[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 59020-59024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23512]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 572

[Docket No. NHTSA-02-12541]
RIN 2127-AI00


Anthropomorphic Test Devices; Six-Year-Old Crash Test Dummy

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

ACTION: Final rule; correcting amendment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document makes technical corrections to the final rule 
published in response to petitions for reconsideration on July 18, 
2002. That rule amended an earlier rule, published on January 13, 2000, 
that had adopted a new, more advanced 6-year-old child dummy (HIII-6C). 
The changes made in today's notice consist of corrections of 
typographical errors in the table in the preamble, the addition of a 
revised Figure N5, and minor revisions in the weight and length 
specifications of the head skin and upper arm molded assembly, 
respectively.

DATES: Effective Date: The amendments made in this rule are effective 
August 19, 2002.
    Petitions: Petitions for reconsideration must be received by 
November 4, 2002.

ADDRESSES: Petitions for reconsideration should refer to the docket and 
notice number of this document and be submitted to: Administrator, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues, you may call 
Stan Backaitis, Office of Crashworthiness Standards, at 202-366-4912.
    For legal issues, you may call Rebecca MacPherson, Office of the 
Chief Counsel, at 202-366-2992.
    You may send mail to both of these officials at National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC 
20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA published a final rule on July 18, 
2002 (67 FR 47321, Docket No. NHTSA-02-12541) that responded to various 
petitions for reconsideration of its

[[Page 59021]]

previous rule incorporating a new, Hybrid III 6-year-old child 
anthropomorphic test dummy (HIII-6C) into 49 CFR part 572. That final 
rule was published January 13, 2000 (65 FR 2059, Docket No. NHTSA-99-
6714). The petitions were granted in part and denied in part.
    Most of the issues raised in the petitions were minor and involved 
technical changes to either the dummy specifications or to the drawing 
package. In some cases, the petitioners had requested the 
specifications be tightened to ensure more accurate measurements in the 
tests in which the dummy is used to measure injury criteria. More 
significant issues were raised regarding the thoracic peak force 
criteria, the need for a specified mass moment of inertia (MMI) and 
resonant frequency of the impactors, and the need for a post-test 
calibration. Our review of the petitions also uncovered several minor 
errors in the drawings package that were resolved. All these issues 
were addressed in the July 18, 2002 final rule.
    We are issuing a correcting amendment because that document 
contained a few technical errors. Namely, we inadvertently failed to 
submit the amended Figure N5 when the final rule was forwarded to the 
Federal Register for publication, and Table 1 of the preamble contained 
two typographical errors and two omissions. While Table 1 is not part 
of the regulatory text, and the changes to that table in this notice 
will have no effect on what is ultimately published in the Code of 
Federal Regulations, we have decided to amend the table since it 
provides a quick reference of those changes to the drawing package 
incorporated by reference into 49 CFR part 572, subpart N.

Changes in ``N'' Figures

    As noted in the preamble to the July 2002 final rule, the following 
changes were made to the figures included as part of 49 CFR 572, 
subpart N to correct inaccuracies or ambiguities in those figures.
    [sbull] Figure N2: (1) Relocate the 26.1 mm reference to the 
centerline of the posterior attachment bolt to reflect dimensional 
proportionality; (2) change reference from ``Neck Flexion Pendulum 46 
CFRSec.  572.33 FIG 22'' to ``Neck Flexion Pendulum 49 CFR 572.33 FIG 
22''; and (3) add part number for bolt ``9001265 Screw, SHCS 
10-24 x 7/16''.
    [sbull] Figure N3: (1) Relocate the 26.1 mm reference to the 
centerline of the posterior attachment bolt to reflect dimensional 
proportionality; and (2) add part number for bolt ``9001265 
Screw, SHCS 10-24 x 7/16''.
    [sbull] Figure N5: Change bracket dimensions from ``89.9 mm (3.54 
in) x 161.3 mm (6.35 in) x 31.8 mm (1.251 in)'' to ``90.4 mm (3.56 in) 
x 175.5 mm (6.91 in) x 31.8 mm (1.25 in)''.
    [sbull] Figure N6: (1) Remove note SA572-S4; and (2) change the 
weight tolerance on the knee probe from ``0.82 +/- 0.01 kg (1.80 +/- 
.02 lb)'' to ``0.82 +/- 0.02 kg (1.80 +/- .05 lb)''.
    No changes were made to Figure N1. Figure N1, rather than Figure N5 
was inadvertently sent to the Federal Register as part of the final 
rule. Accordingly, the changes that were made to figure N5 do not 
appear in the revised regulatory text. Today's amendment corrects that 
error.

