[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 89 (Thursday, May 8, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24664-24667]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-11293]


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

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2003-14711]
RIN 2127-AI49


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Anchorage 
Systems

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

ACTION: Final rule; interim final rule; request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: This document amends the Federal motor vehicle safety standard 
on child restraint anchorage systems to: Reflect an extension of the 
date by which final-stage manufacturers and alterers were required to 
install tether anchorages in vehicles subject to the standard; and 
temporarily exclude ``funeral coaches'' (as defined in this document) 
from the standard altogether. It responds to requests from the 
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association and from Accubuilt, Inc., 
respectively. This document adopts the first amendment on a final basis 
and the second on an interim final basis. The agency also requests 
comments on the second amendment.

DATES: This rule is effective May 8, 2003. The final rule reflects that 
the mandatory compliance date for installing tether anchorages in 
vehicles produced by final-stage manufacturers and alterers was changed 
from September 1, 2000, to May 1, 2001. This rule excludes funeral 
coaches from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 225 until May 
10, 2004. After reviewing the comments received on this document, NHTSA 
will decide whether to exclude funeral coaches from the standard on a 
permanent basis. Because these amendments relieve restrictions on a 
class of manufacturer that comprises a substantial number of small 
businesses, we have determined that it is in the public interest to 
make the changes effective immediately.
    You should submit your comments early enough to ensure that Docket 
Management receives them not later than July 7, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Docket Management System, 
U.S. Department of Transportation, PL 401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590-0001. Comments should refer to Docket Number 
(NHTSA-7938) 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 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.
    The Docket Management System is located on the Plaza level of the 
Nassif Building at the Department of Transportation at the above 
address. You can review public dockets there between the hours of 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. You 
can also review comments on-line at the DOT Docket Management System 
web site at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal questions, Mike Huntley, 
NHTSA Office of Crashworthiness Standards, Special Vehicle and Systems 
Division, 400 Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202-
366-0029). For legal questions, Deirdre Fujita, NHTSA Office of Chief 
Counsel, 400 Seventh St., SW., Washington, DC 20590 (telephone 202-366-
2992).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. ``Petition for Extraordinary Relief'' From the Recreation Vehicle 
Industry Association

Background

    On March 5, 1999, NHTSA published a final rule establishing a new 
Federal motor vehicle safety standard that required motor vehicle 
manufacturers to install child restraint anchorage systems that are 
standardized and independent of the vehicle seat belts.\1\ (64 FR 
10786) (Docket No. 98-3390, Notice 2) (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard No. 225, 49 CFR 571.225.) Each system is composed of three 
anchorages: Two lower anchorages and one upper anchorage. The lower 
anchorages are two 6 millimeter (mm) round bars fastened to the vehicle 
720 mm apart and located at the intersection of the vehicle seat 
cushion and seat back. The upper anchorage is a permanent structure to 
which the hook of a child restraint upper tether may be attached for 
the purpose of transferring load from the child restraint to the 
vehicle structure.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See 64 FR 47566; August 31, 1999 (Docket No. NHTSA-99-6160) 
and 65 FR 46628; July 31, 2000 (Docket No. NHTSA-7648) for later 
amendments of the rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phase-In Requirements

    In the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the March 1999 
final rule, we recognized that upper tether anchorages could be 
installed at an earlier date than the lower anchorages (February 20, 
1997; 62 FR 7858). We also recognized that more time would be needed to 
implement a requirement for a rigid bar lower anchorage system (which 
the final rule ultimately adopted) than an alternative (flexible 
webbing) lower anchorage system the agency was considering at the time. 
We requested comments on whether phasing in the requirement for the 
lower anchorages would be appropriate, and how long a period would be 
needed to achieve full implementation. We did not raise the possibility 
of either phasing in the requirement for upper tether anchorages, or 
delaying the effective date of the upper tether anchorage requirement 
for vehicles manufactured in more than one stage (see 62 FR at 7874).
    Based on the information we received, we adopted a three-year 
phase-in schedule for the lower anchorages in S14 of Standard No. 225. 
S14 is titled ``Lower anchorages phase-in requirements for vehicles 
manufactured on or after September 1, 2000 and before September 1, 
2002.'' In S14.3, which we titled ``Alternative phase-in schedule for 
final-stage manufacturers and alterers,'' we specified that a final-
stage manufacturer or alterer may, at its option, comply with an 
alternative requirement during the phase-in. The alternative, specified 
in S14.3(a), stated that the vehicles ``are not required to comply with 
the requirements specified

