Baby Trend, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance, 55465-55467 [2022-19516]
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jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 174 / Friday, September 9, 2022 / Notices
determining the incremental costs
associated with full implementation of
the recommendations is effectively
impossible without detailed insight into
the organizational processes of every
company.
Fifth, many of NHTSA’s
recommendations lean very heavily on
industry standards, such as ISO/SAE
21434. Three of the 21 ‘‘new’’ best
practices simply reference the ISO/SAE
21434 industry standard. Since many
aspects of NHTSA’s recommendations
are mapped to an industry standard,
costs would also be limited for those
companies who are adopting ISO/SAE
21434 already. Thus, it would be very
difficult to parse whether a company
implemented ISO/SAE 21434 or
whether it had decided to adopt
NHTSA’s voluntary recommendations.
While the Best Practices have some
recommendations 36 that cannot be
mapped to an industry standards
document at this time, most of those
recommendations involve common
vehicle engineering and sound business
management practices, such as risk
assessment and supply-chain
management. For these
recommendations, NHTSA’s inclusion
in the Best Practices serve as a
reminder.
Regarding benefits, entities that do
not implement appropriate
cybersecurity measures, like those
guided by these recommendations, or
other sound controls, face a higher risk
of cyberattack or increased exposure in
the event of a cyberattack, potentially
leading to safety concerns for the public.
Implementation of the best practices
can, therefore, facilitate ‘‘cost
prevention’’ in the sense that failure to
adopt appropriate cybersecurity
practices could result in other direct or
indirect costs to companies (i.e.,
personal injury, vehicle damage,
warranty, recall, or voluntary repair/
updates).
The best practices outlined in this
document help organizations measure
their residual risks better, particularly
the safety risks associated with potential
cybersecurity issues in motor vehicles
and motor vehicle equipment that they
design and manufacture. Further, the
document provides a toolset of
techniques organizations can utilize
commensurate to their measured risks
and take appropriate actions to reduce
or eliminate them. Doing so could lower
the future liabilities these risks
36 For example, G.6 in Section 4.2.3 recommends
consideration of sensor vulnerabilities as part of
risk assessment; and G.10 and G.11 in Section 4.2.6
recommend tracking software components on
vehicles in a manner similar to hardware
components.
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18:57 Sep 08, 2022
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represent in terms of safety risks to
public and business costs associated
with addressing them.
In addition, quantitatively positive
externalities have been shown to stem
from vehicle safety and security
measures (Ayres & Levitt, 1998). The
high marginal cost of cybersecurity
failures (crashes) extends to third
parties. Widely accepted adoption of
sound cybersecurity practices limits
these potential costs and lessens
incentives for attempts at market
disruption (i.e., signal manipulation,
Global Positioning System (GPS)
spoofing, or reverse engineering).
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.8.
Cem Hatipoglu,
Associate Administrator, Vehicle Safety
Research.
[FR Doc. 2022–19507 Filed 9–8–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket No. NHTSA–2022–0074; Notice 1]
Baby Trend, Inc., Receipt of Petition
for Decision of Inconsequential
Noncompliance
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Receipt of petition.
AGENCY:
Baby Trend, Inc., (BT), has
determined that certain BT Hybrid 3-in1 Combination Booster Seat child
restraint systems (CRSs) do not fully
comply with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, Child
Restraint Systems. BT filed an original
noncompliance report dated July 6,
2022. BT subsequently petitioned
NHTSA on August 1, 2022, for a
decision that the subject noncompliance
is inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety. This document
announces receipt of BT’s petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before
October 11, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written data, views,
and arguments on this petition.
Comments must refer to the docket and
notice number cited in the title of this
notice and may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
• Mail: Send comments by mail
addressed to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: Deliver comments
by hand to the U.S. Department of
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
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55465
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590. The Docket
Section is open on weekdays from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Federal
Holidays.
• Electronically: Submit comments
electronically by logging onto the
Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) website at https://
www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Comments may also be faxed to
(202) 493–2251.
Comments must be written in the
English language, and be no greater than
15 pages in length, although there is no
limit to the length of necessary
attachments to the comments. If
comments are submitted in hard copy
form, please ensure that two copies are
provided. If you wish to receive
confirmation that comments you have
submitted by mail were received, please
enclose a stamped, self-addressed
postcard with the comments. Note that
all comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
All comments and supporting
materials received before the close of
business on the closing date indicated
above will be filed in the docket and
will be considered. All comments and
supporting materials received after the
closing date will also be filed and will
be considered to the fullest extent
possible.
