[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 36 (Thursday, February 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13397-13399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03591]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2023-0067]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213 Test 
Procedure (TP-213-11)

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

ACTION: Request for comments (RFC).

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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 
seeks public comment on the Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) 
laboratory test procedure (TP) number TP-213-11, specifically relating 
to FMVSS No. 213a, Child restraint systems--side impact protection. 
This TP, prepared for the limited purpose of use by contracted 
independent laboratories conducting tests for NHTSA, is an agency 
guidance document intended for use by NHTSA test contractors. TPs are 
not rules, regulations, or agency interpretations regarding the meaning 
of a Federal motor vehicle safety standard. The TP serves as a 
contractual document between NHTSA and its contract test laboratories. 
The updated OVSC laboratory test procedure, TP-213-11, includes new 
instructions for how labs should test for compliance with the recently 
created FMVSS No. 213a, Child restraint systems--side impact 
protection.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than May 22, 2024.

ADDRESSES: 
    Documents: The OVSC laboratory test procedure TP-213-11, described 
in this RFC, is available for viewing in PDF format in the docket 
identified in the heading of this document.
    Comments: You may submit comments to the docket, identified by the 
docket number identified in the head of this document, by any of the 
following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: To submit comments 
electronically, go to the U.S. Government regulations website at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Fax: Written comments may be faxed to 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Send comments to: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: If you submit written comments by hand or 
courier, please do so at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be 
sure someone is there to help you, please call 202-366-9826 before 
coming.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information, see the Public Participation section of this 
document, which can be found below. Note that all comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided.
    Privacy Act: 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 19477-78) or you may visit https://www.transportation.gov/privacy.
    If you wish to provide comments containing proprietary or 
confidential information, please follow the instructions in the section 
of this notice titled ``How do I submit confidential business 
information?''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    For technical issues: Mr. Corey Barlet, Compliance Engineer, Office 
of Vehicle Safety Compliance, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave SE, Washington, DC 20590. 
Telephone: 202-366-1119. Email: [email protected].
    For legal issues: Mr. Matthew Filpi, Attorney-Advisor, Office of 
the Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-3179. 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 30, 2022, NHTSA published a final 
rule establishing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
213a, Child restraint systems--side impact protection (87 FR 39234). 
This final rule requires child restraint systems (CRS) designed to seat 
children weighing up to 18.1 kilograms (kg) or in a height range that 
includes heights up to 1,100 millimeters, to meet certain minimum

[[Page 13398]]

side impact performance requirements. This RFC is strictly limited to 
the contents of OVSC laboratory test procedure TP-213-11, including 
subsequent amendments, if any, resulting from the agency's response to 
petitions for reconsideration. TP-213-11 is available for viewing in 
PDF format in the docket identified in the heading of this document.

Introduction

    To investigate whether specific vehicles or products comply with 
the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), NHTSA's Office of 
Vehicle Safety Compliance (OVSC) contracts with labs to conduct 
compliance testing. OVSC laboratory test procedures are prepared for 
the limited purpose of use by contracted independent laboratories 
conducting compliance tests for the OVSC.\1\ OVSC laboratory test 
procedures are not rules, regulations, or NHTSA interpretations. OVSC 
laboratory test procedures are not intended to limit the requirements 
of the applicable FMVSS. In some cases, the OVSC laboratory test 
procedure, or the report produced as a result of the work performed by 
the contracted laboratory, does not include all of the various FMVSS 
minimum performance requirements.
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    \1\ OVSC laboratory test procedures are distinct from regulatory 
test procedures that are included as part of most Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standards. OVSC laboratory test procedures are 
generally based off of the regulatory test procedures in specific 
FMVSS, but are prepared by the agency to give contracted labs 
specific instructions on how to conduct a specific test. The agency 
publishes the OVSC laboratory test procedures on NHTSA's website for 
transparency. The OVSC laboratory test procedures are simply agency 
guidance for contracted labs, and do not constitute official agency 
action.
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Background

    Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, NHTSA has 
the statutory authority to issue Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards 
(FMVSS) applicable to new motor vehicles and items of motor vehicle 
equipment. Child restraint systems fall under NHTSA's regulatory 
authority because they are considered motor vehicle equipment. The law 
establishes a self-certification process in which the vehicle and 
equipment manufacturers themselves certify that all of their products 
are in compliance with all applicable FMVSS, which establish minimum 
criteria that the product must meet. It is up to manufacturers to 
determine what steps are necessary in order to ensure that every 
product manufactured meets or exceeds the applicable requirements 
before the products are imported, sold, offered for sale, or introduced 
into interstate commerce in the United States.
    NHTSA enforces its standards, in part, by procuring equipment from 
the marketplace and testing to the requirements of the applicable 
standard at independent test labs. Not all available products, 
applicable requirements, or every claim a manufacturer makes will be 
tested. Further, NHTSA's testing does not constitute nor confirm a 
manufacturer's certification of compliance of a product. It is up to 
manufacturers to certify compliance with the relevant FMVSS for their 
product, and they may choose to do so however they see fit.
    In the spirit of transparency with public and industry, OVSC 
laboratory test procedures are published on NHTSA's website so 
interested parties may see how NHTSA is instructing its contracted labs 
to collect data to help OVSC investigate if products sold in the US 
comply with certain FMVSS. Because OVSC laboratory test procedures are 
OVSC's instructions for NHTSA contracted labs and OVSC may not be 
testing strictly enough to ensure compliance of a vehicle or item of 
motor vehicle equipment, compliance is not necessarily guaranteed if 
the manufacturer limits its certification tests to those described in 
an OVSC laboratory test procedure. A manufacturer should not depend on 
the test reports produced as a result of OVSC's laboratory testing as 
the basis for certification that its vehicle or item of motor vehicle 
equipment complies with all applicable requirements of a FMVSS, as 
OVSC's laboratory tests evaluate a product's performance under some, 
but not necessarily all, conditions and procedures described in an 
FMVSS, and the findings in those reports are the findings of the test 
laboratory and not necessarily of NHTSA. Under the National Traffic and 
Motor Vehicle Safety Act, manufacturers are responsible for certifying 
the compliance of their products with all applicable requirements of 
the FMVSSs.