[[Page 24665]]

in this standard'' during that two-year period.\2\ The reference in 
S14.3(a) to ``requirements specified in this standard'' was intended to 
refer to only the requirement to install the lower anchorages, and not 
to both that requirement and the requirement to install tether 
anchorages. However, RVIA interpreted S14.3 to exclude vehicles 
produced by final-stage manufacturers and alterers between September 1, 
2000 and September 1, 2002 from both the lower anchorage and the tether 
anchorage requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ This paragraph was later changed to S14.3(a)(2). See 65 FR 
46628, 46642, July 31, 2000.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

RVIA Petition

    RVIA notified us in August 2000 that it had informed its members 
(conversion vehicle manufacturers and alterers who modify vans, pickup 
trucks and sport utility vehicles) \3\ that their vehicles were 
excluded from both tether anchorage and lower anchorage requirements 
until September 1, 2002, and had only learned in August 2000 that this 
advice was erroneous. RVIA further stated that conversion vehicle 
manufacturers would not be able to meet the September 1, 2000, 
compliance date for installation of tether anchorages, having relied on 
that advice. RVIA requested that NHTSA stay the compliance date for 
tether anchorages for 8 months, until May 1, 2001, for multistage 
manufacturers and alterers of conversion vehicles. RVIA stated that 8 
months was needed to design, test, and manufacture tether anchorages 
that would satisfy the standard's tether anchorage requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ RVIA stated that there are 67 conversion vehicle 
manufacturer members, with an aggregate annual production of 
approximately 90,000 vehicles. RVIA stated that, with few 
exceptions, these companies are small volume manufacturers that each 
produce fewer than 5,000 total vehicles annually.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agency Decision on RVIA Petition

    We decided to allow multistage manufacturers and alterers until May 
1, 2001, to install tether anchorages in their vehicles. We promptly 
notified RVIA of that decision and placed that notification in the 
public docket.\4\ The phrase ``[requirements specified] in this 
standard'' in S14.3 lent itself to misinterpretation, when read apart 
from the context of S14, and contributed to RVIA's erroneous advice. 
Instead of penalizing the affected manufacturers which acted in 
accordance with RVIA's advice, we decided to postpone the effective 
date of the tether anchorage requirement to provide the affected 
manufacturers time to meet the requirement. The affected manufacturers 
are typically small volume companies. RVIA stated that ``[m]ost of 
these companies had neither the technical staffs nor the resources to 
respond rapidly to rule changes,'' and none had known about the 
September 1, 2000, compliance date for installing tether anchorages. In 
view of the fact that most of the companies are small businesses that 
had acted in reliance on RVIA's advice, we believed that providing 
relief to the manufacturers was warranted. If a delay had not been 
granted, the manufacturers would have had to stop production until 
compliance could be achieved. Cessation of production would have 
significant economic effects on the small businesses. For these 
reasons, we concluded that it was in the public interest to postpone 
the compliance date of the requirement for vehicles produced by final-
stage manufacturers and alterers until May 1, 2001.\5\ Today's document 
clarifies the language in S14, and similar language in S13.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ In response to RVIA's petition, NHTSA wrote to RVIA on 
September 26, 2000, stating that it would publish a Federal Register 
document extending, until May 1, 2001, the date by which final-stage 
manufacturers and alters must install tether anchorage in affected 
vehicles. See docket 7648 (document 7648-6).
    \5\ Mr. Harley Holt asked NHTSA about the degree to which 
anchorages voluntarily installed by final-stage manufacturers and 
alterers were subject to the requirements of Standard No. 225. Our 
answer was that the provisions of S4.1 as they relate to 
voluntarily-installed anchorages still applied. Thus, if a final-
stage manufacturer or alterer voluntarily installed a tether 
anchorage system (or full child restraint anchorage system) in a 
vehicle from September 1, 1999 to April 30, 2001, the anchorage 
system would have to meet the configuration, location, marking and 
strength requirements of the standard. S4.1 also requires that 
information on using those anchorages must be provided to the 
vehicle owner. It is also our view that during the same period, a 
final-stage manufacturer or alterer voluntarily installing tether 
anchorages could have installed fewer than the minimum number of 
anchorages required by S4.3 and S4.5. On vehicles produced on or 
after May 1, 2001, the requisite number of anchorages must be 
installed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Petition for Rulemaking From Accubuilt on Funeral Coaches

    Standard No. 225 requires a vehicle to be equipped with tether 
anchorages in front passenger seating positions if: (1) The vehicle 
lacks a rear designated seating position (see S4.3(b)(3) and S4.4(c)); 
and (2) there is an air bag and no air bag on-off switch in the front 
passenger seating position. Accubuilt, a final-stage manufacturer of 
funeral coaches, submitted a petition for rulemaking requesting NHTSA 
to exclude funeral coaches from the requirement. Accubuilt stated that: 
``[s]ince a Funeral Coach is a single purpose vehicle, transporting a 
body and casket, children do not ride in the front seat.''

