Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Seating Systems

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION <SUBAGY>National Highway Traffic Safety Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>49 CFR Part 571</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. NHTSA-2024-0001]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 2127-AM53</RIN> <SUBJECT>Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Seating Systems</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation (DOT). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Advance notice of proposed rulemaking. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> Through this document, NHTSA fulfills the statutory mandate in section 24204 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which directed the Secretary of Transportation to issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 207, “Seating systems.” NHTSA also partially grants rulemaking petitions submitted by Kenneth J. Saczalski of Environmental Research and Safety Technologists (ERST) and by Alan Cantor of ARCCA, Inc. (ARCCA), which sought changes to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) petitioners stated would improve the safety of children during rear-end crashes. NHTSA denies a petition from the Center for Auto Safety (CAS), which sought to require additional warnings instructing adults regarding which rear seating position to place children. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received no later than September 16, 2024. The Saczalski and Cantor petitions are granted in part and the CAS petition is denied as of July 16, 2024. See <E T="02">ADDRESSES</E> and Section VIII. Public Participation for more information about submitting written comments and reviewing comments submitted by other interested parties. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit written comments, identified by docket number or RIN, by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Federal eRulemaking Portal:</E> Go to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. • <E T="03">Mail:</E> Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001. • <E T="03">Hand Delivery or Courier:</E> 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you, please call 202-366-9826 before coming. <E T="03">Instructions:</E> For detailed instructions on submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public Participation heading of the <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> section of this document. Note that all comments received will be posted without change to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> including any personal information provided. Please see the “Privacy Act” discussion in Section IX. Regulatory Analyses and Notices. <E T="03">Confidential Business Information:</E> If you claim that any of the information or documents provided to the agency constitute confidential business information within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4), or are protected from disclosure pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1905, you must submit supporting information together with the materials that are the subject of the confidentiality request, in accordance with part 512, by email or secure file transfer to the Office of the Chief Counsel, Litigation and Enforcement Division. Do not send a hardcopy of a request for confidential treatment to NHTSA's headquarters. Your request must include a request letter that contains supporting information, pursuant to § 512.8. Your request must also include a certificate, pursuant to § 512.4(b) and part 512, appendix A. You are required to submit one unredacted “confidential version” of the information for which you are seeking confidential treatment. Pursuant to § 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 § 512.5(a)(2), the redacted “public version” should include redactions of any information for which you are seeking confidential treatment ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> the only information that should be unredacted is information for which you are not seeking confidential treatment). For questions about a request for confidential treatment, please contact Dan Rabinovitz in the Office of the Chief Counsel at <E T="03">Daniel.Rabinovitz@dot.gov</E> or (202) 366-8534. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Mr. Tyler Brosten, Office of Crashworthiness Standards (Telephone: 202-366-1740; Email: <E T="03">tyler.brosten@dot.gov,</E> Facsimile: 202-493-2739), or Mr. Eli Wachtel, Office of Chief Counsel (Telephone: 202-366-2992; Email: <E T="03">eli.wachtel@dot.gov</E> ). You may mail these officials at: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Introduction</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Occupant and Seat Back Dynamics and Field Data on Rear Impact Crashes</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. FARS and CRSS Data Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. CISS Data Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Field Data Analyses From Relevant Literature</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Statutory and Regulatory Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. The Safety Act and the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Regulatory History of FMVSS No. 207 and FMVSS No. 202, and Associated Research/Analyses</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. 1963—SAE Recommended Practice for Seats</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. 1967—Publication of FMVSS No. 207, Seating Systems</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. 1968—Publication of FMVSS No. 202, “Head Restraints”</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. 1969—Report on Seat Safety Studies at ITTE</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">5. 1974—Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) To Revise FMVSS No. 207</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">6. 1978—NHTSA Publishes a Request for Comment on Rulemaking Priorities</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">7. 1989—NHTSA Receives Petitions for Rulemaking on Revisions to FMVSS No. 207</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">8. 1992—2000 NHTSA Publishes a Request for Comment on Possible Revisions to FMVSS No. 207, Grants Two Petitions and Conducts Research</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">9. 2004—NHTSA Issues Final Rule Upgrading FMVSS No. 202, Head Restraints</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">10. 2004—NHTSA Terminates Rulemaking on FMVSS No. 207, Seating Systems</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">11. Further Regulatory Changes Since 2004</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Review of Additional Literature</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Occupant Dynamics</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Rear Impact Protection Technology</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Non-Contact Injuries</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Neck Injuries</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Thorax Injuries in High-Speed Rear Impacts</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Summary</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Petitions for Rulemaking at Issue in This Document</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Statutory and Regulatory Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Petition of Kenneth J. Saczalski</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. FMVSS No. 207, Seating Systems</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Use of FMVSS No. 301, “Fuel System Integrity,” To Test Seats</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. FMVSS No. 213, Child Restraint Seats</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Petition of Alan Cantor</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Use of FMVSS No. 301, “Fuel System Integrity,” To Upgrade FMVSS No. 207</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> 2. Rearward Rotation Limit and Structural Symmetry Requirement </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Additional Dynamic Testing and NCAP Implementation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. FMVSS No. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. NHTSA's Analysis of Saczalski and Cantor Petitions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Analysis of Data and Research Provided by Cantor and Saczalski Regarding Safety Need</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Rear Structure Intrusion</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Cost and Practicability</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Assessment of the Specific Recommendations by Cantor and Saczalski</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Matters on Which NHTSA Is Granting the Petitions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Matters on Which NHTSA Is Denying the Petitions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Conclusion of NHTSA Assessment of Cantor and Saczalski Petitions</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Center for Auto Safety (CAS) Petition</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Analysis of CAS Petition</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Unified Approach to Rear Impact Protection</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Introduction</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. FMVSS No. 207</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Analysis of Approaches To Updating Standards for Occupant Protection in Rear Impact</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Seat Back Strength and Other Mechanical Properties</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Test Parameters</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Quasi-Static Testing</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. Dynamic Testing</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Crash Avoidance Technology</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VII. NHTSA's Forthcoming Research</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Field Data Analysis and Market Research</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Test Procedure Assessment</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. High-Speed Test</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Exploratory Testing< ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 253k characters. 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