Interpretation ID: 18574caps.etc
Ms. Annemarie Shelness
Shelness Productions
P.O. Box 30456
Winston-Salem, NC 27130-045
Dear Ms. Shelness:
This responds to your letter and telephone call asking about the labeling requirements in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213, "Child Restraint Systems" (49 CFR 571.213) for add-on child restraints. I apologize for the delay in responding.
You ask whether the warnings and other information required by S5.5.1 and S5.5.2 of Standard 213 may be changed by: (1) rewording some of the required text; (2) adding text and WARNING headings; and (3) using upper and lower case letters for text printed in the standard in all capital letters. We will address those questions below, and have enclosed copies of the letters we reference in our answers.
Rewording Required Text
You have proposed to reword the text in two ways. First, S5.5.2(e) of the standard requires manufacturers to include the statement: "This child restraint system conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards." You would like to reword this statement, and combine it with another required statement, to read: "This product fulfils the requirements of the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 and is certified for use in motor vehicles and for use in aircraft." Second, S5.5.2(g) requires the statement: ". . . Secure this child restraint with a vehicle belt as specified in the manufacturer's instructions located __________." You have reworded this by, among other things, not specifying the location of the printed instructions here, but have moved that information elsewhere.
We have carefully considered your suggestion and regret to inform you that we cannot, by interpretation, permit your proposed rewording of the required statements.
Paragraph S5.5 of Standard 213 requires child restraints to be permanently labeled with certain information, including specific statements provided in quotations in the standard. The agency's longstanding position is that the wording on child restraint labels must be as specified in S5.5, with very limited exceptions. We have permitted certain minor variations that clarified text and did not make any substantive change in the meaning of the warning specified for the label. (See, e.g., copy of December 18, 1980, letter to Ford Motor Company, changing the word form from the plural "instructions" to the singular "instruction." This change allowed the specified language to be clarified by making it more appropriate for child restraints that had a single instruction pertaining to a particular feature.) All in all, we have taken a strict view that the wording required by Standard 213 may not be altered.
The rewording you have done to the specified text is not minor. Our position is that changes of this nature to the specified text cannot be permitted.
Adding Text and Headings
You also wish to add text and headings to the labeling specified by Standard 213. For example, you wish to add the statements: "Please read and understand the information in this booklet before using your infant restraint. Store the booklet in the plastic pocket located in the back of the restraint, just above the rocker base. Consult it often to make sure you are using the restraint correctly. . . . In a severe crash your child could . . . be ejected from the vehicle into the roadway." You also propose to add headings in the label, such as one stating "WARNING" with an alert symbol (a triangle with an exclamation point inside), highlighted on a bright yellow background, and others (in bold and not on a yellow background) stating "For Your Information" and "Your Child's Protection is in Your Hands."
Your added text would be permitted. NHTSA has permitted manufacturers to provide information in addition to the required information, provided that the additional information is presented in a manner that is not likely to obscure or confuse the meaning of the required information or otherwise defeat its purpose. (See copy of April 17, 1989 letter to Cosco, Inc., permitting manufacturers to express required information in equivalent English and metric units.) Your added text does not appear likely to have those negative impacts on the required information, and thus would be permitted.
We generally note, however, that the yellow highlighted WARNING heading should be used judiciously so as not to dilute its eye-catching impact. A yellow highlighted WARNING heading with the alert symbol you use is required for the air bag warning label that must be placed on rear-facing child restraint systems. The yellow highlighted WARNING heading and alert symbol are required for that label to attract the reader's attention and prevent rear-facing restraints from being used in seating positions with air bags. If the heading were overly used, the impact of the air bag warning label could be diluted and its effectiveness reduced. Manufacturers are advised to refrain from overusing the yellow highlighted WARNING heading and alert symbol.
Using Upper and Lower Case Letters
You wish to use upper and lower case letters in labeling that is set forth in Standard 213 in all capital letters. We conclude capitalization is not generally required if not expressly required, and that upper and lower case letters are permitted. A 1978 rulemaking notice had proposed to require the lettering to be in "block letters" and had set forth the required text in all capital letters. The agency stated in the preamble to the December 13, 1979, final rule following the proposal that it was not requiring the block letters and was permitting the labeling to be in upper and lower case lettering (44 FR 72134).(1) Thus, while the wording is shown in capital letters in the standard, we conclude that Standard 213 does not require that the messages be capitalized.
We note that there have been interpretations since the 1979 rule that have interpreted Standard 213 as requiring warnings to be capitalized because they are set forth in Standard 213 in capitalized letters (e.g., preamble to a February 16, 1994, final rule concerning labeling add-on restraints). The agency has also stated its belief that safety messages in capitalized letters were more likely to be noticed and read. However, in concluding that the warnings had to be capitalized, the agency did not account for the statements in the preamble to the 1979 rule that indicated that upper and lower case lettering could be provided as an option to capitalized letters. To the extent the previous interpretations requiring capitalization are inconsistent with today's letter, those interpretations are superceded. Note, however, that where Standard 213 expressly requires capitalized letters, using lower case letters is not an option (e.g., manufacturer's restrictions on adjustment positions for built-in restraints must be capitalized under S5.5.5(g)(2) of the standard).
I hope this information is helpful. If you have other questions, please contact Deirdre Fujita of my staff at (202) 366-2992.
Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:213
d.5/4/99
1. That notice pertained to labeling for add-on restraints, required by what is now S5.5.2(a) through (k), but did not include S5.5.2(i) or the air bag warning labels required by S5.5.2(k). Those requirements were adopted at a later date.