Errors and Corrections in Drawings

    In responding to the petitions for reconsideration, several minor 
inconsistencies and call-out errors were noted either by petitioners or 
by agency staff in the review process. Accordingly, the changes that 
were made to the drawing package were noted in Table 1 of the final 
rule. That table contained two typographical errors, one under item 
127-8210 and the other under item SA 572-S50, which are corrected here. 
Additionally, just before publication of the final rule, we discovered 
two errors in the drawings package that were not identified in Table 1: 
to wit, the head skin weight specification in drawing 127-1008 was 
changed from 1.78 +/- .05 lbs to 1.55 +/- .05 lbs, and the molded 
length specification for the upper arm molded assembly in drawing 127-
5001 was revised from 5.24 in to 4.6 in. While these errors were not 
discussed in the final rule, they were corrected prior to publication 
of the final rule. Accordingly, both the drawings package sent to 
Reprographic Technologies and the one placed on public display at NHTSA 
technical reference library were correct. There is no need for 
purchasers of the drawing package to repurchase the package. Table 1 is 
recreated in whole so that readers may refer to a single, correct 
table.

                                 Table 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Drawing/part No.          Description      Revision description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
127-SBL......................  6 year H3        Deleted drawing.
                                standard build
                                level.
SA572-127DRL-1...............  Drawing          New drawing.
                                revision list.
127-0000.....................  Hybrid III 6     Corrected location of
                                year old         ``I'' dimension (on
                                complete         sheet 5 of 6), all
                                assembly.        sheets revised to
                                                 change letter''K''.
127-1008.....................  6 year H3 head   Changed weight
                                skin.            specification of head
                                                 skin from 1.78 +/- .05
                                                 lbs to 1.55 +/- .05
                                                 lbs.
127-1009.....................  Skin cap, skull  Added ``reference'' to
                                                 item 1, corrected
                                                 title.
127-2011.....................  Sternum pad....  Corrected angle
                                                 dimensions.
127-2550.....................  Chest-           Corrected accelerometer
                                accelerometer    mount drawing number
                                assembly         from 127-2110 to 127-
                                (SA572-S4).      2150.
127-4002.....................  Upper leg flesh  Defined angular
                                                 orientation of 0.5 dia.
                                                 ``Posts''; Assigned
                                                 missing hole diameters
                                                 for load cell
                                                 installation.
127-5001.....................  6 year H3 upper  Changed upper arm molded
                                arm molded       length specification
                                assembly.        from 5.24 in. to 4.6
                                                 in.
127-8210.....................  6 yr old         Changed dimension from
                                abdominal        1.90 to 1.40 (notch
                                insert.          depth), changed
                                                 dimension 4.30 to 3.81
                                                 (overall height).
SA572-S4.....................  Uniaxial         Changed single decimal
                                piezorestive     place tolerance from +/-
                                accelerometer.    0.1/2.54 to +/- 0.1/
                                                 2.5, corrected metric
                                                 equivalents, and added
                                                 dimensions.
SA572-S10....................  Femur load cell  Revised tolerance
                                                 format, changed single
                                                 decimal place tolerance
                                                 from +/- 0.1/2.54 to +/-
                                                  0.1/2.5, changed
                                                 reference note from
                                                 ``Subpart E'' to
                                                 ``Subpart N'', added
                                                 material note, changed
                                                 output at capacity from
                                                 1 mV/V min. to 0.75 mV/
                                                 V min., added ``weight
                                                 includes * * *'' note,
                                                 and removed ``+'' from
                                                 the Fz axis.
SA572-S11....................  Upper neck load  Revised tolerance
                                cell.            format, changed single
                                                 decimal place tolerance
                                                 from +/- 0.1/2.54 to +/-
                                                  0.1/2.5, added
                                                 material note, changed
                                                 output at capacity from
                                                 1 mV/V min. to 0.75 mV/
                                                 V min.

[[Page 59022]]

