[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 56 (Thursday, March 23, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 15230-15232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-7082]



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[[Page 15231]]

CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 1203


Interim Rule: Safety Standards for Bicycle Helmets

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Interim rule.

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SUMMARY: The Commission announces that certain voluntary standards for 
bicycle helmets will become interim mandatory standards pursuant to the 
Children's Bicycle Helmet Safety Act of 1994. These interim mandatory 
standards shall remain in effect until replaced by a final standard to 
be issued by the Commission. These statutory interim standards are the 
American National Standards Institute (``ANSI'') standard Z90.4-1984, 
the Snell Memorial Foundation standard B-90, and ASTM standard F 1447-
1993.
    The Commission also announces its determination, pursuant to the 
Bicycle Helmet Safety Act, that five additional voluntary safety 
standards for bicycle helmets are appropriate as interim mandatory 
standards. These standards are ASTM F 1447-1994, Snell B-90S, N-94, and 
B-95, and the Canadian voluntary standard CAN/CSA-D113.2-M89.
    Failure of a bicycle helmet manufactured after the effective date 
of the interim mandatory standards to comply with at least one of the 
interim standards shall be considered a violation of a consumer product 
safety standard promulgated under the Consumer Product Safety Act.

DATES: The interim mandatory standards for bicycle helmets will become 
effective March 15, 1995, and shall apply to all bicycle helmets 
manufactured after that date.
    The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in 
the regulation is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as 
of March 23, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Heh, Project Manager, 
Directorate for Engineering Sciences, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207; telephone (301)504-0494 ext. 1308.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 16, 1994, the Children's Bicycle 
Helmet Safety Act of 1994 (the ``Act'') was enacted. Secs. 201-207, 
Pub. L. 103-267, 108 Stat. 726-729; 15 U.S.C. 6001-6006. This Act 
provides that bicycle helmets manufactured 9 months or more from that 
date (i.e., on or after March 16, 1995) shall conform to one of the 
following interim safety standards: (1) The American National Standards 
Institute (ANSI) standard designated as Z90.4-1984, (2) the Snell 
Memorial Foundation standard designated as B-90, (3) the ASTM, formerly 
the American Society for Testing and Materials, standard designated as 
F 1447, or (4) any other standard that the Commission determines is 
appropriate. In this notice, the Commission codifies these interim 
mandatory standards as 16 CFR part 1203 and clarifies that ASTM 
standard F 1447 means the 1993 version of that standard. This is the 
version of the F 1447 standard that was in effect at the time the Act 
was enacted. The Act provides that failure to conform to an interim 
standard shall be considered a violation of a consumer product safety 
standard issued under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), 15 U.S.C. 
2051-2084.
    The Act also directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to 
begin a proceeding under 5 U.S.C. 553 to:
    1. Review the requirements of the interim standards described above 
and establish a final standard based on such requirements,
    2. Include in the final standard a provision to protect against the 
risk of helmets coming off the heads of bicycle riders,
    3. Include in the final standard provisions that address the risk 
of injury to children, and
    4. Include additional provisions as appropriate.
    The Act provides that the final standard shall take effect 1 year 
from the date it is issued and that the standard shall be considered to 
be a consumer product safety standard issued under the CPSA. However, 
the Act also provides that the provisions of the CPSA regarding 
rulemaking procedures, statutory findings, and judicial review (15 
U.S.C. 2056, 2058, 2060, and 2079(d)) shall not apply to this 
proceeding or to the final standard. When the final standard becomes 
effective, it will replace the interim standards.
    The Commission reviewed the bicycle helmet standards identified in 
the Act (ANSI, ASTM, and Snell B-90), as well as international bicycle 
helmet standards and draft revisions of the ANSI, ASTM, and Snell 
standards that were under consideration. Based on this review, the 
Commission developed a proposed mandatory safety standard for bicycle 
helmets. 59 FR 41719 (August 15, 1994). The proposed final safety 
standard contains requirements for general construction, labeling, 
peripheral vision, impact attenuation, and dynamic strength of the 
retention system of bicycle helmets. In addition to requirements 
derived from one or more of the voluntary standards applicable to this 
product, the proposed standard includes requirements specifically 
applicable to children's helmets and requirements to prevent helmets 
from coming off during an accident. The Commission also proposed 
testing and recordkeeping requirements so it can ensure that helmets 
subject to the standard meet its requirements.
    The August 15, 1994, proposal also described the statutory interim 
standards, explained that the Commission could determine that 
additional interim standards were appropriate, and stated that the 
Commission had not yet done so. Two comments received by the Commission 
on that notice requested that the Commission designate certain other 
voluntary standards for bicycle helmets as interim mandatory standards. 
The Snell Memorial Foundation requested that, in addition to the Snell 
B-90 standard specified by the Act, three other Snell standards be 
determined appropriate as interim mandatory bicycle helmet standards. 
These additional Snell standards are: (1) B-90S (a supplemental 
revision of the Snell B-90 standard), (2) N-94 (a multi-purpose helmet 
standard), and B-95 (the latest revision of the Snell bicycle helmet 
standard, which will take effect in 1995). Snell states that helmets 
certified to any of these three standards will also conform to the 
Snell B-90 standard specified in the Act.
    The Health Protection Branch of Health Canada recommended that the 
Canadian voluntary standard (Cycling Helmets-CAN/CSA-D113.1-M89) be 
determined as an appropriate interim mandatory standard. Health Canada 
stated that such action would comport with Article 906 of the North 
American Free Trade Agreement (``NAFTA''), which states that ``the 
Parties shall, to the greatest extent practicable, make compatible 
their respective standards-related measures * * *.''
    In addition to reviewing the provision and test methods of the 
requested Snell and Canadian interim standards, the Commission also 
evaluated the 1994 revision to ASTM F 1447. The Commission concluded 
that these standards are comparable to, and in some cases exceed, the 
safety performance criteria of the interim standards identified in the 
Act. Accordingly, the Commission determines that these additional 
voluntary standards are appropriate as interim mandatory safety 
standards for bicycle helmets.
[[Page 15232]]