Agency Decision on Accubuilt Request

    It is implicit from Accubuilt's petition that it would be 
appropriate to exclude funeral coaches from the requirement when the 
coaches only have one row of occupant seats, i.e., the front row. We 
agree with Accubuilt that it is unlikely that child restraint systems 
would be installed in such a funeral coach. We are thus excluding 
``funeral coaches'' from the standard.
    To implement this exclusion, we are adding a definition of 
``funeral coach'' to Standard No. 225. Accubuilt stated that a funeral 
coach is a ``single purpose vehicle'' equipped with heavy duty 
components to handle the additional mass of a body and casket. We were 
further informed by Accubuilt that manufacturers of funeral coaches 
conform to an industry standard that requires ``front and rear stops'' 
in the interior of the coach to keep the casket stationary. We are 
incorporating that information into the definition.
    At the same time, while Accubuilt's vehicles apparently have only 1 
row of seats, it is conceivable that a funeral coach could be built 
with rear seating positions in which a young child might ride. We do 
not believe that a coach that has rear seating positions should be 
excluded from the standard, since the vehicle could be used to 
transport a child who should be in a child restraint. Therefore, based 
on the above, we are defining ``funeral coach'' as ``a vehicle that 
contains only a front row of occupant seats, is designed exclusively 
for transporting a body and casket and that is equipped with features 
to secure a casket in place during operation of the vehicle.'' Comments 
are requested on whether the definition is inclusive of all funeral 
coaches with no rear seating positions and whether it excludes any 
vehicles that should be subject to the requirements of Standard No. 
225.
    We have also determined that this amendment relieves an unnecessary 
restriction on a group of small manufacturers. Accordingly, NHTSA finds 
for good cause that an immediate exclusion of funeral coaches from the 
standard is in the public interest, and thus we are issuing this 
interim final rule. We are limiting the exclusion to a period ending 
one year after the publication of this rule. NHTSA will review the 
comments we receive on this document to determine whether to exclude 
funeral coaches from the standard on a permanent basis.

III. Enforcement Policy Statement

    This agency will not take any enforcement against any multi-stage 
vehicle manufacturer or alterer for not

[[Page 24666]]

installing tether anchorages in vehicles certified prior to May 1, 
2001. Likewise, it will not take any enforcement action against any 
manufacturer of funeral coaches for not installing a child restraint 
anchorage system in the front seats of funeral coaches manufactured 
prior to the date one year after the publication of this rule.

IV. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 (Federal Regulation) and DOT Regulatory Policies 
and Procedures

    This rulemaking document was not reviewed under E.O. 12866, 
``Regulatory Planning and Review.'' The agency has considered the 
impact of this rulemaking action under the Department of 
Transportation's regulatory policies and procedures, and has determined 
that it is not ``significant'' under them. This document amends 
Standard No. 225 to reflect the staying of the compliance date of one 
aspect of the Standard as it applies to final stage manufacturers and 
alterers, and excludes funeral coaches from the standard for a period 
ending 1 year after the publication of this rule. There are no 
additional costs associated with this final rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-354), as 
amended, requires agencies to evaluate the potential effects of their 
proposed and final rules on small businesses, small organizations and 
small governmental jurisdictions. I hereby certify that this rule will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. It amends the Standard to reflect the staying of the 
compliance date of the tether anchorage requirement as applied to final 
stage manufacturers and alterers, and for that reason affects a number 
of small entities. A decision not to stay the compliance date would 
have significantly affected the entities since the manufacturers could 
not have produced their vehicles until the tether anchorage 
requirements in question were met. We provided more time to the 
manufacturers to facilitate their compliance with the standard.

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)

    NHTSA has analyzed this rule in accordance with the principles and 
criteria contained in E.O. 13132, and has determined that it does not 
have sufficient federalism implications to warrant consultation with 
State and local officials or the preparation of a federalism summary 
impact statement. The rule will not have any substantial effects on the 
States, or on the current Federal-State relationship, or on the current 
distribution of power and responsibilities among the various local 
officials.

