[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 195 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 54185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27025]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[DP98-007]


Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Denial of petition for a defect investigation.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the reasons for the denial of a 
petition submitted to NHTSA under 49 U.S.C. 30162, requesting that the 
agency commence a proceeding to determine the existence of a defect 
related to motor vehicle safety. The petition is hereinafter identified 
as DP98-007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. George Chiang, Office of Defects 
Investigation (ODI), NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20590. Telephone: (202) 366-5206.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Mr. Frank Czajka of Wilmington, Delaware, 
submitted a petition dated July 24, 1998, requesting that an 
investigation be initiated to determine whether Model Year (MY) 1996 
Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles contain a defect related to motor 
vehicle safety within the meaning of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301. The 
petitioner alleges that the head restraint on his MY 1996 Mercury Grand 
Marquis, positioned in the highest position, was not high enough to 
protect him from neck injuries during a rear impact collision.
    A review of agency data files, including information reported to 
the Auto Safety Hotline by consumers, indicated that there was only one 
complaint on head restraints on the subject vehicles. This complaint, 
which was submitted by the petitioner in December of 1997, concerned 
neck injuries allegedly sustained in a crash because of inadequate head 
restraint protection. There were no head restraint related complaints 
for either the MY 1995 or the MY 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis vehicles.
    Section S4.3(b)(1) of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 
No. 202, ``Head Restraints,'' requires that the top of the head 
restraint, when adjusted to its fully extended design position, shall 
not be less than 27.5 inches above the seating reference point (SRP), 
when measured parallel to torso line.
    On September 2, 1998, an ODI staff member inspected a subject 
vehicle and found that the top of the head restraint was approximately 
27.5 inches above the SRP with the head restraint in its stowed 
position, and 29.0 inches above the SRP with the head restraint 
adjusted to its fully extended position, when measured parallel to 
torso line (precise measurement of the SRP location was not possible on 
an installed driver seat, because the seat track, used to locate the 
SRP, was partially obstructed by the vehicle structure and the seat 
cushion). Ford Motor Company's FMVSS No. 202 compliance data verified 
that for the subject vehicles, the driver seat head restraint met the 
requirement of Section S4.3 (b)(1) of the Standard. Specifically, the 
top of the head restraint was measured to be 29.9 inches above the SRP 
with the head restraint adjusted to its fully extended position, when 
measured parallel to torso line.
    In view of the foregoing, it is unlikely that NHTSA would issue an 
order for the notification and remedy of a safety-related defect in the 
subject vehicles at the conclusion of the investigation requested in 
the petition. Therefore, in view of the need to allocate and prioritize 
NHTSA's limited resources to best accomplish the agency's safety 
mission, the petition is denied.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30162(d); delegations of authority at CFR 
1.50 and 501.8.

    Issued on: September 29, 1998.
Kenneth N. Weinstein,
Associate Administrator for Safety Assurance.
[FR Doc. 98-27025 Filed 10-7-98; 8:45 am]
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