[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2002)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 44416-44417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16632]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-02-11707]
RIN 2127-AI34


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Systems

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

ACTION: Extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: NHTSA has received two petitions asking the agency to extend 
the comment period for a proposal to amend the Federal safety standard 
for child restraint systems pursuant to the Transportation Recall 
Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation Act of 2000. Under the 
proposal, the standard would be revised to incorporate improved test 
dummies and updated procedures used to test child restraints, new or 
revised injury criteria to assess the dynamic performance of child 
restraints, and extended to apply to child restraints recommended for 
use by children up to 65 pounds. The comment period for the proposal 
closes July 1, 2002. To provide parties more time to assess various 
aspects of the proposal, the agency is extending the deadline by one 
month.

DATES: Written comments must be received by July 31, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You may submit your comments in writing to: Docket 
Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. 
Alternatively, you may submit your comments electronically by logging 
onto the Docket Management System website at http://dms.dot.gov. Click 
on ``Help & Information'' or ``Help/Info'' to view instructions for 
filing your comments electronically. Regardless of how you submit your 
comments, you should mention the docket number of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues, you may call 
Mike Huntley of the NHTSA Office of Crashworthiness Standards, at (202) 
366-0029.
    For legal issues, you may call Deirdre Fujita of the NHTSA Office 
of Chief Counsel, at (202) 366-2992.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 14(a) of the Transportation Recall 
Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act, Pub. L. 
106-414 mandated that the agency

[[Page 44417]]

``initiate a rulemaking for the purposes of improving the safety of 
child restraints, including minimizing head injuries from side impact 
collisions.'' Section 14(b) identifies specific elements that the 
agency must consider in its rulemaking. The Act directed the agency to 
complete the rulemaking by November 1, 2002. Pursuant to the TREAD Act, 
the agency published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on 
Wednesday, May 1, 2002 (67 FR 21806). A 60-day comment period was 
provided.
    The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), 
representing manufacturers of child restraint systems, and ARRCA, 
Incorporated, petitioned for an extension of the comment period on the 
NPRM (see Docket No. NHTSA-02-11707). JPMA said that it was requesting 
an extension so that it can complete testing designed to generate data 
that will enable it to better analyze the NPRM. JPMA's testing is 
intended to assess what differences, if any, result from dynamically 
testing child restraints on a test seat assembly that incorporates the 
changes proposed in the NPRM, as compared to tests on the current seat 
assembly.
    ARCCA petitioned for an extension of time to comment on the NPRM to 
fully evaluate a technical report on a test program performed for NHTSA 
by the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Patuxent 
River, Maryland. This report assesses the seat geometry and crash 
pulses of vehicles. The report was placed in the docket on June 19, 
2002. ARCCA wanted more time to review and comment on the report and 
the proposals to which the report pertained.
    In considering the petitions, NHTSA weighed the statutory deadline, 
the complexity and importance of this rulemaking, and the basis for the 
requests. The agency supports efforts to develop useful technical 
information on the proposal that do not unduly delay the rulemaking. 
Extending the comment period for a month will provide the time needed 
for the petitioners to obtain test data and other analyses that could 
help NHTSA decide whether and how to proceed with the rulemaking. 
Accordingly, the comment closing date is extended to July 31, 2002. 
However, given the statutory deadline of the TREAD Act, NHTSA does not 
anticipate granting any further extensions of the comment period in 
this proceeding. The agency will consider comments submitted after July 
31, 2002, but only to the extent that it is possible to do so without 
causing additional delay.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 49 CFR 501.8.

    Issued: June 26, 2002.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 02-16632 Filed 6-27-02; 2:48 pm]
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