When the petition is granted or
denied, notice of the decision will also
be published in the Federal Register
pursuant to the authority indicated at
the end of this notice.
All comments, background
documentation, and supporting
materials submitted to the docket may
be viewed by anyone at the address and
times given above. The documents may
also be viewed on the internet at https://
www.regulations.gov by following the
online instructions for accessing the
dockets. The docket ID number for this
petition is shown in the heading of this
notice.
DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement is available for review in a
Federal Register notice published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–78).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kelley Adams-Campos, Safety
Compliance Engineer, NHTSA, Office of
Vehicle Safety Compliance,
kelley.adamscampos@dot.gov, (202)
366–7479.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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09SEN1
55466
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 174 / Friday, September 9, 2022 / Notices
I. Overview
BT determined that certain BT Hybrid
3-in-1 Combination Booster Seat CRSs
do not fully comply with paragraph
S5.4.1.2(a) of FMVSS No. 213, Child
Restraint Systems (49 CFR 571.213).
BT filed an original noncompliance
report dated July 6, 2022, pursuant to 49
CFR part 573, Defect and
Noncompliance Responsibility and
Reports. BT petitioned NHTSA on
August 1, 2022, for an exemption from
the notification and remedy
requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301
on the basis that this noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety, pursuant to 49 U.S.C.
30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part
556, Exemption for Inconsequential
Defect or Noncompliance.
This notice of receipt of BT’s petition
is published under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and
30120 and does not represent any
agency decision or other exercise of
judgment concerning the merits of the
petition.
II. Child Restraint Systems Involved
Approximately 101,361 BT Hybrid 3in-1 Combination Booster Seat CRSs,
manufactured from December 6, 2021,
to June 6, 2022,1 are potentially
involved:
III. Noncompliance
BT explains that the lower anchor
webbing in the subject CRSs failed the
minimum breaking strength when tested
in accordance with S5.1 of FMVSS No.
209,2 referenced in FMVSS No. 213
S5.4.1.2(a). Specifically, the breaking 3
strength of the lower anchor webbing of
the Lower Anchors and Tethers for
CHildren (LATCH 4) system in the
subject CRSs was 13,926 Newtons (N),
13,940 N, and 14,087 N when tested by
NHTSA.
IV. Rule Requirements
Paragraph S5.4.1.2(a) of FMVSS No.
213 includes the requirements relevant
to this petition. The webbing of belts
provided with a child restraint system
and used to attach the system to the
vehicle must have a minimum breaking
strength for new webbing of not less
than 15,000 N, including the tether and
lower anchorages of a child restraint
anchorage system, when tested in
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES
1 As
reported in BT’s July 6, 2022, Part 573 filing.
its petition, BT refers to the test in S5.1 of
FMVSS No. 209 as tensile.
3 In its petition, BT refers to breaking as tensile.
4 ‘‘LATCH’’ refers to the child restraint anchorage
system that FMVSS 225, ‘‘Child restraint anchorage
systems,’’ requires to be installed in motor vehicles.
Industry and advocates have developed the term
‘‘LATCH’’ to refer to Standard 225’s child restraint
anchorage system.
2 In
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18:57 Sep 08, 2022
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accordance with S5.1 of FMVSS No.
209. ‘‘New webbing’’ means webbing
that has not been exposed to abrasion,
light or micro-organisms as specified
elsewhere in FMVSS No. 213.
V. Summary of BT’s Petition
The following views and arguments
presented in this section, ‘‘V. Summary
of BT’s Petition,’’ are the views and
arguments provided by BT. They have
not been evaluated by the Agency and
do not reflect the views of the Agency.
BT describes the subject noncompliance
and contends that the noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety.
Upon receiving an information
request from NHTSA on June 6, 2022,
regarding the subject noncompliance,
BT states that production and
distribution of the subject CRSs were
halted, and BT began an investigation.
BT states that, as part of its
investigation, it conducted dynamic
sled testing, webbing testing and
examined internal processes to
determine the root cause of the
noncompliance. As a result of its
investigation, BT found that the wrong
webbing was installed in a portion of
the subject CRSs, but BT believes,
through its analysis of existing and new
test data, that the subject
noncompliance is inconsequential to
motor vehicle safety.
BT claims that FMVSS No. 213
dynamic sled testing ensures the
structural integrity of the subject CRSs
and that this is supported by NHTSA’s
November 2, 2020, notice of proposed
rulemaking 5 regarding FMVSS No. 213.