 
SA572-S12....................  Lumbar load      Changed hole dimension
                                cell.            from 0.75/.1905 x .37/
                                                 .89 to 0.63/16.0 x .35/
                                                 8.9, changed weight
                                                 from 1.3 lb/0.59 kg max
                                                 to 1.35 lb/0.61 kg max,
                                                 revised tolerance
                                                 format, changed single
                                                 decimal place tolerance
                                                 from +/- 0.1/2.54 to +/-
                                                  0.1/2.5, changed
                                                 reference note from
                                                 ``Subpart E'' to
                                                 ``Subpart N'', added
                                                 material note, changed
                                                 output at capacity from
                                                 1 mV/V min. to 0.75 mV/
                                                 V min., added ``weight
                                                 includes . . . '' note,
                                                 and revised hole
                                                 dimensions.
SA572-S13-L&R................  Anterior-        Changed output at
                                superior iliac   capacity from 1 mV/V
                                spine load       min. to 0.75 mV/V min.,
                                cell.            revised tolerance
                                                 format, changed
                                                 reference note from
                                                 ``Subpart E'' to
                                                 ``Subpart N'', added
                                                 material note, changed
                                                 single decimal place
                                                 tolerance from +/- 0.1/
                                                 2.54 to +/- 0.1/2.5,
                                                 and added ``weight
                                                 includes . . .'' note.
SA572-S26....................  Lower neck load  Revised tolerance
                                cell.            format, changed single
                                                 decimal place tolerance
                                                 from +/- 0.1/2.54 to +/-
                                                  0.1/2.5, added
                                                 material note, changed
                                                 output at capacity from
                                                 1 mV/V min. to 0.75 mV/
                                                 V min., added ``(does
                                                 not include cables)''
                                                 to the weight note,
                                                 added hole dimensions,
                                                 and changed reference
                                                 note from subpart E to
                                                 subpart N.
SA572-S50....................  Chest            Changed single decimal
                                potentiometer.   tolerance from +/- 0.1/
                                                 2.54 to +/- 0.1/2.5,
                                                 added/corrected metric
                                                 equivalents, added
                                                 ``Dia. Of hard shell
                                                 housing'' and ``in
                                                 rotary rigid shaft'' to
                                                 notes, added ``signal
                                                 connector pins'' note,
                                                 and added ``locating''
                                                 and ``Dia.'' to pin
                                                 note.
SA572-S80....................  S4 triaxial      Changed single decimal
                                accelerometer    place tolerance from +/-
                                mounting block.   0.1/2.54 to +/- 0.1/
                                                 2.5, corrected metric
                                                 equivalents, revised
                                                 hole note, and
                                                 relocated holes.
TE-2208-001..................  Neck adapter     Added part 9001265 and note
                                year old.        3, changed
                                                 single decimal place
                                                 tolerance from +/- 0.1/
                                                 2.54 to +/- 0.1/2.5.
9001373......................  Bushing,         New drawing.
                                shoulder.
9000000 & 6000000............  Hardware used    Added part 9001265, removed part
                                5th female.      9001373.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Regulatory Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures

    Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review'' (58 FR 
51735, October 4, 1993), provides for making determinations whether a 
regulatory action is ``significant'' and therefore subject to Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) review and to the requirements of the 
Executive Order. The Order defines a ``significant regulatory action'' 
as one that is likely to result in a rule that may:
    (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or Tribal governments or 
communities;
    (2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
action taken or planned by another agency;
    (3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, 
user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients 
thereof; or
    (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
the Executive Order.
    We considered the impact of the July 18, 2002 rulemaking action 
under Executive Order 12866 and the Department of Transportation's 
regulatory policies and procedures. This rule is not considered a 
significant regulatory action under section 3(f) of the Executive Order 
12866. Consequently, it was not reviewed by the Office of Management 
and Budget under E.O. 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review.'' The 
rulemaking action is also not considered to be significant under the 
Department's Regulatory Policies and Procedures (44 FR 11034, February 
26, 1979). Today's notice does not impose any new requirements on 
manufacturers. It simply corrects typographical errors and adds 
information to a table that is not part of the regulatory text and adds 
the correct amended figure to the regulatory text.

Executive Order 13132

    Executive Order 13132 requires NHTSA to develop an accountable 
process to ensure ``meaningful and timely input by State and local 
officials in the development of regulatory policies that have 
federalism implications.'' ``Policies that have federalism 
implications'' is defined in the Executive Order to include regulations 
that have ``substantial direct effects on the States, on the 
relationship between the national government and the States, or on the 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of 
government.'' Under Executive Order 13132, the agency may not issue a 
regulation with Federalism implications, that imposes substantial 
direct compliance costs, and that is not required by statute, unless 
the Federal government provides the funds necessary to pay the direct 
compliance costs incurred by State and local governments, the agency 
consults with State and local governments, or the agency consults with 
State and local officials early in the process of developing the 
proposed regulation. NHTSA also may not issue a regulation with 
Federalism implications and that preempts State law unless the agency 
consults with State and local officials early in the process of 
developing the proposed regulation. As explained above, today's notice 
will not have any additional economic impact on any entities.

Executive Order 13045

    Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) applies to any 
rule that: (1) is determined to be ``economically significant'' as 
defined under E.O. 12866, and (2) concerns an environmental, health or 
safety risk that NHTSA has reason to believe may have a 
disproportionate effect on children. If the regulatory action meets 
both criteria, we must evaluate the environmental health or safety 
effects of the planned rule on children, and explain why the planned 
regulation is preferable to other potentially effective and reasonably 
feasible alternatives considered by us.
    This rule is not subject to the Executive Order because it is not 
economically significant as defined in E.O. 12866. It does indirectly 
involve decisions based on health risks that disproportionately affect 
children, namely, the risk of deploying air bags to children. However, 
this rulemaking

[[Page 59023]]

serves to help vehicle and air bag manufacturers to take steps to 
reduce that risk.

