[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 85 (Friday, May 2, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23521-23522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-10815]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2003-14838]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Occupant Crash 
Protection; Review: NCAP Test Improvements With Safety Belt 
Pretensioners and Load Limiters

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

ACTION: Request for comments on technical report and evaluation note.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces NHTSA's publication of a Technical 
Report and an Evaluation Note reviewing and evaluating the 
effectiveness of safety belt pretensioners and load limiters, safety 
devices that manufacturers can voluntarily install in vehicles. The 
report's title is NCAP Test Improvements with Pretensioners and Load 
Limiters.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than September 2, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Report: You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge 
by sending a self-addressed mailing label to Communications Services 
(NPO-503), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. A summary of the report is available 
on the Internet for viewing online at  http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/809562.html. The full report is available on the 
internet in PDF format at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/pdf/ 809562.pdf.
    Comments: All comments should refer to the Docket number of this 
notice (NHTSA-2003-14838). You may submit your comments in writing to: 
U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. You may also submit your 
comments electronically by logging onto the Dockets Management System 
Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help'' to obtain 
instructions for filing the document electronically.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.
    You may call Docket Management at 202-366-9324 and visit the Docket 
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation 
Division, NPO-321, Planning, Evaluation, and Budget, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-2560. FAX: 202-366-2559. E-
mail: [email protected].
    For information about NHTSA's evaluations of the effectiveness of 
existing regulations and programs: Visit the NHTSA Web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov and click ``Regulations & Standards'' underneath 
``Vehicle & Equipment Information'' on the home page; then click 
``Regulatory Evaluation'' on the ``Regulations & Standards'' page.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Scores on frontal New Car Assessment Program 
(NCAP) tests were obtained for passenger cars and light trucks which at 
one time did not have pretensioners and/or load limiters but later 
included them as standard equipment, in order to determine the 
effectiveness of these safety devices. The NCAP test is a 35 mph full-
frontal crash into a rigid barrier, with 50th percentile male 
anthropomorphic dummies seated at the driver and right-front passenger 
positions, protected by the vehicle's safety belts. Seat belt 
pretensioners retract the seat belt almost instantly in a crash to 
remove excess slack, which helps to keep the occupant restrained. It 
also helps to position the occupant back and squarely in the seat, so 
that the air bag can more effectively deploy. Load limiters and other 
energy management systems allow seat belts to yield in a crash, 
preventing the shoulder belt from directing too much energy on the 
chest of the occupant. Note that load limiters are the primary, but not 
only, energy management method used in seat belts. Changes in NCAP 
scores of these vehicles were compared to those of vehicles that did 
not add either pretensioners or load limiters. The combination of 
pretensioners and load limiters is estimated to reduce (i.e., improve) 
Head Injury Criterion (HIC) by 232, chest acceleration by an average of 
6.6 g's, and chest deflection by 10.6 mm, for drivers and right front 
passengers. Each of these reductions is statistically significant. When 
looked at individually, pretensioners are more effective in reducing 
HIC scores for drivers and right front passengers, as well as chest 
acceleration and chest deflection scores for drivers. Load limiters 
show greater reductions in chest acceleration and chest deflection 
scores for right front passengers.

How Can I Influence NHTSA's Thinking on This Evaluation?

    NHTSA welcomes public review of this preliminary report and invites 
reviewers to submit comments about the data, the statistical methods 
used in the analyses, and/or additional information. NHTSA will submit 
to the Docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, 
additional analyses that supplement the report. If the comments warrant 
a significant revision, then NHTSA will either add an appendix to the 
report or publish a revised report; otherwise, this preliminary report 
will serve as the final report.

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-2003-14838) in your comments.
    Your primary comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 
553.21). However, you may attach additional documents to your primary 
comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.
    Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management 
or submit them electronically. The mailing address is U.S. Department 
of Transportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20590. If you submit your comments electronically, 
log onto the Dockets Management System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov 
and click on ``Help'' to obtain instructions.
    We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Marie 
Walz, Evaluation Division, NPO-321, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590 
(alternatively, FAX to 202-366-2559 or e-mail to 
[email protected]) . She can check if your comments have been 
received at the Docket and she can expedite their review by NHTSA.

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

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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-110, 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, or submit them 
electronically.

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 10 a.m. to 
5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
    You may also see the comments on the Internet by taking the 
following steps:
    1. Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the 
Department of Transportation (http://dms.dot.gov).
    2. On that page, click on ``Simple Search.''
    3. On the next page (http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchFormSimple.cfm/) type in the five-digit Docket number shown at 
the beginning of this Notice (14838). Click on ``Search.''
    4. 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, 30168; delegation of authority at 49 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

Rose A. McMurray,
Associate Administrator for Planning, Evaluation, and Budget.
[FR Doc. 03-10815 Filed 5-1-03; 8:45 am]
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