In its petition, BT questions ‘‘the utility
of considering the webbing strength
tests in isolation rather than the
integrity of the LATCH system as
required under FMVSS 213.’’ BT
believes the webbing tests specified in
FMVSS No. 213 have utility in safety
‘‘only in the context of maintaining
strength of the webbing with wear and
tear of the child restraint following
years of use and asserts that the
unabraded webbing strength test is not
necessary to ensure the structural
integrity of a CRS.
BT states that it conducts, in addition
to the dynamic sled testing required by
FMVSS No. 213, dynamic sled testing
through Consumer’s Union (CU), on
child restraints produced by each of its
factories. BT contends that if NHTSA
previously found the dynamic sled
testing at 48 kph to be sufficient to
ensure the structural integrity of a CRS,
5 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child
Restraint Systems, Incorporation by Reference; 85
FR 69388 (November 2, 2020.)
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BT’s additional testing is also similarly
sufficient.
The CU dynamic testing, as BT
explains, has important differences from
that required by FMVSS No. 213. First,
the test is conducted at 56 kph whereas
the FMVSS No. 213 test is conducted at
48 kph. Second, the bench used is
derived from a vehicle seat, providing
‘‘a boundary condition for LATCH
attachment and seat cushion-to-CRS
interaction.’’ Finally, the CU test
protocol includes a structure to
represent the seat in front of the CRS
seat position, which, BT claims,
provides a ‘‘clear tell-tale’’ of failure in
any way of the LATCH lower anchor
belt in adequately restraining the CRS
and its occupant.
BT also claims that the minimum
LATCH lower anchor webbing strength
requirements of FMVSS No. 213 are
unrealistic, based on dynamic crash
testing it conducted on the subject CRSs
using the same incorrect webbing used
on the noncompliant CRSs that are the
subject of this petition, and without
attaching the CRS’ tether to the tether
anchor. This testing, as BT explains,
was conducted on the test bench
proposed by NHTSA in the 2020
FMVSS No. 213 NPRM. Other test
apparatus and conditions used in its
testing were those either specified in
FMVSS No. 213, and/or the current
NPRM, or ‘‘widely accepted’’ as due
care tests. For the tests BT conducted in
the frontal direction, sled test speeds
ranging from 57.1 kph to 63.9 kph were
used. See the Table 6 in BT’s petition for
the parameters used in its testing. BT
states that it is confident that its frontal
sled testing conducted at ‘‘64 kph . . .
encompasses all crashes including the
most severe crashes’’ and that ‘‘at no
time and in no test did the LATCH
Lower Anchor webbing or belt system
fail to perform its intended purpose of
restraining the CRS.’’ BT also found
‘‘that at no time during any of these tests
did the LATCH Lower Anchor webbing
load exceed 5000 Newtons and, more
importantly, come even close to the
15,000 Newton minimum threshold’’
required by FMVSS No. 213.
In its petition, BT shares a graphic 7 to
illustrate its beliefs for the minimum
strength of various components in the
LATCH system and points to examples
where, ‘‘in the rare instances of failures
of the LATCH system, the failures
occurred in . . . the LATCH lower
anchor on the vehicle.’’ Thus, BT
contends that the webbing is not the
weak link in the LATCH lower anchor
system, and that ‘‘any deficiencies with
6 Section
7 Section
E:\FR\FM\09SEN1.SGM
3 of its petition.
5 of its petition.
09SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 174 / Friday, September 9, 2022 / Notices
the strength of the LATCH Lower
Anchor webbing would have been
revealed in the dynamic sled tests of
FMVSS 213.’’
BT states that there is no evidence of
webbing failure in any CRS in the real
world, that it has never received a
complaint, nor has any knowledge of, a
webbing failure on any of its products
in the real world.
BT concludes by stating its belief that
the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety and its petition to be
exempted from providing notification of
the noncompliance, as required by 49
U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the
noncompliance, as required by 49
U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
NHTSA notes that the statutory
provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to
file petitions for a determination of
inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to
exempt manufacturers only from the
duties found in sections 30118 and
30120, respectively, to notify owners,
purchasers, and dealers of a defect or
noncompliance and to remedy the
defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any
decision on this petition only applies to
the subject child restraints that BT no
longer controlled at the time it
determined that the noncompliance
existed. However, any decision on this
petition does not relieve child restraint
distributors and dealers of the
prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale,
or introduction or delivery for
introduction into interstate commerce of
the noncompliant child restraints under
their control after BT notified them that
the subject noncompliance existed.
