[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 74 (Thursday, April 17, 1997)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18723-18725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-9879]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. 74-14; Notice 116]
RIN 2127-AG14


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Occupant Crash Protection 
Child Restraint Systems

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This document amends Standard No. 213, ``Child Restraint 
Systems,'' to modify the air bag warning label which rear-facing child 
seats are required to bear beginning May 27, 1997. This document 
responds to a request from Mercedes-Benz, asking that the standard 
allow for additional wording in the required text of the label. NHTSA 
by this document makes final on an interim basis the amendment 
requested by Mercedes, which would clarify the warning and which would 
not lessen the safety of child restraints. The agency also solicits 
comments on this amendment. Because this amendment will clarify the 
required warning label and will relieve a restriction currently imposed 
by the standard, NHTSA has determined that it is in the public interest 
to make the changes effective immediately on an interim basis. Assuming 
that a final rule is issued, the final rule would respond to any 
comments and would be effective upon publication in the Federal 
Register.

DATES: Effective April 11, 1997. Comments must be received by June 2, 
1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to the docket and notice numbers above 
and be submitted to: Docket Section, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590. 
Docket hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For nonlegal issues: Mary Versailles, Office of Safety Performance 
Standards, NPS-31 , telephone (202) 366-2057.
For legal issues: Deirdre Fujita, Office of the Chief Counsel, NCC-20, 
telephone (202) 366-2992.

    Both can be reached at the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document amends Standard No. 213, 
``Child Restraint Systems,'' on an interim basis to modify the air bag 
warning label which rear-facing child seats are required to bear 
beginning May 27, 1997. This document also solicits comments on this 
amendment. The requirement for the label was adopted by a November 27, 
1996 final rule (61 FR 60206),<SUP>1 which also adopted new warning 
label requirements for vehicles with air bags. The labels will help 
reduce the adverse effects of air bags, especially for children, by 
increasing the number of people who place child restraints in the rear 
seat instead of the front.
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     <SUP>1 Corrected December 4, 1996 (61 FR 64297), December 11, 
1996 (61 FR 65187), and January 2, 1997 (62 FR 31).
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    The requirement for the enhanced child seat label is set forth in 
S5.5.2(k) of Standard 213. The requirement specifies, among other 
things, the exact content of the message that must be provided by the 
label. The message of the label must be preceded by a heading 
(``WARNING''), with an alert symbol, and state the following:
    DO NOT place rear-facing child seat on front seat with air bag.
    DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY can occur.
    The back seat is the safest place for children 12 and under. Also 
required for the label is a pictogram showing a rear-facing child seat 
being impacted by an air bag, surrounded by a red circle with a slash 
across it. Flexibility as to the content of the label is not provided; 
thus, additional wording is not permitted.
    On April 2, 1997, Mercedes asked NHTSA to amend the warning label 
for child restraints that meet certain criteria. Mercedes has developed 
a rear-facing child restraint system that has a device that 
automatically cuts off the passenger-side air bag in vehicles designed 
to respond to such a device. Mercedes intends to market this child 
restraint initially to customers purchasing vehicles without rear 
seats, and that are equipped with the cutoff feature. The cutoff 
feature makes it possible to safely use a child restraint system on the 
front seat of these vehicles without subjecting the child to risk of 
injury from an air bag deployment. While NHTSA recommends that any 
child be in the rear seat of a vehicle equipped with one, if Mercedes 
later installs the cutoff feature in vehicles with rear seat, the 
cutoff feature will avoid the risk of injury from an air bag deployment 
if a rear-facing child seat in used on the front seat. Mercedes 
believes that the first statement (``DO NOT place rear-facing child 
seat on front seat with air bag'') is inappropriate for child 
restraints with a feature to turn off the air bag. It could also be 
potentially confusing to owners of these vehicles who have such a child 
restraint, when they have been instructed that the child restraint will 
automatically deactivate the air bag and thus can be used on the front 
seat. The amendment requested by Mercedes would amend the sentence 
stating ``DO NOT place rear-facing child seat on front seat with air 
bag'' by adding the phrase ``unless air bag is off.''
    The statements on the air bag warning label were designed to 
improve the likelihood that people will read the label, understand its 
message, and place child restraint systems in the rear seat. The 
required phrase ``DO NOT place rear-facing child seat on front seat 
with air bag'' is incomplete and possibly confusing for child restraint 
systems, such as the Mercedes system, that automatically deactivate the 
air bag in vehicles, since those child restraints are intended for use 
on and marketed as appropriate for front seat positions on vehicles 
equipped with complimentary air bag cutoff devices. Adding the phrase 
``unless air bag is off'' at the end of the statement clarifies the 
message and tailors it more appropriately for a system such as the one 
offered by Mercedes. Moreover, NHTSA already permits vehicles that have 
manual cutoff switches for the passenger-side

