[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 6, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 30366-30368]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14284]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-01-9785]


Notice of Public Meeting and Request for Comments To Address the 
Development of a Booster Seat Education Plan

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

ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting and Request for Comments.

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SUMMARY: On July 10, 2001, NHTSA will hold a public meeting to discuss 
the development of a 5 year strategic booster seat education plan, for 
implementation beginning November 2001. The intent of this meeting is 
to allow the sharing of viewpoints, information, and ideas on this 
important subject among all interested members of the public, including 
industry, government, and advocacy groups. Topics to be discussed 
include, but are not limited to, educational programs, program 
effectiveness and evaluation, target audiences, program delivery, 
challenges, and funding sources. Discussion topics will also be based 
on written comments received as a result of this Notice; comments 
submitted previously under a Request for Comments for ``Child Restraint 
System Safety Plan,'' Federal Register Notice published November 27, 
2000, Docket Number NHTSA 7938; recommendations of the Blue Ribbon 
Panel II (``Protecting Our Older Child Passengers,'' web address: 
http://www.actsinc.org/whatsnew__6.html); as well as recommendations 
from the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine's 
(AAAM, web address: www.carcrash.org) meeting on ``Booster Seats for 
Children: Closing the Gap Between Science and Public Policy,'' held in 
Washington, DC on April 23 and 24, 2001. The public is invited to 
participate in the meeting in any of four ways: by requesting to make a 
presentation at the meeting, by submitting written comments to be 
included in the public record, by submitting suggestions for topics to 
be included on the meeting agenda, and by attending the meeting. We 
anticipate that the published plan will lead to an increase in the use 
of booster seats by improving consumer awareness of the safety benefits 
of booster seat use, the importance of using booster seats, as well as 
enforcing the laws in those states that have upgraded their child

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restraint laws to include booster seats for children 4 to 8 years old.

DATES: Public Meeting: NHTSA will hold a public meeting on July 10, 
2001, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and continuing from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., if 
necessary, at the below listed address.
    Written Comments: Written requests to speak at the public meeting, 
comments to be submitted for the public record, and suggestions for 
items to be included in the meeting agenda, should be received at 
Docket Management at the below address no later than July 13, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Public Meeting: The public meeting will be held in room 
2230, U.S. Department of Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., 
Washington, DC 20590.
    Written Comments: Submit written comments to the DOT Docket 
Management System, U.S. Department of Transportation, PL 401, 400 
Seventh Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20590-0001. Comments should refer 
to the Docket Number (NHTSA-01-9785) and be submitted in two copies. If 
you wish to receive confirmation of receipt of your written comments, 
include a self-addressed, stamped postcard.
    Comments may also be submitted to the docket electronically by 
logging onto the DOT Docket Management System website at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help & Information'' to obtain instructions for 
filing the comment electronically. In every case, the comment should 
refer to the Docket Number.
    Claim of Confidentiality for Written Comments: Such claims should 
be submitted to Chief Counsel, NCC-01, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, Room 5219, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590, and Tami Levitas, Occupant Protection Division, NTS-12, National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. Include Docket Number and Notice title with 
correspondence.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tami Levitas, at the above address, 
telephone (202) 366-0652, Fax (202) 366-2766, e-mail 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We are all concerned with assuring the 
safety of our children, our most precious resources. With the 
cooperation of numerous partners, including the child restraint 
industry, automotive industry, citizen activists, non-profit 
organizations, and government, we have made great strides during the 
past few years in enhancing the safety of children riding in motor 
vehicles. For example, all states now have laws requiring children to 
be in child restraints, and some of these laws have been upgraded to 
cover the use of booster seats. More and more children are riding in 
child restraints, and they have saved over 300 lives per year over the 
past five years. There has also been an increased public awareness of 
the need to install child restraint systems properly and to keep 
children in appropriate child restraint systems as long as possible.
    Despite the successes, there are issues that require further 
attention. One such area is the use of booster seats. Restraint use 
decreases as children get older. While restraint use for infants is 97 
percent, and for toddlers (ages 1 through 4) is 91 percent, restraint 
use for children ages 5 through 15 decreases to 72 percent. These are 
children approximately ages 4 to 8. This age group accounts for 25 
percent of all fatalities among children under age 15.
    The Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and 
Documentation (TREAD) Act, enacted in November 2000, charged the 
Secretary of Transportation with developing a five year strategic plan 
to reduce deaths and injuries caused by failure to use the appropriate 
booster seat in the 4 to 8 year old age group by 25 percent. TREAD 
requires that this plan be implemented in November 2001.
    In addition to the general public, the agency invites such groups 
as the booster seat manufacturers, data collection/insurance groups, 
child advocacy groups, etc., to submit comments on this notice. All 
written comments shall be in English. Comments must not exceed 15 pages 
in length, but necessary attachments may be appended to these 
submissions without regard to the 15-page limit (49 CFR 553.21). This 
limitation is intended to encourage commenters to detail their primary 
arguments in a concise fashion.
    Amendments to comments received under Request for Comments ``Child 
Restraint System Safety Plan'' published in the November 27, 2000 
Federal Register (Docket Number NHTSA-7938) are also welcomed.
    If a commenter wishes to submit certain information under a claim 
of confidentiality, three copies of the complete submission, including 
purportedly confidential business information, should be submitted to 
the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address given above, and two 
copies from which the purportedly confidential information has been 
deleted should be submitted to Tami Levitas at the above address. A 
request for confidentiality should be accompanied by a cover letter 
setting forth the information specified in the agency's confidential 
business information regulation (49 CFR part 512).
    Further information on booster seats can be obtained by going to 
the NHTSA web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov.
    On July 10, 2001, NHTSA will conduct a public meeting to provide a 
forum for all interested persons to discuss the issues set out above. 
Some of the topics to be discussed at the meeting include:
    1. What type(s) of educational programing should be developed to 
increase booster seat use?
    2. What types of educational programing will have the biggest 
impact on increasing booster seat use?
    3. What do you see as the single greatest challenge in educating 
the public about booster seat use? How do we overcome this challenge?
    4. Who are the primary target audiences for booster seat education? 
Please identify specific segments of the population.
    5. What is the best method of program delivery (e.g. mass 
communication, classroom setting; electronic medium, etc.)?
    6. With whom should NHTSA partner to develop this plan?
    7. What role should private sector entities (i.e. auto 
manufacturers, child restraint manufacturers, retail outlets, etc.) 
play in this program?
    8. What are potential funding sources for program activities?
    9. What criterion(a) do people use when selecting a booster seat?
    10. What are the different types of booster seats?
    11. How do the different types of booster seats compare in terms 
of: features, cost, ease of use, etc.?
    12. Other topics will be based on comments received from this 
announcement.
    If you wish to make a presentation at the meeting, please contact 
Tami Levitas at the above mailing address or telephone number by July 
2, 2001. If your presentation will include slides, motion pictures, or 
other visual aids, please so indicate and NHTSA will make the proper 
equipment available. Presenters should bring at least one copy of their 
presentation to the meeting so that NHTSA can readily include the 
material in the public record. Those speaking at the public meeting 
should limit the length of their presentations to 10 minutes. Due to 
time limitations, NHTSA may have to limit the number of presenters per 
organization. NHTSA will provide auxiliary aids to participants as 
necessary. Any person desiring ``auxiliary aids'' (e.g., sign-language 
interpreter,