(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120:
delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.95 and
501.8)
Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2022–19516 Filed 9–8–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA–2022–0069; Notice 1]
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES
Hercules Tire & Rubber Company,
Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Receipt of petition.
AGENCY:
Hercules Tire & Rubber
Company, (Hercules), has determined
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:57 Sep 08, 2022
Jkt 256001
that certain Ironman iMOVE PT
specialty trailer tires do not fully
comply with Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 139, New
Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light
Vehicles. Hercules filed an original
noncompliance report dated May 10,
2022, and amended the report on May
12, 2022. Hercules petitioned NHTSA
on June 21, 2022, for a decision that the
subject noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety. This document
announces receipt of Hercules’s
petition.
Send comments on or before
October 11, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written data, views,
and arguments on this petition.
Comments must refer to the docket and
notice number cited in the title of this
notice and may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
• Mail: Send comments by mail
addressed to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: Deliver comments
by hand to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590. The Docket
Section is open on weekdays from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Federal
Holidays.
• Electronically: Submit comments
electronically by logging onto the
Federal Docket Management System
(FDMS) website at https://
www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
• Comments may also be faxed to
(202) 493–2251.
Comments must be written in the
English language, and be no greater than
15 pages in length, although there is no
limit to the length of necessary
attachments to the comments. If
comments are submitted in hard copy
form, please ensure that two copies are
provided. If you wish to receive
confirmation that comments you have
submitted by mail were received, please
enclose a stamped, self-addressed
postcard with the comments. Note that
all comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided.
All comments and supporting
materials received before the close of
business on the closing date indicated
above will be filed in the docket and
will be considered. All comments and
DATES:
PO 00000
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55467
supporting materials received after the
closing date will also be filed and will
be considered to the fullest extent
possible.
When the petition is granted or
denied, notice of the decision will also
be published in the Federal Register
pursuant to the authority indicated at
the end of this notice.
All comments, background
documentation, and supporting
materials submitted to the docket may
be viewed by anyone at the address and
times given above. The documents may
also be viewed on the internet at https://
www.regulations.gov by following the
online instructions for accessing the
dockets. The docket ID number for this
petition is shown in the heading of this
notice.
DOT’s complete Privacy Act
Statement is available for review in a
Federal Register notice published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477–78).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jayton Lindley, General Engineer,
NHTSA, Office of Vehicle Safety
Compliance, (325) 655–0547.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Overview
Hercules determined that certain
Ironman iMOVE PT specialty trailer
tires do not fully comply with paragraph
S5.5.1(b) of FMVSS No. 139, New
Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light
Vehicles (49 CFR 571.139).
Hercules filed an original
noncompliance report dated May 10,
2022, and amended the report on May
12, 2022, pursuant to 49 CFR part 573,
Defect and Noncompliance
Responsibility and Reports. Hercules
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on
June 21, 2022, for an exemption from
the notification and remedy
requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301
on the basis that this noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety, pursuant to 49 U.S.C.
30118(d) and 30120(h) and 49 CFR part
556, Exemption for Inconsequential
Defect or Noncompliance.
This notice of receipt of Hercules’s
petition is published under 49 U.S.C.
30118 and 30120 and does not represent
any agency decision or another exercise
of judgment concerning the merits of the
petition.
II. Tires Involved
Approximately 555 Ironman iMOVE
PT specialty trailer tires, manufactured
between August 14, 2021, and August
20, 2021, are potentially involved:
III. Noncompliance
Hercules explains that the subject
tires are labeled with a tire
E:\FR\FM\09SEN1.SGM
09SEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 174 (Friday, September 9, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55465-55467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-19516]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0074; Notice 1]
Baby Trend, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Receipt of petition.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Baby Trend, Inc., (BT), has determined that certain BT Hybrid
3-in-1 Combination Booster Seat child restraint systems (CRSs) do not
fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No.
213, Child Restraint Systems. BT filed an original noncompliance report
dated July 6, 2022. BT subsequently petitioned NHTSA on August 1, 2022,
for a decision that the subject noncompliance is inconsequential as it
relates to motor vehicle safety. This document announces receipt of
BT's petition.
DATES: Send comments on or before October 11, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written data,
views, and arguments on this petition. Comments must refer to the
docket and notice number cited in the title of this notice and may be
submitted by any of the following methods:
Mail: Send comments by mail addressed to the U.S.
Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590.
Hand Delivery: Deliver comments by hand to the U.S.
Department of Transportation, Docket Operations, M-30, West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC
20590. The Docket Section is open on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
except for Federal Holidays.