[[Page 18724]]

air bag to add the phrase ``unless air bag is off'' to the end of a 
warning about never placing a rear-facing child restraint in the front 
seat. (S4.5.1(b)(2) of Standard No. 208, as amended November 11, 1996.) 
Since NHTSA can see no diminution of safety resulting from this change, 
the agency tentatively amends the standard to accommodate Mercedes' 
request.
    The following restrictions would be placed on the ability to add 
the words. The phrase ``unless air bag is off'' may be added to a label 
on a child restraint, provided that the restraint is equipped with a 
device that--
    (a) automatically deactivates the passenger-side air bag; and
    (b) activates a telltale light in the vehicle that complies with 
S4.5.4.3 of Standard 208.
    NHTSA believes these conditions are needed to ensure that a rear-
facing child restraint will be safely used on a passenger seat with an 
air bag. These conditions reduce the likelihood that a child restraint 
would be used with an active air bag.
    Because this amendment clarifies a requirement and avoids possible 
confusion resulting from the required labeling, NHTSA finds for good 
cause that an immediate amendment of the requirement is in the public 
interest.

Submission of Comments

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments on this 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 above for the notice 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 final rule will be considered 
as suggestions for further rulemaking action. Comments on the notice 
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.

Regulatory Analyses and Notices

A. Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures

    NHTSA has considered the impact of this rulemaking action under 
E.O. 12866 and the Department of Transportation's regulatory policies 
and procedures. This rulemaking document was not reviewed under E.O. 
12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review.'' This action has been 
determined to be ``nonsignificant'' under the Department of 
Transportation's regulatory policies and procedures. The amendments 
pertain to optional label changes that are minor in nature. The agency 
concludes that the impacts of the amendments are so minimal that a full 
regulatory evaluation is not required.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    NHTSA has also considered the impacts of this notice under the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act. I hereby certify that this rule does not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The rule will not impose any new requirements or costs on 
manufacturers, but instead will permit a manufacturer to use an 
optional label on its child restraint if conditions on the use of the 
label are met. Further, since no price increases are associated with 
the rule, small organizations and small governmental units are not be 
affected in their capacity as purchasers of child restraints.

C. Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-
511), there are no requirements for information collection associated 
with this rule.

D. National Environmental Policy Act

    NHTSA has also analyzed this rule under the National Environmental 
Policy Act and determined that it will not have a significant impact on 
the human environment.

E. Executive Order 12612 (Federalism)

    NHTSA has analyzed this rule in accordance with the principles and 
criteria contained in E.O. 12612, and has determined that this rule 
will not have significant federalism implications to warrant the 
preparation of a Federalism Assessment.

F. Civil Justice Reform

    This rule has no any retroactive effect. Under 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 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.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571

    Imports, Motor vehicle safety, Motor vehicles.

    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA amends 49 CFR Part 571 as 
set forth below.

PART 571--FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS

    1. The authority citation for Part 571 continues 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 is amended by revising the introductory text of 
S5.5.2(k), revising the introductory text of paragraph S5.5.2(k)(4), 
and adding S5.5.2(k)(5), to read as follows:


Sec. 571.213  Standard No. 213, Child Restraint Systems.

* * * * *
    S5.5.2 * * *
    (k) At the manufacturer's option, child restraint systems 
manufactured before May 27, 1997 may comply with

[[Page 18725]]

the requirements of S5.5.2(k)(4) or S5.5.2(k)(5) as appropriate, 
instead of the requirements of S5.5.2(k)(1)(ii) or S5.5.2(k)(2)(ii).
* * * * *
    (4) Except as provided in (k)(5) of this section, in the case of 
each child restraint system that can be used in a rear-facing position 
and is manufactured on or after May 27, 1997, instead of the warning 
specified in S5.5.2(k)(1)(ii) or S5.5.2(k)(2)(ii) of this standard, a 
label that conforms in content to Figure 10 and to the requirements of 
S5.5.2(k)(4)(i) through S5.5.2(k)(4)(iii) of this standard shall be 
permanently affixed to the outer surface of the cushion or padding in 
or adjacent to the area where a child's head would rest, so that the 
label is plainly visible and easily readable.
* * * * *
    (5) If a child restraint system is equipped with a device that 
automatically deactivates the passenger-side air bag in a vehicle and 
activates a telltale light in the vehicle that complies with S4.5.4.3 
of FMVSS No. 208, the label specified in Figure 10 may include the 
phrase ``unless air bag is off'' after ``on front seat with air bag.''
* * * * *
    Issued on April 11, 1997.
Ricardo Martinez,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-9879 Filed 4-11-97; 4:59 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P