. Soon after that meeting,

Senator Fitzgerald (R-Illinois)

introduced ‘‘The Child Passenger Safety

Act of 2000’’ (S. 2070). A similar bill

(H.R. 4145) was introduced in the House

by Congressman Shimkus (R-Illinois) .

On May 16, 2000, Deputy Administrator

Millman testified before the House

Commerce Committee Subcommittee on

Telecommunications, Trade and

Consumer Protection. At that hearing,

she discussed the agency’s child

passenger safety programs and stated

that the agency would release a child

restraint system plan for public

comment.

NHTSA put together nine teams of

agency experts to review all of the

recommendations from the public

meeting and from the House and Senate

Bills and other sources. On November 1,

2000, the Transportation Recall

Enhancement, Accountability and

Documentation (TREAD) Act was

enacted. Section 14 of the TREAD Act

requires NHTSA to conduct rulemaking

on side impact testing for child

restraints and to consider several other

related rulemaking actions. This draft

plan includes the requirements of the

TREAD Act, as well as those

recommendations from the public that

were considered to yield the biggest

safety gains for child motor vehicle

occupants.

The draft plan focuses on three

strategies. The first strategy in the plan

examines ways to increase restraint use

among all children and to ensure that

the appropriate restraint systems are

used correctly. NHTSA estimates that if

all children aged 0–4 years old were

restrained in safety seats, 173 lives

could have been saved in 1998.

Additional studies have shown that as

many as 68 additional deaths to

children aged 0–6 years old could be

prevented each year by eliminating

misuse of safety seats. The agency

conducts national campaigns to educate

the public about the importance of

buckling children into child restraint

systems.

The second strategy is to improve

existing standards for the performance

and testing of child restraint systems.

Since NHTSA first began regulating

child safety seats in 1971, the agency

has instituted numerous improvements

to the original Federal safety standard,

including the incorporation of dynamic

performance testing, labeling

improvements, and the recent

introduction of a simplified,

standardized system for anchoring

safety seats in cars. This system, called

the Lower Anchors and Tethers for

Children (LATCH) system, may save as

many as 50 lives and avert up to 3,000

serious injuries annually. In addition to

research and the rulemaking initiatives

described in this plan, NHTSA has

urged child seat manufacturers to

increase the margin by which they

comply with the existing standards.

The safest child restraint systems

available can prevent death and injury

only if they are purchased and used

correctly. The final strategy calls for

improved mechanisms for getting safety

information to consumers. The agency

works closely with states, health

communities, law enforcement agencies,

and safety advocates to disseminate

information to parents and caregivers on

the correct installation and proper use

of child restraint systems. NHTSA is

committed to improving the information

it provides to consumers both on the

performance and proper use of child

restraint systems as well as on defect

investigations and safety recalls.

This document announces the

availability of the document for public

review and comment. The plan will be

posted on NHTSA’s website on

November 20, 2000. Received comments

will be evaluated and incorporated, as

appropriate, into the planned agency

activities.

70688 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 228 / Monday, November 27, 2000 / Proposed Rules

How Do I Prepare and Submit

Comments?

Your comments must be written and

in English. To ensure that your

comments are correctly filed in the

Docket, please include the Docket

number of this document (NHTSA–

7938) in your comments.

Please send two paper copies of your

comments to Docket Management or

submit them electronically. The mailing

address is U. S. Department of

Transportation Docket Management,

Room PL–401, 400 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20590. If you submit

your comments electronically, log onto

the Docket Management System website

at http://dms.dot.gov and click on ‘‘Help

& Information’’ or ‘‘Help/Info’’ to obtain

instructions.

How Can I Be Sure That My Comments

Were Received?

If you wish Docket Management to

notify you upon its receipt of your

comments, enclose a self-addressed,

stamped postcard in the envelope

containing your comments. Upon

receiving your comments, Docket

Management will return the postcard by

mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business

Information?

If you wish to submit any information

under a claim of confidentiality, send

three copies of your complete

submission, including the information

you claim to be confidential business

information, to the Chief Counsel, NCC–

01, National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, Room 5219, 400

Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC

20590. Include a cover letter supplying

the information specified in our

confidential business information

regulation (49 CFR part 512).

In addition, send two copies from

which you have deleted the claimed

confidential business information to

Docket Management, Room PL–401, 400

Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC

20590.

Will the Agency Consider Late

Comments?

In our response, we will consider all

comments that Docket Management

receives before the close of business on

the comment closing date indicated

above under DATES. To the extent

possible, we will also consider

comments that Docket Management

receives after that date.

Please note that even after the

comment closing date, we will continue

to file relevant information in the

Docket as it becomes available. Further,

some people may submit late comments.

Accordingly, we recommend that you

periodically check the Docket for new

material.

How Can I Read the Comments

Submitted by Other People?

You may read the comments by

visiting Docket Management in person

at Room PL–401, 400 Seventh Street,

SW, Washington, DC from 10 a.m. to 5

p.m., Monday through Friday.

You may also see the comments on

the Internet by taking the following

steps:

a. Go to the Docket Management

System (DMS) Web page of the

Department of Transportation (http://

dms.dot.gov).

b. On that page, click on ‘‘search.’’

c. On the next page (http://

dms.dot.gov/search/) type in the fourdigit Docket number shown at the

beginning of this document (7938).

Click on ‘‘search.’’

d. On the next page, which contains

Docket summary information for the

Docket you selected, click on the

desired comments. You may also

download the comments.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30117, 30168;

delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and

501.8.

Sue Bailey,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–30095 Filed 11–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P