[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 199 (Friday, October 15, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 61154-61155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-23135]


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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 (DOT).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This document makes permanent the temporary exclusion issued 
by the agency in an interim final rule published on May 8, 2003 to 
exclude funeral coaches (as defined in the rule) from the requirements 
of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 225, ``Child restraint 
anchorage systems.''

DATES: This rule is effective November 15, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Petitions for reconsideration should refer to the docket 
number and be submitted to: Administrator, Room 5220, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
petitions received into any of our dockets by the name of the 
individual submitting the petition (or signing the petition, 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.

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. 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 (FMVSS) 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 steel 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.
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    \1\ See 64 FR 47566; August 31, 1999 (Docket No. NHTSA-99-6160) 
and 65 FR 46628; July 31, 2000 (Docket No. NHTSA-7648) and 68 FR 
38208; June 27, 2003 (Docket No. NHTSA-15438) for later amendments 
of the rule.
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II. Petition for Rulemaking From Accubuilt on Funeral Coaches

    FMVSS 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.''

III. Interim Final Rule on Accubuilt Request

    On May 8, 2003, NHTSA published an interim final rule in the 
Federal Register (68 FR 24644; Docket 14711) which temporarily excluded 
``funeral coaches'' from the requirements of FMVSS No. 225. We limited 
the exclusion to a one-year period, to receive and evaluate comments on 
the exclusion and to determine whether to make the exclusion permanent.
    We agreed with Accubuilt that it was unlikely that a funeral coach 
that had no rear seats would carry children in the front seat. We 
believed that the persons riding in the front seat of this type of 
vehicle would be the driver and an attendant to the casket, not a 
child. On the other hand, the agency believed that it was conceivable 
that a child may be carried in a funeral coach that carried passengers 
in the rear. Thus, the exclusion of funeral coaches was limited to 
funeral coaches that had only one row of occupant seats (the front 
row).
    To implement this limited exclusion, we added a definition of 
``funeral coach'' to the standard. Accubuilt had stated that a funeral 
coach is a vehicle equipped with heavy duty components to handle the 
additional mass of a body and casket, and 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. 
Based on the above information, we defined ``funeral coach'' as ``a 
vehicle that contains only one 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 were requested on the definition and on the 
exclusion of funeral coaches from FMVSS No. 225.

IV. Agency Decision

    NHTSA did not receive any comments on the document. The agency has 
decided to make permanent the exclusion issued in the May 8, 2003 
interim final rule. This amendment

[[Page 61155]]

permanently excludes ``funeral coaches'' from the requirements of FMVSS 
No. 225 and adopts a definition of that vehicle type for the reasons 
provided in the May 2003 final rule.
    This rulemaking relieves a restriction on a group of small 
manufacturers and has no negative safety consequences. Accordingly, 
NHTSA finds for good cause that an effective date of less than 180 days 
from the date of publication of this notice is in the public interest.

V. 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 FMVSS 
No. 225 to exclude funeral coaches from the requirements of the 
standard on a permanent basis. There are no additional costs associated 
with this final rule.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (Public Law 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. This final rule relieves a restriction on manufacturers of 
funeral coaches and does not impose any new obligations or 
requirements.

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.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571

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


0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, NHTSA amends 49 CFR part 571 
as follows:

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. In 49 CFR 571.225, S2 and the definition of ``funeral coach'' in S3 
are republished to read as follows:


Sec.  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.

    Issued on: October 5, 2004.
Jeffrey W. Runge,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-23135 Filed 10-14-04; 8:45 am]
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