[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 75 (Monday, April 20, 1998)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 19467-19468] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 98-10299] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 49 CFR Part 571 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Systems; Denial of Petition for Rulemaking
Agency
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation.
Action
Denial of petition for rulemaking.
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Summary
This document denies a petition for rulemaking from The Booster Seat Company Ltd., Hamilton, New Zealand, requesting that NHTSA amend the structural integrity requirement of its Federal motor vehicle safety standard on child restraint systems so as to allow its product, a belt-positioning booster seat made entirely of polystyrene, to be manufactured and sold in the United States. The petitioner believes
polystyrene has ``superior cushioning qualities'' compared to a blow molded plastic, yet acknowledges that the material may fracture or crack in a crash. This potential would make it likely that a polystyrene child seat would fail the structural integrity requirement in a compliance test. NHTSA is denying the petition because the loss of structural integrity of a restraint could negatively affect the performance of the system by allowing injurious forces to be imposed on the child occupant. Further, because damage to polystyrene may not be easily detected, there is a concern that consumers could mistakenly use damaged polystyrene seats, putting the child occupant at risk. Not enough is known about these potential concerns to warrant reducing the system integrity requirement as requested.
For Further Information Contact
For nonlegal issues: Dr. George Mouchahoir, Office of Vehicle Safety Standards (telephone 202-366-4919). For legal issues: Deirdre Fujita, Office of the Chief Counsel (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
Section S5.1.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213, ``Child Restraint Systems'' (49 CFR Sec. 571.213), sets forth requirements for child restraint system integrity. Section S5.1.1(a) states that when dynamically tested, each child restraint shall:
Exhibit no complete separation of any load bearing structural element and no partial separation exposing either surfaces with a radius of less than 1/4 inch or surfaces with protrusions greater than 3/8 inch above the immediate adjacent surrounding contactable surface of any structural element of the system. * * *
On August 5, 1996, Mr. John Lord of The Booster Seat Company of Hamilton, New Zealand, petitioned NHTSA to amend S5.1.1(a) to permit fractures or cracks in belt-positioning booster seats that are made from polystyrene. The petitioner believes polystyrene has ``superior cushioning qualities'' compared to blow molded plastic, yet acknowledges that ``by nature of the material'' may fracture or crack in a manner prohibited by the system integrity requirement of S5.1.1(a). The petitioner did not believe the edges would harm by ``pinching, cutting or stabbing the child'' because with polystyrene, ``[b]y nature, all cracked edges are soft.'' The petitioner suggested that NHTSA should amend S5.1.1.(a) for belt-positioning seats, to allow for separation of the structural elements so long as a sharpness limit is met for the edges formed by the separation. NHTSA is denying the petition because the structural integrity requirement addresses more than the sharpness of exposed edges formed by a separation of materials. The requirement ensures the structural soundness of a restraint in a crash. Structural soundness in a crash is important for maintaining the proper positioning of the child. A belt- positioning booster seat lifts the child so that the vehicle shoulder belt is positioned on the child's shoulder and away from the face and neck and the lap belt is across the child's hips and off of the abdomen. A loss of structural integrity of a booster seat during impact can result in the repositioning of the child in relation to the belts. If the belts were to be repositioned on the child's neck or abdomen, high forces could be imposed on those vulnerable regions, resulting in injury. Because neck and abdominal loading are not measured by the 3- year-old and 6-year-old dummies used in Standard 213's compliance tests to evaluate booster seats, a booster seat could meet the standard's performance criteria (aside from the integrity requirement) and still pose a safety risk for children. It is also noted that revising S5.1.1(a) as the petitioner suggested may also affect the structural soundness of a restraint over the long term. A polystyrene child seat could easily be penetrated by sharp objects and cracked or fractured during use in a vehicle or during ordinary handling. Once a crack has formed in the material, it may quickly propagate due to the nature of the material, so that a child seat could be easily snapped apart along a crack line. This damage and degradation of the material could significantly reduce the performance of the restraint. Further, fractures in the polystyrene are not easily seen. The material itself appears pocketed and lined with tiny fissures, and crack lines due to material failure may not be obvious. Not enough is known at this time about these potential concerns to warrant reducing the system integrity requirements of the standard as requested. In accordance with 49 CFR part 552, this completes the agency's review of the petition. The agency has concluded that there is no reasonable possibility that the amendment requested by the petitioner would be issued at the conclusion of the rulemaking proceeding. Accordingly, the petition is denied.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117 and 30166; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.
Issued on April 14, 1998. L. Robert Shelton, Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards. [FR Doc. 98-10299 Filed 4-17-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-59-P