National Environmental Policy Act

    NHTSA has analyzed this rulemaking action for the purposes of the 
National Environmental Policy Act. The agency has determined that 
implementation of this action will not have any significant impact on 
the quality of the human environment.

Executive Order 12778 (Civil Justice Reform)

    This rule will 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 will not preempt the states from adopting laws or regulations on 
the same subject, except that it will 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.

Comments

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 in your comments.
    Your comments must not be more than 15 pages long. (49 CFR 553.21). 
We established this limit to encourage you to write your primary 
comments in a concise fashion. However, you may attach necessary 
additional documents to your comments. There is no limit on the length 
of the attachments.
    Please submit two copies of your comments, including the 
attachments, to Docket Management at the address given above under 
ADDRESSES.

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, you should submit three copies of your complete 
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given 
above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. In addition, you should 
submit two copies, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential 
business information, to Docket Management at the address given above 
under ADDRESSES. When you send a comment containing information claimed 
to be confidential business information, you should include a cover 
letter setting forth the information specified in our confidential 
business information regulation. (49 CFR part 512.)

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

    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.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

    You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the 
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the Docket are 
indicated above in the same location.
    You may also see the comments on the Internet. To read the comments 
on the Internet, take 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 ``search.''
    (3) On the next page (http://dms.dot.gov/search/), type in the 
four-digit docket number shown at the beginning of this document. 
Example: If the docket number were ``NHTSA-1999-1234,'' you would type 
``1234.'' After typing the docket number, 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 word 
search the Adobe pdf version of a comment by clicking on the binocular 
symbol (Acrobat Find) and typing in a search term. You may also 
download the comments.
    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

[[Page 24667]]

periodically check the Docket for new material.
    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.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571

    Imports, Incorporation by reference, Motor vehicle safety, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Tires.

0
In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA amends 49 CFR Chapter V as set 
forth below.

PART 571--FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS

0
1. The authority citation for part 571 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30166 and 30177; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

0
2. Section 571.225 is amended by:
0
a. Revising S2;
0
b. Amending S3 by adding, in alphabetical order, a definition for 
``Funeral coach'';
0
c. Revising the introductory text of S4.3(b);
0
d. Revising the title of S13 and adding S13.3; and
0
e. Revising S14.3(a).
    The revised and added text read as follows:


571.225  Standard No. 225; Child restraint anchorage systems.

* * * * *
    S2. Application. This standard applies to passenger cars; to trucks 
and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating 
(GVWR) of 3,855 kilograms (8,500 pounds) or less; and to buses 
(including school buses) with a GVWR of 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) or less. 
This standard does not apply to walk-in van-type vehicles, vehicles 
manufactured to be sold exclusively to the U.S. Postal Service, shuttle 
buses, and funeral coaches.
    S3. Definitions.
* * * * *
    Funeral coach means a vehicle that contains only a front row of 
occupant seats, is designed exclusively for transporting a body and 
casket and that is equipped with features to secure a casket in place 
during operation of the vehicle.
* * * * *
    S4.3 * * *
    (b) Each vehicle, including a vehicle that is counted toward the 
percentage of a manufacturer's yearly production required to be 
equipped with child restraint anchorage systems, shall be equipped as 
described in S4.3(b)(1), (2) or (3), subject to S13.
* * * * *
    S13. Tether anchorage phase-in requirements.
* * * * *
    S13.3 Until May 1, 2001, vehicles manufactured by a final-stage 
manufacturer or alterer need not be equipped with the tether anchorages 
required by S4.3 of this standard. Vehicles manufactured by a final-
stage manufacturer or alterer on or after May 1, 2001 must be equipped 
with the tether anchorages specified in S4.3.
* * * * *
    S14.3 * * *--(a) Final-stage manufacturers and alterers. A final-
stage manufacturer or alterer may, at its option, comply with the 
requirements set forth in S14.3(a)(1) and (2), instead of the 
requirements set forth in S14.1.1 through S14.1.2.
    (1) Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2000 and before 
September 1, 2002 are not required to be equipped with the lower 
anchorages specified in this standard.
    (2) Vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2002 must be 
equipped with the lower anchorages specified in this standard.
* * * * *

    Issued on May 1, 2003.
Jeffrey W. Runge,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-11293 Filed 5-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P