National Highway Traffic Safety Administration July 13, 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

NHTSA received a letter asking us to extend the comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) for occupant crash protection. The agency has proposed to amend FMVSS No. 208, Occupant crash protection, by establishing a test procedure applicable to vehicles equipped with a child restraint anchorage system, commonly referred to as a ``LATCH'' system, in a front passenger seating position and that comply with advanced air bag requirements through the use of a suppression system. The proposed procedures specify a repeatable, reproducible, and realistic method of attaching child restraints to the LATCH system for the suppression test. To provide interested persons additional time to prepare comments, we are extending the end of the comment period from July 18, 2005, to August 17, 2005. This 30-day extension will allow vehicle manufacturers the appropriate opportunity to review a technical report cited in the NPRM in support of the agency's proposal, and provide more meaningful comments.

Today's NPRM proposes specifications and qualification requirements for the new test dummy that is representative of a 10- year-old child. NHTSA plans to use the new 10-year-old child test dummy to test child restraints under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213 and in other applications. The dummy has the capability to be placed in a slouched posture, which allows the evaluation of vehicle belt systems under real world occupant conditions.