National Highway Traffic Safety Administration August 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This final rule amends the Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) on occupant crash protection to remove the sunset of a requirement that a vehicle's lap belt must be lockable, without the use of special tools, to tightly secure a child restraint system (CRS). We refer to this as the ``lockability'' requirement. Under the current standard, the lockability requirement ceases to apply to seating positions that are equipped with a child restraint anchorage system (commonly referred to as a ``LATCH'' system) on vehicles manufactured on or after September 1, 2012. Because data indicate that motorists are still using lockable belts to install CRSs even in seating positions with LATCH, there is a continuing need for the lockability requirement even in seating positions with LATCH. Thus, this final rule ensures that the lockability requirement continues in effect for all seating positions past September 1, 2012.

This document denies a petition for rulemaking from the Center for Auto Safety (CAS) and 21 others asking that NHTSA mandate the installation of three-point seat belts (lap/shoulder belts) for all seating positions on all school buses. We are denying the petition because we have not found a safety problem supporting a Federal requirement for lap/shoulder belts on large school buses, which are already very safe. The decision to install seat belts on school buses should be left to State and local jurisdictions, which can weigh the need for, benefits and consequences of installing belts on large school buses and best decide whether their particular pupil transportation programs merit installation of the devices.

This document responds to a petition for reconsideration from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers regarding a March 2010 final rule on the Federal motor vehicle safety standard for side impact protection. Today's rule makes minor changes to the standard's testing requirements and clarifies some aspects of the standard.

BMW of North America, LLC,\1\ a subsidiary of BMW AG.\2\ (collectively referred to as ``BMW'') has determined that certain model year 2011 Mini Cooper Clubman and Mini Cooper S Clubman model passenger cars manufactured between February 8, 2011 and May 11, 2011, do not fully comply with paragraph S5.2.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 101, Controls and Displays and paragraphs S5.5.2 and S5.5.5 of FMVSS No. 135, Light Vehicle Brake Systems. BMW has filed an appropriate report pursuant to 49 CFR part 573, Defect and Noncompliance Responsibility and Reports (dated May 25, 2011).

NHTSA announces a meeting of NEMSAC to be held in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area. This notice announces the date, time and location of the meeting, which will be open to the public. The purpose of NEMSAC is to provide a nationally recognized council of emergency medical services representatives and consumers to provide advice and recommendations regarding Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to the U.S. DOT's NHTSA.

In accordance with the procedures in 49 CFR Part 555, Spyker Automobielen B.V. (Spyker) has applied for a temporary exemption for its C line of vehicles from the requirements of FMVSS No. 126, the standard for electronic stability control systems. The basis of the application is that compliance would cause substantial economic hardship to a manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard. NHTSA is publishing this notice of receipt of the application in accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30113(b)(2), and has made no judgment on the merits of the application.

President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum on May 21, 2010, concerning the development of a new generation of clean cars and trucks through innovative technologies and manufacturing. The President requested that EPA and NHTSA, on behalf of the Department of Transportation, develop, through notice and comment rulemaking, a coordinated National Program under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), as amended by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), to reduce fuel consumption by and greenhouse gas emissions of light-duty vehicles for model years 2017- 2025. This notice of intent generally describes the joint proposal that the EPA and NHTSA expect to issue to establish the National Program for model years 2017-2025. The agencies are developing the proposal based on extensive technical analyses, an examination of the factors required under the respective statutes and on discussions with individual motor vehicle manufacturers and other stakeholders. The National Program would apply to passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles (light-duty vehicles) built in those model years.

On December 4, 2007, NHTSA published a final rule that amended the Federal motor vehicle safety standard for lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment with an effective date of September 1, 2008. In response, the agency received thirteen petitions for reconsideration. The effective date of the final rule was delayed in subsequent notices to December 1, 2012. This document corrects several technical errors in the final rule and completes the agency's response to the issues raised in the submitted petitions for reconsideration.

In accordance with the procedures in 49 CFR part 555, Tesla Motors, Inc., has petitioned the agency for a temporary exemption from the electronic stability control requirements of FMVSS No. 126. The bases for the application are that the petitioner avers that the exemption would make the development or field evaluation of a low- emission vehicle easier and would not unreasonably lower the safety level of that vehicle and that compliance would cause it substantial economic hardship and that it has tried in good faith to comply with the standard.\1\ This notice of receipt of an application for a temporary exemption is published in accordance with statutory and administrative provisions. NHTSA has made no judgment on the merits of the application.

This final rule updates and expands an existing exemption from certain requirements of our head restraints standard that is available in the context of vehicle modifications to accommodate people with disabilities. The rule facilitates the mobility of drivers and passengers with disabilities by updating the exemption to include the corresponding portions of a new, upgraded version of the standard, the right front passenger seating position, and an exemption for persons with limited ability to support their head.

This notice announces the Nineteenth Public Meeting of members of the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network. CIREN is a collaborative effort to conduct research on crashes and injuries at six Level I Trauma Centers across the United States linked by a computer network. The current CIREN model utilizes two types of centers, medical and engineering. Medical centers are based at Level I Trauma Centers that admit large numbers of people injured in motor vehicle crashes. These teams are led by trauma surgeons and emergency physicians and also include a crash investigator and project coordinator. Engineering centers are based at academic engineering laboratories that have experience in motor vehicle crash and human injury research. Engineering teams partner with trauma centers to enroll crash victims into the CIREN program. Engineering teams are led by mechanical engineers, typically trained in the area of impact biomechanics. Engineering teams also include trauma/emergency physicians, a crash investigator, and a project coordinator. Either type of team typically includes additional physicians and/or engineers, epidemiologists, nurses, and other researchers. The CIREN process combines prospective data collection with professional multidisciplinary analysis of medical and engineering evidence to determine injury causation in every crash investigation conducted. Researchers can review data and share expertise, which may lead to a better understanding of crash injury mechanisms and the design of safer vehicles. The six centers will give presentations on current research based on CIREN data. Topics include side air bag analysis utilizing CIREN weighted data; the role of frailty in crash related injuries; fatalities and serious injuries in multiple event rollover crashes; validation of prehospital trauma triage: mechanism of injury; small overlap frontal crashes and injury causation; and brain injury analysis. The final agenda will be posted to the CIREN Web site that can be accessed by going to the NHTSA homepage https:// www.nhtsa.dot.gov/, click on Vehicle Safety Research on the right side of the top toolbar, then click on Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) in the box on the left. The agenda will be posted one week prior to the meeting.