[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 153 (Wednesday, August 9, 2006)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45427-45428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12975]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 572

[Docket Number NHTSA-2006-25258]


Denial of Petition Regarding 49 CFR Part 572, Subpart O, Hybrid 
III Fifth Percentile Small Adult Female Crash Test Dummy

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Denial of petition for rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document denies a petition submitted by First Technology 
Safety Systems (FTSS) on December 30, 2002. The petition asked the 
agency to revise drawing dimensions for the Hybrid III 5th Female 
(HIII-5F) chest jacket to reflect the physical part manufactured by 
FTSS.
    FTSS did not provide any data showing that these slight dimensional 
differences would affect the dummy's performance, nor did FTSS provide 
any justification for changing NHTSA's drawing specifications in CFR 
Section 49, Part 572 Subpart O drawings to FTSS's suggested 
specifications. Revising the Agency's drawing specifications to FTSS's 
suggested specifications appears to provide little to no benefit. 
Furthermore, FTSS did not claim they are unable to meet NHTSA's current 
drawing specifications. Accordingly, the agency finds no basis to 
revise the drawings as requested by FTSS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical issues: Mr. Sean Doyle, 
NHTSA Office of Crashworthiness Standards. Telephone: (202) 366-1740. 
Facsimile: (202) 493-2739
    For legal issues: Mr. J. Edward Glancy, NHTSA Office of the Chief 
Counsel. Telephone: (202) 366-2992. Facsimile: (202) 366-3820.
    Both officials can be reached by mail at the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590.

Issues Raised in the Petition

    FTSS, a manufacturer of crash test dummies, petitioned NHTSA to 
amend the specifications of CFR Section 49, Part 572, Subpart O, 
``Hybrid III Fifth Percentile Small Adult Female Crash Test Dummy,'' to 
correct claimed specification errors on two chest jacket drawings in 
the NHTSA drawing package. The drawings were published in support of 
the amended CFR Section 49 Part 572 on March 1, 2000 (65 FR 10968), 
which added the Hybrid III fifth percentile (HIII-5F) dummy to Part 
572. Specifically, FTSS petitioned for ``dimensional corrections to 
drawing number 880105-355-E, Sheets 1 and 2'' in order to accurately 
reflect the physical part. FTSS states that ``during the development 
phase of the HIII-5F dummy (about 1990), there was some dissatisfaction 
with the routing of the shoulder belt over the chest flesh and 
particularly the relationship of the belt and the breast 
representations.'' FTSS made a manufacturing decision at that time to 
``lower the breasts for improved belt routing, and the molds were 
modified accordingly.'' However, FTSS did not inform NHTSA of their 
decision to modify the breast location, and therefore NHTSA did not 
reflect this change during the Part 572 rulemaking. Dummies 
manufactured by FTSS since that time are inconsistent with the drawings 
in the CFR Section 49, Part 572 Subpart O for the HIII-5F dummy. 
According to FTSS, they have manufactured and delivered over 387 HIII-
5F chest flesh assemblies as part of a whole dummy or as replacement 
parts since the HIII-5F dummy's introduction. FTSS has used the same 
molds for the manufacture of all the chest flesh assemblies since the 
dummy's introduction, and they claim that all manufactured chest flesh 
assemblies are geometrically identical.

Analysis of Petition

    FTSS did not provide any data in their petition showing that these 
slight height differences in the breast location would affect the 
dummy's impact performance, but rather stated that the performance may 
change. Nevertheless, NHTSA performed a number of comparative tests 
between the FTSS's chest flesh assembly and Denton's chest flesh 
assembly, which follows the specified drawing dimensions. This testing 
was done to better evaluate FTSS's claim that the dimensional 
differences between NHTSA's drawings and FTSS's chest flesh assembly 
``could result in a change in the performance of the dummy.'' NHTSA 
also thoroughly reviewed prior agency testing done with both FTSS's and 
Denton's chest flesh assemblies. The agency records did not find any 
instances where the petitioned dimensional differences in the breast 
height location had any significant effects on the HIII-5F dummy's 
performance as long as the belt restraints were properly positioned as 
per FMVSS No. 208 (the shoulder belt is allowed to self-position on the 
torso). Similar conclusions were reached by Transport Canada, which 
found that when the shoulder belt is allowed to lie

[[Page 45428]]

diagonally across the chest without human guidance, as required by 
FMVSS No. 208, the FTSS and Denton chest flesh assemblies perform 
statistically the same.
    It is debatable whether or not FTSS's dummy improves belt routing, 
but either way, the Agency considers this information insufficient 
justification for changing NHTSA's drawing specifications. The Agency 
must also consider the entire dummy industry and recognizing that there 
are multiple dummy manufacturers that have been producing the HIII-5F 
for a significant period of time and continue to produce them, the 
agency must weigh the benefit of changing a drawing against the adverse 
impact the change would have on other manufacturers. In this case, 
revising the Agency's drawing specifications to FTSS's suggested 
dimensions appears to provide little to no benefit while the adverse 
impact on other manufacturers could be significant. Consequently, the 
agency finds no basis to revise the drawings as requested by FTSS.

Conclusion

    For the reasons discussed above, NHTSA is denying FTSS's petition 
for dimensional changes to drawing number 880105-355-E, sheets 1 and 2 
of CFR Section 49, Part 572, Subpart O.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30162; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50 and 49 CFR 501.8.

    Issued on: August 3, 2006.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. E6-12975 Filed 8-8-06; 8:45 am]
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