Electronically: Submit comments electronically by logging
onto the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) website at https://www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Comments may also be faxed to (202) 493-2251.
Comments must be written in the English language, and be no greater
than 15 pages in length, although there is no limit to the length of
necessary attachments to the comments. If comments are submitted in
hard copy form, please ensure that two copies are provided. If you wish
to receive confirmation that comments you have submitted by mail were
received, please enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard with the
comments. Note that all comments received will be posted without change
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided.
All comments and supporting materials received before the close of
business on the closing date indicated above will be filed in the
docket and will be considered. All comments and supporting materials
received after the closing date will also be filed and will be
considered to the fullest extent possible.
When the petition is granted or denied, notice of the decision will
also be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the authority
indicated at the end of this notice.
All comments, background documentation, and supporting materials
submitted to the docket may be viewed by anyone at the address and
times given above. The documents may also be viewed on the internet at
https://www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for
accessing the dockets. The docket ID number for this petition is shown
in the heading of this notice.
DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement is available for review in a
Federal Register notice published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kelley Adams-Campos, Safety Compliance
Engineer, NHTSA, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance,
[email protected], (202) 366-7479.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 55466]]
I. Overview
BT determined that certain BT Hybrid 3-in-1 Combination Booster
Seat CRSs do not fully comply with paragraph S5.4.1.2(a) of FMVSS No.
213, Child Restraint Systems (49 CFR 571.213).
BT filed an original noncompliance report dated July 6, 2022,
pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility
and Reports. BT petitioned NHTSA on August 1, 2022, for an exemption
from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301
on the basis that this noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates
to motor vehicle safety, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and 30120(h)
and 49 CFR part 556, Exemption for Inconsequential Defect or
Noncompliance.
This notice of receipt of BT's petition is published under 49
U.S.C. 30118 and 30120 and does not represent any agency decision or
other exercise of judgment concerning the merits of the petition.
II. Child Restraint Systems Involved
Approximately 101,361 BT Hybrid 3-in-1 Combination Booster Seat
CRSs, manufactured from December 6, 2021, to June 6, 2022,\1\ are
potentially involved:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ As reported in BT's July 6, 2022, Part 573 filing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Noncompliance
BT explains that the lower anchor webbing in the subject CRSs
failed the minimum breaking strength when tested in accordance with
S5.1 of FMVSS No. 209,\2\ referenced in FMVSS No. 213 S5.4.1.2(a).
Specifically, the breaking \3\ strength of the lower anchor webbing of
the Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH \4\) system in the
subject CRSs was 13,926 Newtons (N), 13,940 N, and 14,087 N when tested
by NHTSA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ In its petition, BT refers to the test in S5.1 of FMVSS No.
209 as tensile.
\3\ In its petition, BT refers to breaking as tensile.
\4\ ``LATCH'' refers to the child restraint anchorage system
that FMVSS 225, ``Child restraint anchorage systems,'' requires to
be installed in motor vehicles. Industry and advocates have
developed the term ``LATCH'' to refer to Standard 225's child
restraint anchorage system.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Rule Requirements
Paragraph S5.4.1.2(a) of FMVSS No. 213 includes the requirements
relevant to this petition. The webbing of belts provided with a child
restraint system and used to attach the system to the vehicle must have
a minimum breaking strength for new webbing of not less than 15,000 N,
including the tether and lower anchorages of a child restraint
anchorage system, when tested in accordance with S5.1 of FMVSS No. 209.
``New webbing'' means webbing that has not been exposed to abrasion,
light or micro-organisms as specified elsewhere in FMVSS No. 213.
V. Summary of BT's Petition
The following views and arguments presented in this section, ``V.
Summary of BT's Petition,'' are the views and arguments provided by BT.
They have not been evaluated by the Agency and do not reflect the views
of the Agency. BT describes the subject noncompliance and contends that
the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle
safety.
Upon receiving an information request from NHTSA on June 6, 2022,
regarding the subject noncompliance, BT states that production and
distribution of the subject CRSs were halted, and BT began an
investigation. BT states that, as part of its investigation, it
conducted dynamic sled testing, webbing testing and examined internal
processes to determine the root cause of the noncompliance. As a result
of its investigation, BT found that the wrong webbing was installed in
a portion of the subject CRSs, but BT believes, through its analysis of
existing and new test data, that the subject noncompliance is
inconsequential to motor vehicle safety.
