[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 2, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39308-39309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-19024]



=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

RIN 2127-AF49


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Termination of Rulemaking

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

ACTION: Termination of rulemaking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice terminates rulemaking in response to a petition 
filed by Karen Slay, asking that NHTSA require manufacturers of pickup 
trucks to place some kind of warning or recommendation on the cargo 
beds and in the owner's manual ``stating the dangers of passengers 
riding in the cargo area of these vehicles.'' Pickup manufacturers have 
agreed to include in their owners' manuals clear and specific warnings 
about the dangers of riding in cargo areas of vehicles and to join with 
the agency, vehicle dealers, and other interested organizations in a 
broad-based effort to educate the public about the dangers associated 
with riding in the cargo areas of vehicles. In these circumstances, 
NHTSA has concluded that no regulatory action is needed at this time.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Kratzke, Office of Vehicle 
Safety Standards, NHTSA (NPS-10), 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, 
DC 20590. Mr. Kratzke can be reached by telephone at (202) 366-5203 or 
FAX at (202) 366-4329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Karen Slay, a Lubbock, Texas housewife and 
mother of four, filed with NHTSA a petition for rulemaking dated 
October 13, 1994. In this petition, Ms. Slay requested that NHTSA 
require manufacturers of pickup trucks to place some kind of warning or 
recommendation on the cargo beds and in the owner's manual ``stating 
the dangers of passengers riding in the cargo area of these vehicles.'' 
Ms. Slay referred to a July 3, 1994 crash in Scurry County, Texas, in 
which eight children were killed and four others seriously injured. 
These 12 children were riding in the cargo bed of the pickup and all 
were ejected upon impact.
    Ms. Slay indicated her understanding that State, not Federal, laws 
and regulations address how vehicles may be operated on the public 
roads. She stated that she has begun a ``campaign or crusade'' to get 
the law in her home State of Texas changed as it relates to persons 
riding in the cargo bed of pickups, ``so that Texas children do not 
lose their lives as innocent victims.'' However, Ms. Slay believed that 
a Federal requirement for a warning label and information in the 
owner's manual would serve a useful purpose by alerting persons to the 
hazards of riding in the cargo bed. In addition, Ms. Slay indicated her 
belief that not one pickup designer ever intended for the cargo area to 
be used for passengers.
    NHTSA began its consideration of this request by determining the 
size of the safety problem. From 1983 to 1993, 

[[Page 39309]]
there were about 210 fatalities to occupants of pickup cargo beds each 
year. The number of deaths each year shows remarkably little variation, 
beginning with 213 fatalities in 1983 and concluding with 211 
fatalities in 1993. While the total size of the problem of injuries and 
fatalities to cargo bed occupants is small in the context of overall 
traffic safety (about one-half of one percent of annual motor vehicle 
fatalities), the relative constancy of the number over this decade 
suggests that it has not been much affected by the many safety 
improvements made to pickups during that decade, nor has it been much 
affected by the changes in personal behavior by vehicle occupants 
during that decade, such as significant increases in safety belt use by 
occupants and significant decreases in drunk and drugged driving. This 
suggests it may be appropriate for NHTSA to try a new approach 
specifically targeted to reduce injuries and deaths to passengers in 
cargo beds. NHTSA granted Ms. Slay's petition on January 25, 1995, to 
allow for a full and careful consideration of the issues raised.
    However, the grant of the petition did not mean the agency endorsed 
Ms. Slay's suggested solution to the problem. The fatality data show 
that most of the fatalities in pickup cargo beds are teenagers or young 
adults aged 20-29. People in these age groups have traditionally been 
among the least receptive to safety warnings on labels. This 
information raises doubts about the effectiveness of a warning label as 
a solution to this problem.
    Given all of this information, NHSTA sought a creative alternative 
to address this safety risk outside of the traditional regulatory 
process. NHTSA began by sending a letter to each of the pickup 
manufacturers asking for their reaction to Karen Slay's petition and 
her suggested solution to the problem. Although the manufacturers did 
not agree with labeling their trucks, they did agree with Ms. Slay that 
something ought to be done. All of the pickup manufacturers agreed to 
voluntarily include clear language in each pickup owner's manual 
warning against riding in beds. Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, 
whose vehicles collectively comprise more than 86 percent of annual 
pickup sales in the U.S., went a step further. These three 
manufacturers agreed to provide a simple and uniform warning about the 
hazards of riding in cargo areas in the owner's manuals for each of 
their vehicles starting no later than the 1997 model year. All of the 
pickup manufacturers also committed to join in a broad-based effort to 
raise the public's awareness of this safety concern, including joining 
in promoting the adoption and enforcement of State laws restricting 
people from riding in pickup cargo beds and joining in a public 
education campaign on this subject.
    Having this understanding with the pickup manufacturers was 
encouraging, but NHTSA believed it needed to involve more potential 
partners in this effort if it was to be successful. Accordingly, the 
agency contacted the National Automobile Dealers Association to see if 
they would join in the effort to address this problem. The dealers' 
organization agreed. Also, the National PTA had written a letter to 
NHTSA in support of Karen Slay's petition. NHTSA contacted the National 
PTA to see if it would agree to participate in an information campaign 
on the hazards of riding in cargo beds, and the National PTA agreed to 
do so.
    NHTSA held a news conference on May 25, 1995 to announce this new 
cooperative effort to reduce injuries and deaths in pickup truck cargo 
beds. This cooperative effort will rely on the slogan ``Kids Aren't 
Cargo'' to raise the public's awareness about this safety risk. NHTSA 
has followed this up by including some ``Kids Aren't Cargo'' materials 
in the Campaign Safe and Sober materials made available to all of the 
States and by contacting national organizations other than the National 
PTA to see if they are interested in joining this effort.
    Since manufacturers and others have already voluntarily committed 
to join in a broad-based effort to reduce the injuries and deaths to 
occupants of cargo beds, there is no reason to proceed with 
consideration of a regulatory requirement to achieve that same goal. 
Accordingly, the rulemaking action associated with the January 25, 1995 
grant of Karen Slays's petition for rulemaking is hereby terminated.
    This termination should not be misinterpreted. If at some point in 
the future it becomes clear that the ``Kids Aren't Cargo'' campaign has 
not achieved its purpose, the agency will evaluate all of its options 
to reduce injuries and deaths to occupants in cargo areas, including 
possible regulatory requirements. At this time, however, the agency 
believes the ``Kids Aren't Cargo'' campaign represents an approach that 
is more likely to address effectively this safety risk than a 
regulatory approach would be. Therefore, rulemaking action on the Slay 
petition is terminated.
    The agency would like to close by expressing its appreciation to 
Ms. Slay for her petition and her work in this area. It is rare that an 
individual citizen with no previous involvement in the area of highway 
safety or dealing with State and Federal government can get a bill 
introduced in the State legislature and pass one of the two houses 
easily on its first hearing, and move the Federal government to put 
together a coalition of parties to try to address the issue on a 
National level. These accomplishments can be traced to a single citizen 
working out of her house with no funding, no list of members for whom 
she purported to speak--nothing more than her dedication to this issue 
and her ability to present clear, reasonable, and articulate arguments 
for why some action was necessary.

    Issued on July 27, 1995.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 95-19024 Filed 8-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-M