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 1203

    Consumer protection, Bicycles, Incorporation by reference, Infants 
and children, Safety.

    For the reasons given above, the Commission adds a new part 1203 of 
Title 16 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to read as follows:

PART 1203--SAFETY STANDARD FOR BICYCLE HELMETS

Sec.
1203.1  Purpose and basis.
1203.2  Scope and effective date.
1203.3  Interim safety standards.

    Authority: Secs. 201-207, Pub. L. 103-267, 108 Stat. 726-729, 15 
U.S.C. 6001-6006.


Sec. 1203.1  Purpose and basis.

    The purpose and basis of this rule is to protect bicyclists from 
head injuries by ensuring that bicycle helmets comply with the 
requirements of appropriate existing voluntary standards, as provided 
in 15 U.S.C. 6004(a).


Sec. 1203.2  Scope and effective date.

    (a) Bicycle helmets manufactured after March 15, 1995, shall comply 
with the requirements of one of the standards specified in Sec. 1203.3. 
This requirement shall be considered a consumer product safety standard 
issued under the Consumer Product Safety Act.
    (b) A bicycle helmet is any headgear marketed as suitable for 
providing protection from head injuries associated with bicycle use.
    (c) These interim mandatory safety standards will not apply to 
bicycle helmets manufactured after the effective date of a final 
bicycle helmet standard to be issued in the future by the Commission.


Sec. 1203.3  Interim safety standards.

    (a) Bicycle helmets must comply with one or more of the following 
standards, which are incorporated herein by reference:
    (1) American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard Z90.4-
1984, Protective Headgear for Bicyclists,
    (2) ASTM standards F 1447-93 or F 1447-94, Standard Specification 
for Protective Headgear Used in Bicycling, incorporating the relevant 
provisions of ASTM F 1446-93 or ASTM F 1446-94, Standard Test Methods 
for Equipment and Procedures Used in Evaluating the Performance 
Characteristics of Protective Headgear, respectively,
    (3) Canadian Standards Association standard, Cycling Helmets CAN/
CSA-D113.2-M89,
    (4) Snell Memorial Foundation (Snell) 1990 Standard for Protective 
Headgear for Use in Bicycling (designation B-90),
    (5) Snell 1990 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in 
Bicycling, including March 9, 1994 Supplement (designation B-90S),
    (6) Snell 1994 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Non-
Motorized Sports (designation N-94), or
    (7) Snell 1995 Standard for Protective Headgear for Use with 
Bicycles B-95.
    (b) This incorporation by reference was approved by the Director of 
the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 
51. Copies of the standards may be obtained as follows. Copies of the 
ANSI Z90.4 standard are available from: American National Standards 
Institute, 11 W. 42nd Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10036. Copies of 
the ASTM standards are available from: ASTM, 1916 Race Street, 
Philadelphia, PA 19103. Copies of the Canadian Standards Association 
CAN/CSA-D113.2-M89 standard are available from: CSA, 178 Rexdale 
Boulevard, Rexdale (Toronto), Ontario, Canada, M9W 1R3. Copies of the 
Snell standards are available from: Snell Memorial Foundation, Inc., 
P.O. Box 493, 7 Flowerfield, Suite 28, St. James, New York 11780. 
Copies may be inspected at the Office of the Secretary, Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 
20814, or at the Office of the Federal Register, 800 N. Capitol Street 
NW, Room 700, Washington, DC.

    Dated: March 16, 1995.
Sadye E. Dunn,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 95-7082 Filed 3-22-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P