BT claims that FMVSS No. 213 dynamic sled testing ensures the
structural integrity of the subject CRSs and that this is supported by
NHTSA's November 2, 2020, notice of proposed rulemaking \5\ regarding
FMVSS No. 213. In its petition, BT questions ``the utility of
considering the webbing strength tests in isolation rather than the
integrity of the LATCH system as required under FMVSS 213.'' BT
believes the webbing tests specified in FMVSS No. 213 have utility in
safety ``only in the context of maintaining strength of the webbing
with wear and tear of the child restraint following years of use and
asserts that the unabraded webbing strength test is not necessary to
ensure the structural integrity of a CRS.
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\5\ Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint
Systems, Incorporation by Reference; 85 FR 69388 (November 2, 2020.)
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BT states that it conducts, in addition to the dynamic sled testing
required by FMVSS No. 213, dynamic sled testing through Consumer's
Union (CU), on child restraints produced by each of its factories. BT
contends that if NHTSA previously found the dynamic sled testing at 48
kph to be sufficient to ensure the structural integrity of a CRS, BT's
additional testing is also similarly sufficient.
The CU dynamic testing, as BT explains, has important differences
from that required by FMVSS No. 213. First, the test is conducted at 56
kph whereas the FMVSS No. 213 test is conducted at 48 kph. Second, the
bench used is derived from a vehicle seat, providing ``a boundary
condition for LATCH attachment and seat cushion-to-CRS interaction.''
Finally, the CU test protocol includes a structure to represent the
seat in front of the CRS seat position, which, BT claims, provides a
``clear tell-tale'' of failure in any way of the LATCH lower anchor
belt in adequately restraining the CRS and its occupant.
BT also claims that the minimum LATCH lower anchor webbing strength
requirements of FMVSS No. 213 are unrealistic, based on dynamic crash
testing it conducted on the subject CRSs using the same incorrect
webbing used on the noncompliant CRSs that are the subject of this
petition, and without attaching the CRS' tether to the tether anchor.
This testing, as BT explains, was conducted on the test bench proposed
by NHTSA in the 2020 FMVSS No. 213 NPRM. Other test apparatus and
conditions used in its testing were those either specified in FMVSS No.
213, and/or the current NPRM, or ``widely accepted'' as due care tests.
For the tests BT conducted in the frontal direction, sled test speeds
ranging from 57.1 kph to 63.9 kph were used. See the Table \6\ in BT's
petition for the parameters used in its testing. BT states that it is
confident that its frontal sled testing conducted at ``64 kph . . .
encompasses all crashes including the most severe crashes'' and that
``at no time and in no test did the LATCH Lower Anchor webbing or belt
system fail to perform its intended purpose of restraining the CRS.''
BT also found ``that at no time during any of these tests did the LATCH
Lower Anchor webbing load exceed 5000 Newtons and, more importantly,
come even close to the 15,000 Newton minimum threshold'' required by
FMVSS No. 213.
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\6\ Section 3 of its petition.
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In its petition, BT shares a graphic \7\ to illustrate its beliefs
for the minimum strength of various components in the LATCH system and
points to examples where, ``in the rare instances of failures of the
LATCH system, the failures occurred in . . . the LATCH lower anchor on
the vehicle.'' Thus, BT contends that the webbing is not the weak link
in the LATCH lower anchor system, and that ``any deficiencies with
[[Page 55467]]
the strength of the LATCH Lower Anchor webbing would have been revealed
in the dynamic sled tests of FMVSS 213.''
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\7\ Section 5 of its petition.
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BT states that there is no evidence of webbing failure in any CRS
in the real world, that it has never received a complaint, nor has any
knowledge of, a webbing failure on any of its products in the real
world.
BT concludes by stating its belief that the subject noncompliance
is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety and its
petition to be exempted from providing notification of the
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30118, and a remedy for the
noncompliance, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30120, should be granted.
NHTSA notes that the statutory provisions (49 U.S.C. 30118(d) and
30120(h)) that permit manufacturers to file petitions for a
determination of inconsequentiality allow NHTSA to exempt manufacturers
only from the duties found in sections 30118 and 30120, respectively,
to notify owners, purchasers, and dealers of a defect or noncompliance
and to remedy the defect or noncompliance. Therefore, any decision on
this petition only applies to the subject child restraints that BT no
longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance
existed. However, any decision on this petition does not relieve child
restraint distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale,
offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into
interstate commerce of the noncompliant child restraints under their
control after BT notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.
(Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30118, 30120: delegations of authority at 49
CFR 1.95 and 501.8)
Otto G. Matheke III,
Director, Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2022-19516 Filed 9-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P