[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 206 (Monday, October 26, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 57091-57092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28522]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Parts 571, 585, 587, and 595

[Docket No. NHTSA 98-4405, Notice 2]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Occupant Crash Protection

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: We are issuing this document to announce that we will be 
holding a public meeting on technical issues relating to our proposal 
to require advanced air bags. The purposes of our public meeting are to 
review and discuss our technical paper on proposed injury criteria; and 
our technical paper on crash tests and other tests.

DATES: We will hold the public meeting on November 23 and 24, 1998, 
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If you wish to participate in the meeting, 
please contact Clarke Harper, at the address or telephone number listed 
below, by November 12, 1998. If you plan to present a statement during 
the meeting, please provide a copy of your statement to Mr. Harper by 
November 16, 1998.

ADDRESSES: We will hold the public meeting in room 2230 of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Clarke Harper, Office of 
Crashworthiness Standards, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 400 Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590 
(telephone 202-366-2264; fax 202-493-2739).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

A. Summary of Proposal for Advanced Air Bags

    On September 18, 1998, we published in the Federal Register (63 FR 
49958) a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to upgrade Standard No. 
208, Occupant Crash Protection, to require advanced air bags. The 
advanced air bags would be required in some new passenger cars and 
light trucks beginning September 1, 2002, and in all new cars and light 
trucks beginning September 1, 2005.
    The goal of our proposal is to preserve and enhance the benefits of 
air bags while minimizing the risks. We are proposing to add a new set 
of requirements to prevent air bags from causing serious injuries and 
to expand the existing set of requirements intended to improve the 
ability of air bags to cushion and protect occupants in frontal 
crashes.
    Our proposals include several new performance requirements to 
ensure that the advanced air bags do not pose unreasonable risks to 
out-of-position occupants. To ensure that the new air bags are designed 
to avoid causing serious injury to a broad array of occupants, we would 
test the air bags using test dummies representing 12-month-old, 3-year-
old, and 6-year-old children and 5th percentile adult females.
    We are also proposing requirements that would improve the ability 
of air bags to cushion and protect a broader array of belted and 
unbelted occupants, including small women. The standard's current 
dynamic crash test requirements specify the use of 50th percentile 
adult male dummies only. Under our proposal, we would also use 5th 
percentile adult female dummies in the future. The weight and size of 
these dummies are representative of not only small women, but also many 
teenagers.
    We are proposing to phase out the current unbelted sled test option 
as requirements for advanced air bags are phased in. This would mean 
that vehicles with advanced air bags would

[[Page 57092]]

be required to be certified to the unbelted barrier test at speeds up 
to and including 30 mph.
    Finally, we are proposing new and/or upgraded injury criteria for 
all of the standard's test requirements. For example, we have developed 
injury criteria and seat positioning procedures that we believe are 
appropriate for small females. Among other things, we are including 
neck injury criteria, since persons close to the air bag at deployment 
are at greater risk of neck injury. We are also proposing to upgrade 
the current chest injury criteria.

B. Technical Papers

    In support of our proposal to require advanced air bags, our Office 
of Research and Development prepared two technical papers. One paper is 
titled ``Development of Improved Injury Criteria for the Assessment of 
Advanced Automotive Restraint Systems.'' This paper documents the 
proposed injury criteria for specified body regions, including both the 
rationale and performance limits associated with them for all the 
various size dummies included in the proposal.
    The second paper is titled ``Review of Potential Test Procedures 
for FMVSS No. 208.'' This paper reviews potential test procedures for 
evaluating frontal crashworthiness, including full frontal fixed 
barrier tests, oblique frontal fixed barrier tests, sled tests with a 
generic crash pulse, frontal fixed offset deformable barrier tests, 
perpendicular moving deformable barrier tests, oblique moving 
deformable barrier tests, and full frontal fixed deformable barrier 
tests.

Public Meeting

A. Purposes

    The purposes of the meeting are to review and discuss--
     our technical paper on proposed injury criteria; and
     our technical paper on crash tests and other tests.

B. Procedural Matters and Agenda

    We will devote the first day, November 23, to our technical paper 
on proposed injury criteria and related issues. The second day, 
November 24, will be devoted to our technical paper on crash tests and 
other tests and related issues. If you plan to present a statement on 
the second technical paper, please address the following question in 
your statement: Which tests best replicate what happens in motor 
vehicles during those real world crashes that can cause serious or 
fatal injury?
    To the extent that participants recommend alternatives to our 
proposal, we request that they be as specific as possible. We 
particularly request that any participants recommending an alternative 
to the unbelted barrier test address the issues raised by Question 22 
in the NPRM for advanced air bags (63 FR at 49982), and by the 
questions in the Appendix to that NPRM at the end of section C (63 FR 
at 50020).
    Each day will have two sessions. Each day's morning session will 
begin with a brief presentation by the agency, followed by 
presentations by public participants concerning technical issues. We 
will determine the time available for individual presentations based on 
the number of persons who submit requests to participate by the 
November 12 deadline. We encourage parties with similar points of view 
to coordinate their presentations to avoid duplication.
    No opportunity will be afforded the public to directly question 
participants in the meetings. However, the public may submit written 
questions to the presiding panel of Federal officials for the panel to 
consider asking of particular participants. The presiding officials 
reserve the right to ask questions of all persons making oral 
presentations.
    The agenda for the public meeting is set forth below:

Agenda for Public Meeting on Advanced Air Bags

Day One

I. Introduction
    Agency presentation--Brief overview of NPRM and supporting 
technical papers
II. Technical paper on proposed injury criteria
    A. Agency presentation summarizing its paper analyzing the criteria
    B. Presentation by public of prepared statements

Day Two

III. Technical paper on crash tests and other tests--Which tests best 
replicate what happens in real world crashes that can cause serious or 
fatal injury?
    A. Agency presentation summarizing its paper analyzing the tests
    B. Presentation by public of prepared statements

    To facilitate communication, we will provide auxiliary aids (e.g., 
sign-language interpreter, braille materials, large print materials 
and/or a magnifying device) to participants as necessary, during the 
meeting. Any person desiring assistance of auxiliary aids should 
contact Mr. Harper no later than 10 days before the meeting. For any 
presentation that will include slides, motion pictures, or other visual 
aids, the presenters should bring at least one copy to the meeting so 
that we can readily include the material in the public record.
    We will place a copy of any written statement in the docket for 
this rulemaking. In addition, we will make a verbatim record of the 
public meeting and place a copy in the docket.

C. Availability of Relevant Documents

    The September 18 proposal for advanced air bags and the two 
technical papers have been placed in the docket. You may either visit 
the docket in Washington, DC, or by the Web.
    The docket is located at Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., 
Washington, DC.. Docket hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday. The Docket Management website is at ``http://dms.dot.gov/''. 
You should search for docket number 4405.
    The September 18 proposal (typewritten version) and the two 
technical papers are also available on NHTSA's website. The address for 
this site is ``http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/''. You should select 
``Advanced Air Bags'' under ``Popular Information.''

D. Written Comments

    If you wish to submit written comments on the issues discussed at 
the meeting, please combine them with your written comments on our 
September 18 proposal for advanced air bags. The comment closing date 
for written comments on the proposal is December 17, 1998. We set forth 
procedures related to the submission of written comments in our 
proposal.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 57l

    Imports, Motor vehicle safety, Motor vehicles.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117 and 30166; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

    Issued on: October 20, 1998.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 98-28522 Filed 10-21-98; 10:30 am]
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