Interpretation ID: aiam1834
United States Senate
Washington
DC 20510;
Dear Senator Hathaway: This is in response to your letter of March 6, 1975, forwardin correspondence from one of your constituents, Mr. Ron Otis, concerning the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's proposed amendment of the bumper standard. You ask that Mr. Otis' comments be included in the appropriate docket.; Mr. Otis directs his comments to what he believes to be a propose requirement that vehicles manufactured in the future be equipped with plastic bumper systems. His understanding of the proposal is incorrect. The NHTSA published a Federal Register notice on January 2, 1975 (40 FR 10) proposing a reduction in the required performance level of automobile bumpers. The proposal was aimed at enabling a reduction in vehicle weight. In the preamble to that notice, the NHTSA cited soft face bumpers as one type of system that could produce a significant weight reduction. However, no proposal was made to require the use of soft face systems.; On March 7, 1975, the NHTSA issued a new Federal Register notice tha expresses the agency's decision that the proposed performance level reduction (January 2, 1975) should not be adopted. The NHTSA did, however, reiterate its position that bumpers which are lighter in weight than those currently in mass production could and probably would be developed. The proposal also set forth new requirements that would ensure that a wide variety of materials would continue to be used in bumper systems.; Sincerely, James C. Schultz, Chief Counsel