OVSC's Current Test Procedure

    Over the years, NHTSA has drafted numerous versions of OVSC the 
laboratory test procedure for FMVSS No. 213 Child Restraint Systems, 
Child Restraint Systems--Side Impact Protection. Because FMVSS No. 213 
was originally written in the late 1970s, the agency updated the test 
procedure numerous times because of changes in technology, the CRS 
market, and the standard itself. The previous OVSC laboratory test 
procedure for FMVSS No. 213, TP-213-10,\2\ was published in February 
2014. When the agency published the side impact final rule in June of 
2022,\3\ the agency felt that an update to the OVSC laboratory test 
procedure for FMVSS No. 213 was necessary. Among other updates to FMVSS 
No. 213, the side impact final rule created FMVSS No. 213a, which is a 
new standard requiring CRSs to meet certain minimum side impact 
performance requirements. Because this is a new standard, NHTSA is 
seeking feedback from the public on the side impact procedures in the 
new updated FMVSS No. 213 OVSC laboratory test procedure, TP-213-11. 
The collected feedback will be reviewed and considered by NHTSA and a 
future revision of the OVSC test procedure will be published to include 
potential updates made from the consideration of this solicitation, as 
well as FMVSS No. 213b updates.
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    \2\ Docket No. NHTSA-2023-0067.
    \3\ 87 FR 39234.
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The Updated OVSC Laboratory Test Procedure Draft and Request for 
Comment

    In the interest of ensuring a robust OVSC laboratory test procedure 
for a new safety standard, NHTSA invites public comment on TP-213-11 
specifically relating to sections of the OVSC laboratory test procedure 
that include FMVSS No. 213a requirements.

Public Participation

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 indicated in this document in your comments.
    Please limit your comments to 15 pages. 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.
    If you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe) 
file, NHTSA asks that the documents be submitted using the Optical 
Character Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing NHTSA to search and 
copy certain portions of your submissions.
    Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, in order for 
substantive data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet 
the information quality standards set forth in the OMB and DOT Data 
Quality Act guidelines.

[[Page 13399]]

Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines in preparing 
your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at https://www.transportation.gov/regulations/dot-information-dissemination-quality-guidelines.

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you submit comments by hard copy and 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. If you submit comments electronically, your comments should 
appear automatically in the Docket identified in the heading of this 
document on www.regulations.gov. If they do not appear within two weeks 
of posting, NHTSA suggested that you call the Docket Management 
Facility at (202) 366-9826.

How do I submit confidential business information?

    You should submit a redacted ``public version'' of your comment 
(including redacted versions of any additional documents or 
attachments) to the docket using any of the methods identified under 
ADDRESSES. This ``public version'' of your comment should contain only 
the portions for which no claim of confidential treatment is made and 
from which those portions for which confidential treatment is claimed 
has been redacted. See below for further instructions on how to do 
this.
    You also need to submit a request for confidential treatment 
directly to the Office of the Chief Counsel. Requests for confidential 
treatment are governed by 49 CFR part 512. Your request must set forth 
the information specified in part 512. This includes the materials for 
which confidentiality is being requested (as explained in more detail 
below); supporting information, pursuant to Sec.  512.8; and a 
certificate, pursuant to Sec.  512.4(b) and part 512, appendix A.
    You are required to submit to the Office of the Chief Counsel one 
unredacted ``confidential version'' of the information for which you 
are seeking confidential treatment. Pursuant to Sec.  512.6, the words 
``ENTIRE PAGE CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION'' or ``CONFIDENTIAL 
BUSINESS INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN BRACKETS'' (as applicable) must 
appear at the top of each page containing information claimed to be 
confidential. In the latter situation, where not all information on the 
page is claimed to be confidential, identify each item of information 
for which confidentiality is requested within brackets: ``[ ].''
    You are also required to submit to the Office of the Chief Counsel 
one redacted ``public version'' of the information for which you are 
seeking confidential treatment. Pursuant to Sec.  512.5(a)(2), the 
redacted ``public version'' should include redactions of any 
information for which you are seeking confidential treatment (i.e., the 
only information that should be unredacted is information for which you 
are not seeking confidential treatment).
    NHTSA is currently treating electronic submission as an acceptable 
method for submitting confidential business information to the agency 
under part 512. Please do not send a hardcopy of a request for 
confidential treatment to NHTSA's headquarters. The request should be 
sent to Dan Rabinovitz in the Office of the Chief Counsel at 
[email protected]. You may either submit your request via email 
or request a secure file transfer link. If you are submitting the 
request via email, please also email a courtesy copy of the request to 
Matthew Filpi at [email protected].

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.

How will the agency utilize comments received?

    The agency will consider all comments received, and will 
incorporate comments as it deems appropriate into the OVSC laboratory 
test procedure.

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, at www.regulations.gov, identified by the docket number 
at the heading of this notice. Please note that, even after the comment 
closing date, NHTSA will continue to file relevant information in the 
docket as it becomes available. Further, some people may submit late 
comments. Accordingly, NHTSA recommends that you periodically check the 
docket for new material.

(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30166: delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 
and 501.8)

Otto G. Matheke, III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2024-03591 Filed 2-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P