[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 14, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 68107-68108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-28985]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2000-8258]
RIN No. 2127-AI10


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Occupant Crash Protection

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

[[Page 68108]]


ACTION: Notice of technical workshop.

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SUMMARY: This document announces that NHTSA will hold a technical 
workshop to give NHTSA an opportunity to make sure it understands the 
petitioners' issues concerning some of the test procedures for the 
advanced air bag final rule issued earlier this year.

DATES: The workshop will be held December 6, 2000, at the address 
listed below. Lists of persons wishing to participate in the workshop 
and the names of the vehicle models that participants wish to bring to 
the workshop to demonstrate test dummy positioning problems should be 
provided to Ed Jettner at the address or telephone number listed below 
by November 22, 2000. Due to space and time limitations, NHTSA may have 
to limit the number of representatives per organization as well as the 
number of problematic vehicles that will be examined.

ADDRESSES: The workshop will be held at the Vehicle Research and Test 
Center (VRTC), 10820 State Route 347, East Liberty, Ohio 43319. 
Directions to VRTC and the final agenda will be sent to participants.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ed Jettner, Office of Crashworthiness 
Standards, NPS-11, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, telephone (202) 366-4917, 
Fax (202) 366-4329, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 12, 2000, NHTSA published a final 
rule amending Standard No. 208, Occupant Crash Protection, to require 
that future air bags be designed to create less risk of serious air 
bag-induced injuries than current air bags, particularly for small 
women and young children; and provide improved frontal crash protection 
for all occupants, by means that include advanced air bag technology. 
(65 FR 30680; Docket No. NHTSA 00-7013; Notice 1) The period for 
submitting petitions for reconsideration closed June 26, 2000.
    NHTSA received nine petitions for reconsideration of the final 
rule, some of which raised questions concerning some of the new test 
procedures in the final rule. We also received three requests for 
clarification of those procedures. To enable interested parties and 
NHTSA personnel to better understand the questions concerning those 
test procedures, we believe that it would be desirable to hold a 
technical workshop. The workshop will be limited to those procedures 
that petitioners have raised as legitimate technical issues. It will 
not address procedures that were the subject of policy-based 
objections. For example, NHTSA did not provide detailed test procedures 
on how to position the child or child dummy in static suppression 
tests. This lack of specificity was intentional since we wanted this 
technology to be robust enough to protect all children generally 
situated in the positions required by the final rule. While there may 
be a difference of opinion about the appropriateness of the agency's 
position, there is no need to review that issue at a technical 
workshop. The agency will respond to this and other non-technical 
issues in the notice responding to the petitions for reconsideration.
    We believe that the petitioners raised legitimate technical issues 
about the following test procedures, and therefore that only those 
issues should be addressed at the workshop:
    1. Cinchdown procedure for child restraints in vehicles equipped 
with static suppression technology to comply with the advanced air bag 
requirements.
    2. Procedures for positioning the 6-year-old and 3-year-old child 
dummies in the passenger seating position in vehicles equipped with 
low-risk deployment technology to comply with the advanced air bag 
requirements. The workshop will address the method used to achieve the 
final position and the effect that the vehicle seat may have on 
achieving that position.
    3. Procedures for positioning for the 5th percentile adult female 
dummy in the driver seating position for demonstrating compliance with 
the low-risk deployment test of the advanced air bag requirements. The 
workshop will address the method used to achieve the final chin-on-rim 
position, and the effect that the vehicle seat may have on achieving 
the chin-on-rim and chest-on-module positions.
    NHTSA will announce any resolution of these issues in the notice 
responding to the petitions for reconsideration.
    Several petitioners noted that they had problems with the above-
listed test procedures in particular vehicles. We request that 
participants who have experienced problems with specific vehicles bring 
the vehicles to the workshop so that we may address as many of the 
different vehicle configurations as possible. If no problematic 
vehicles are presented at the workshop, we will limit the workshop to 
the cinchdown procedure for child seats.
    We request that persons wishing to participate in the workshop 
notify Ed Jettner not later than November 22, 2000. Interested persons 
should indicate the company or organization which they represent. 
Interested persons wishing to bring a particular vehicle to demonstrate 
the dummy positioning difficulties should also identify for Mr. Jettner 
the vehicle models they would like to bring to the workshop. Once we 
compile a list of interested persons and problematic vehicles, we will 
determine whether the number of representatives per participant must be 
limited due to space and time constraints. If this proves to be 
necessary, we will equitably allocate the available space among the 
participating companies and organizations and among the identified 
problematic vehicles.
    To facilitate communication, NHTSA will provide auxiliary aids to 
participants as necessary during the meeting. To ensure their 
availability, any person desiring assistance of auxiliary aids (e.g., 
sign-language interpreter) should contact Ed Jettner.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1392, 1401, 1403, 1407, delegation of 
authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

    Issued on November 7, 2000.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-28985 Filed 11-13-00; 8:45 am]
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