Interpretation ID: aiam4346
Director of Marketing/Research
The Rutabaga Co.
Inc.
P. O. Box 413
605 Robson Street
Winona Lake
IN 46590;
Dear Ms. Rutan: This responds to your letter seeking an interpretation of Federal Moto Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213, *Child Restraint Systems* (49 CFR S571.213, copy enclosed). Specifically, you sought our 'comments and recommendations' on a child harness/vest that your company has developed. I am pleased to have this opportunity to explain our statute and regulations to you.; As you noted in your letter, your product is a 'child restraint system within the meaning of section S4 of Standard No. 213. this means that it is subject to all applicable requirements of the standard. From the pictures and descriptions of your harness/vest included with your letter, it appears that the harness/vest would have to be modified to comply with four particular requirements in Standard No. 213.; The first requirements with which you harness/vest does not appear t comply is set forth in section S5.4.3.4(b) of Standard No. 213. That section provides that each child harness shall 'provide lower torso restraint by means of lap and crotch belt.' The pictures of your harness/vest show that it does *not* include a crotch belt to restrain the child's lower torso. You will have to modify the design of the harness/vest to include a crotch belt in order for your harness/vest to comply with the requirements of Standard No. 213.; The second requirement with which your harness/vest may not comply i the flammability resistance requirement incorporated in section S5.7 of Standard No. 213. That section provides, 'Each material used in a child restraint system shall conform to the requirements of S4 of FMVSS No. 302.' I have enclosed a copy of Standard No. 302 for your information. As you will see, that standard requires that subject materials be resistant to flammability. You stated in your letter that the 'vest fabric is a strong, yet lightweight, polyester jersey knit.' It is not clear from this description if you knew your company has to certify that this vest fabric complies with the flammability resistance requirements specified in Standard No. 213.; The third and fourth requirements with which your harness/vest does no appear to comply are the labeling requirements in S5.5 of Standard No. 213 and the installation instructions in S5.6 of Standard No. 213. Both these requirements specify that certain information must be provided with each child restraint system. In the case of the labeling information, you are required to permanently label your harness/vest with the information specified in S5.5.2(a) through (1). Further, S5.5.3 requires that the information specified in S5.5.2(g) through (k) shall be located on the child restraint system so that it is visible when the system is properly installed in a vehicle. In the case of the installations instructions, S5.6.6 requires that the harness/vest have a location on it for storing your installation instructions. This could be satisfied by adding a pouch to the vest for storing these instructions.; In addition to these requirements, you would have to determine that th harness/vest complies with all the performance requirements set forth in S5 of Standard No. 213. Once you have made such a determination, you are required to certify that each harness/vest you manufacture satisfies all applicable requirements of Standard No. 213. This agency does not require that a manufacturer's certification be based on a specified number of tests of the child restraint, or any tests at all. Pursuant to the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1381 *et Seq.*), we only require that a manufacturer's certification be made with the exercise of due care on the part of the manufacturer. It is up to the individual manufacturer in the first instance to determine what data, test results, or other information it needs to enable it to certify that its child restraint system complies with Standard No. 213. We would certainly recommend, however, that a manufacturer selling a new child restraint system test the system in accordance with the test procedures specified in Standard No. 213. Once you determine that your harness/vest complies with all requirements of Standard No. 213, you would certify that compliance by placing a certification label on the harness/vest, as specified in section S5.5 of the standard.; You should also be aware of the fact that you will be a manufacturer o motor vehicle equipment if you manufacture your harness/vest for sale. As such, you will be subject to the requirements or sections 151- 159 of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1411-1419), concerning the recall and remedy of products that either do not comply with an applicable safety standard or have defects related to motor vehicle safety. If it were determined that your harness/vest did not comply with a requirements of Standard No. 213 or that it had a defect related to motor vehicle safety, your company as the manufacturer would have to notify all purchasers of the noncompliance or defects and either:; >>>1. repair the harness/vest so that the noncompliance or defect wa removed, or<<<; >>>2. replace the harness/vest with an identical or reasonabl equivalent product that does not have the noncompliance or defect.<<<; Whichever of these options were chosen, your company as th manufacturer would have to bear the full expense of the notification and remedy. This means you could not charge the owners of the harness/vests anything for the remedy if those harness/vest were purchased less than eight years before the notification campaign.; If your decide to manufacture these harness/vests for sale, you shoul also be aware of 49 CFR Part 566, *Manufacturer Identification* (copy enclosed). This regulation requires a manufacturer of child restraint systems to submit its name, address, and a brief description of the child restraints it manufactures to this agency within 30 days of the date the child restraints are first manufactured.; Finally, I would like to make clear that this discussion of ou requirements is not an agency 'recommendation'. NHTSA does not offer its opinion as to the value or practicality of any motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment. When we are presented with questions from potential manufacturers of new vehicles or items of equipment, such as your harness/vests, we only explain how our statute and regulations would apply to the new product. It is up to the individual manufacturer to assess the value and practicality of its product.; If you have any further questions or need more information on thi subject, please feel free to contact Steve Kratzke of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202)366-2992.; Sincerely, Erika Z. Jones, Chief Counsel