[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 228 (Monday, November 28, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73010-73011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30560]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2011-0168]


Technical Report Evaluating the 1999-2003 Head Impact Upgrade of 
FMVSS No. 201, Upper-Interior Components

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

ACTION: Request for comments on technical report.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces NHTSA's publication of a Technical 
Report reviewing and evaluating its existing Safety Standard 201, 
Occupant Protection in Interior Impact. The report's title is: 
Evaluation of the 1999-2003 Head Impact Upgrade of FMVSS No. 201--
Upper-Interior Components: Effectiveness of Energy-Absorbing Materials 
Without Head-Protection Air Bags.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than March 27, 2012.

ADDRESSES:
    Report: The technical report is available on the Internet for 
viewing in PDF format at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811538.PDF. 
You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge by sending a self-
addressed mailing label to Charles J. Kahane (NVS-431), National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-312, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    Comments: You may submit comments [identified by Docket Number 
NHTSA-2011-0168] by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Fax: 1-(202) 493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    You may call Docket Management at (202) 366-9826.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Procedural Matters section of this document. Note that all comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation 
Division, NVS-431, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-312, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2560. 
Email: [email protected].
    For information about NHTSA's evaluations of the effectiveness of 
existing regulations and programs: You may see a list of published 
evaluation reports at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/cats/listpublications.aspx?Id=226&ShowBy=Category and if you click on any 
report you will be able to view it in PDF format.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
(FMVSS) No. 201--Occupant Protection in Interior Impact--was upgraded 
in 1995, with a 1998-2003 phase-in, to reduce occupants' risk of head 
injury from contact with a vehicle's upper interior, including its 
pillars, roof headers and side rails, and the upper roof. Initially, 
energy-absorbing materials alone were used to meet the standard. NHTSA

[[Page 73011]]

statistically analyzed the effect of these materials on head injuries 
due to upper-interior contact in cars and light trucks in the 
Crashworthiness Data System of the National Automotive Sampling System 
for 1995-2009 and the effect on head injuries in fatal crashes in the 
Fatality Analysis Reporting System--Multiple Cause of Death files for 
1999-2007. FMVSS No. 201 without head-protection air bags reduces AIS 
4-to-6 head injuries due to contact with upper-interior components by 
an estimated 24 percent (95% confidence bounds, 11 to 35%), based on 
the average of the analysis results for the two databases. That is 
equivalent to a 4.3-percent reduction of overall fatality risk 
(confidence bounds 2.0 to 6.2%). When all vehicles on the road meet 
FMVSS No. 201, it will save an estimated 1,087 to 1,329 lives per year. 
At a cost of $25.52 (in 2010 dollars) over the life of a vehicle, that 
amounts to an annual cost, depending on new-vehicle sales, ranging from 
$301 to $424 million for certifying all new vehicles to FMVSS No. 201. 
It is a very cost-effective regulation, costing less than $1 million 
per life saved.
    NHTSA issued previous evaluation reports on FMVSS No. 201 in 2006 
(72 FR 9074, Docket No. NHTSA-2007-27371, report available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810739.PDF) and in 1988 (53 FR 2516, report 
available at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/807203.PDF).

Procedural Matters

How can I influence NHTSA's thinking on this subject?

    NHTSA welcomes public review of the technical report. NHTSA will 
submit to the Docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, 
will supplement or revise the 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-2011-0168) 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.
    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 (65 FR 19477) or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov.
    Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management, 
fax them, or use the Federal eRulemaking Portal. The mailing address is 
U.S. Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, 
West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is 1-(202) 493-2251. To use the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments.
    We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Charles 
J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation Division, NVS-431, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-312, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590 (or email them to [email protected]). He 
can check if your comments have been received at the Docket and he 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 
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, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 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 U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
or submit them via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.

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 materials placed in the docket for this document 
(e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other 
interested persons) at any time by going to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets. You may also 
read the materials at the Docket Management Facility by going to the 
street address given above under ADDRESSES. The Docket Management 
Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 49 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

James F. Simons,
Director, Office of Regulatory Analysis and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 2011-30560 Filed 11-25-11; 8:45 am]
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