Executive Order 12778

    Pursuant to Executive Order 12778, ``Civil Justice Reform,'' we 
have considered whether this rule will have any retroactive effect. 
This rule does not have any retroactive effect. A petition for 
reconsideration or other administrative proceeding will not be a 
prerequisite to an action seeking judicial review of this rule. This 
rule does not preempt the states from adopting laws or regulations on 
the same subject, except that it does preempt a state regulation that 
is in actual conflict with the federal regulation or makes compliance 
with the Federal regulation impossible or interferes with the 
implementation of the federal statute.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., 
as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 
(SBREFA) of 1996) whenever an agency is required to publish a notice of 
rulemaking for any proposed or final rule, it must prepare and make 
available for public comment a regulatory flexibility analysis that 
describes the effect of the rule on small entities (i.e., small 
businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions). 
However, no regulatory flexibility analysis is required if the head of 
an agency certifies the rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities. SBREFA amended the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act to require Federal agencies to provide a 
statement of the factual basis for certifying that a rule will not have 
a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
    I have considered the effects of this rulemaking action under the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and certify that this 
proposal will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities. The amendments made in this document will not 
affect the cost of the dummy. The rule does not impose or rescind any 
requirements for anyone. The Regulatory Flexibility Act does not, 
therefore, require a regulatory flexibility analysis.

National Environmental Policy Act

    We have analyzed this amendment for the purposes of the National 
Environmental Policy Act and determined that it will not have any 
significant impact on the quality of the human environment.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information by a Federal agency unless 
the collection displays a valid OMB control number. This rule does not 
propose any new information collection requirements.

National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    Section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Public Law 104-113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272) 
directs us to use voluntary consensus standards in its regulatory 
activities unless doing so would be inconsistent with applicable law or 
otherwise impractical. Voluntary consensus standards are technical 
standards (e.g., materials specifications, test methods, sampling 
procedures, and business practices) that are developed or adopted by 
voluntary consensus standards bodies, such as the Society of Automotive 
Engineers (SAE). The NTTAA directs us to provide Congress, through OMB, 
explanations when we decide not to use available and applicable 
voluntary consensus standards.
    The H-III6C dummy that is the subject of this document was 
developed under the auspices of the SAE. All relevant SAE standards 
were reviewed as part of the development process. The following 
voluntary consensus standards have been used in developing the dummy:
    [sbull] SAE Recommended Practice J211-1995, ``Instrumentation for 
Impact Tests--Parts 1 and 2'', dated March, 1995; and
    [sbull] SAE J1733 Information Report, titled ``Sign Convention for 
Vehicle Crash Testing'', dated December 1994.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    Section 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA) 
requires Federal agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, 
benefits and other effects of proposed or final rules that include a 
Federal mandate likely to result in the expenditure by State, local or 
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of more 
than $100 million in any one year (adjusted for inflation with base 
year of 1995). Before promulgating a NHTSA rule for which a written 
statement is needed, section 205 of the UMRA generally requires us to 
identify and consider a reasonable number of regulatory alternatives 
and adopt the least costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome 
alternative that achieves the objectives of the rule. The provisions of 
section 205 do not apply when they are inconsistent with applicable 
law. Moreover, section 205 allows us to adopt an alternative other than 
the least costly, most cost-effective or least burdensome alternative 
if we publish with the final rule an explanation why that alternative 
was not adopted.
    This rule does not impose any unfunded mandates under the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995. This rule does not meet the definition of 
a Federal mandate because it does not impose requirements on anyone. 
Further, it will not result in costs of $100 million or more to either 
State, local, or tribal governments, in the aggregate, or to the 
private sector. The amendments made in this document will not affect 
the cost of the dummy. Thus, this rule is not subject to the 
requirements of sections 202 and 205 of the UMRA.

Regulation Identifier Number (RIN)

    The Department of Transportation assigns a regulation identifier 
number (RIN) to each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of 
Federal Regulations. The Regulatory Information Service Center 
publishes the Unified Agenda in April and October of each year. You may 
use the RIN contained in the heading at the beginning of this document 
to find this action in the Unified Agenda.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 572

    Incorporation by reference, Motor vehicle safety.


    In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA amends 49 CFR Part 572 as 
follows:

PART 572--ANTHROPOMORPHIC TEST DUMMIES

    1. The authority citation for Part 572 continues to read as 
follows:

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


    2. By revising Figure N5 to Subpart N to read as follows:

Figures to Subpart N

* * * * *

[[Page 59024]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TR19SE02.000


    Issued: September 11, 2002.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 02-23512 Filed 9-18-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-C