National Highway Traffic Safety Administration June 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This notice amends the Conforming Products List published in 2004 (69 FR 42237) for instruments that conform to the Model Specifications for Evidential Breath Testing Devices (58 FR 48705).

This notice sets forth proposed guidelines on the types and formats of data that States should collect relating to drivers who are arrested or convicted for violation of laws prohibiting the impaired operation of motor vehicles, as directed by Section 2007(c) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).

On June 21, 2005, NHTSA published a final rule that made technical amendments to several regulations that reference NHTSA's Vehicle Safety Hotline telephone number. The rule updated the Hotline telephone number and added our Web address to the information that NHTSA requires manufacturers and dealers to provide consumers. The effective date for those amendments to Part 571, Federal motor vehicle safety standards, Part 575, Consumer information; and Part 582, Insurance cost information regulation, is June 21, 2006. This document withdraws the June 21, 2005 amendments to part 571, in response to a request from General Motors and other motor vehicle manufacturers to have the effective date coincide with the traditional September 1 vehicle model year changeover date, this document changes the effective date of the amendments to September 1, 2006.

This document announces receipt by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a petition for a decision that 2006 Mercedes Benz Type 463 Short Wheel Base (SWB) Gelaendewagen Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles (MPVs) manufactured before September 1, 2006 that were not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) are eligible for importation into the United States because they have safety features that comply with, or are capable of being altered to comply with, all such standards.

This final rule establishes breaking strength requirements for child restraint webbing. Under today's final rule, new webbing that attaches a restraint to a vehicle is required to have a minimum breaking strength of 15,000 N. New restraint webbing used to restrain a child in a restraint is required to have a minimum breaking strength of 11,000 N. Today's final rule maintains the percent-of-strength requirements for webbing after it is exposed to specific environmental conditions that have been required under the child restraint system standard. Today's final rule also clarifies the weights used in the webbing abrasion test procedure. The requirements of this final rule increase the likelihood that the webbing of child restraint systems will sufficiently perform throughout the life of a child restraint.

This document announces a decision by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that certain 2002 Ferrari Spider and Coupe passenger cars manufactured from September 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002 that were not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) are eligible for importation into the United States because they are substantially similar to vehicles originally manufactured for importation into and sale in the United States and that were certified by their manufacturer as complying with the safety standards (the U.S. certified version of the 2002 Ferrari Spider and Coupe passenger car manufactured from September 1, 2002 through December 31, 2002), and they are capable of being readily altered to conform to the standards.