[[Page 30368]]

telecommunications devices for deaf persons (TDDs), readers, taped 
texts, brailled materials, or large print materials and/or a magnifying 
device), please contact Tami Levitas.
    Since Section 14 of the TREAD Act charged NHTSA with ``Improving 
the safety of child restraints,'' this is the first of several Federal 
Register notices to be published that will advise of public meetings, 
request for comments, and/or advise of notice of proposed rulemaking on 
topics such as child seat labeling, child restraint ratings system, and 
booster seat study.

I've Submitted Comments Before Under Similar Topics, What About 
Those Comments?

    Amendments to comments received under Request for Comments ``Child 
Restraint System Safety Plan'' published in the November 27, 2000, 
Docket Number NHTSA-7938, Federal Register are also welcomed.

How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket 
Number of this document (NHTSA-01-9785) in your comments. Submit all 
written comments to the Docket Management at the above address.

How Can I Be Sure That My Comments Were Received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, send three copies of your complete submission, 
including the information you claim to be confidential business 
information, to the Chief Counsel, NCC-01, National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, Room 5219, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, 
DC 20590. Include a cover letter supplying the information specified in 
our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR Part 512).
    In addition, send two copies from which you have deleted the 
claimed confidential business information to Docket Management, Room 
PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

    In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket 
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing 
date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also 
consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.
    Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

    You may read the comments by visiting Docket Management in person 
at Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC from 9:00 a.m. 
to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
    You may also see the comments on the Internet by taking the 
following steps:
    a. Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the 
Department of Transportation (http://dms.dot.gov).
    b. On that page, click on ``search.''
    c. On the next page ((http://dms.dot.gov/search/) type in the four-
digit Docket Number shown at the beginning of this document (9785). 
Click on ``search.''
    d. On the next page, which contains Docket summary information for 
the Docket you selected, click on the desired comments. You may also 
download the comments.

    Authority:  49 U.S.C. 30111, 30117, 30168; delegation of 
authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

Marilena Amoni,
Acting Associate Administrator for Traffic Safety Programs.
[FR Doc. 01-14284 Filed 6-5-01; 8:45 am]
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