Interpretation ID: aiam3813
Esq.
107 Oakway Mall
Suite A
Eugene
OR 97401;
Dear Mr Ingman: This responds to your letter asking for an interpretation of Safet Standard No. 213, *Child Restraint Systems* (49 CFR S571.213). More specifically, you stated that you represent a client who has designed a 'child's seat belt,' which is attached to the seat belts installed in the vehicle to restrain children. Before proceeding further with development work on this product, you indicated that you needed answers to a number of questions.; Your first question was whether the definition of 'child restrain system' in section S4 of Standard No. 213 prohibits the use of a system like your client's 'child's seat belt.' Section S4 defines a child restraint system as 'any device, except Type I or Type II seat belts, designed for use in a motor vehicle to restrain, seat, or position children who weight not more than 50 pounds.' Apparently you were concerned that the language excluding Types I and II seat belts from the requirements of Standard No. 213 prohibits the use of child seat belts as child restraints. That is not the case. Seat belts which are designed solely to restrain children who weigh not more than 50 pounds would be considered child restraint systems and be subject to all the requirements of Standard No. 213.; You raised a number of ancillary questions, to which I will respond i the order you presented them.; (a) You asked if sections S5.4.3.3 and S5.4.3.4 of Standard No. 21 require that, where belts are used to restrain a child, there be belts passing over each shoulder, a lap belt, and a crotch restraint. Those sections do so require. A belt system similar to that used by adults with a lap belt and a single shoulder belt could not be certified as complying with Standard No. 213.; (b) You stated that section S5.3.2 of Standard No. 213 prohibits child restraint, other than a child harness, system from being attached to a Type II shoulder belt as a restraint against forward movement of the child restraint system, and inquired if this language means that your child's seat belt could not use a shoulder belt as one of its anchoring points. No child restraint system can be attached to Type II shoulder belts during the testing specified in Standard No. 213.; As a related question, you inquired whether a child harness would b permitted to use a Type II shoulder belt as an anchorage point. This question apparently arises from the language in section S5.3.2, which reads: 'When installed on a vehicle seat, each child restraint system, other than a child harness, shall be capable of being restrained against forward movement solely by means of a Type I seat belt assembly (defined in S571.209) that meets Standard No. 208, or by means of a Type I seat belt assembly plus one additional anchorage strap that is supplied with the system and conforms to S5.4.' A child harness is not prohibited by S5.3.2 or any other provision of the standard from using a Type II shoulder belt as an anchoring point. However, the child harnesses manufactured in the past, and those envisioned when Standard No. 213 was promulgated, were devices with two tether straps which attach to each other after passing around the seat back. Hence, the child harness does not need to be attached to Type II belts to provide restraint against forward movement.; (c) You asked what parts of the child's seat belt would be considere 'the child restraint system.' Only the seat belts and the attachment hardware would be considered part of the child restraint system. The seat belts in the vehicle, the car's seats, and the adult holding a child using the child's seat belt are not part of the child restraint system.; (d) You indicated that your client was interested in recommending 'la applications' of the child's seat belt, in which the restrained child would have his or her belt attached to a seat belt in use by an adult at that time, and the child would be seated in the adult's lap. You asked if Section S4.1(a) of Standard No. 209 would prohibit such lap applications, since it required that seat belts be designed for use by only one person at any given time. A lap application of your child's seat belt would not violate that requirement, because the seat belt in the vehicle, which is the only one subject to the requirements of Standard No. 209, would still be designed for use by only one person, even though you were actually using it to restrain two people.; However, I urge you not to recommend this lap application of you client's child seat belt. In a crash situation, a lap application would result in the restrained child being exposed not only to the impact forces of the crash, but also being subjected to forces generated by the restrained adult. Additionally, a lap application could overload the adult's belts and anchorages and cause a failure of the entire belt system, leaving both the adult and child unrestrained in the crash. Either of these occurrences could result in more serious injuries to the restrained child, or avoidable injuries to both the child and adult, and expose your client to product liability difficulties.; (e) The buckle release requirements of Standard No. 209 are no applicable to child restraint systems. Those systems are subject to the buckle release requirements specified in section S5.4.3.5 of Standard No. 213.; (f) The adjustment requirements of Standard No. 209 are not applicabl to child restraint systems.; (g) You asked what standard applies to a seat belt system designed t restrain the 51-100 pound child. Standard No. 209 applies to all seat belt systems, except those designed to restrain children who weigh not more than 50 pounds. Any seat belt system designed for use by larger children would have to be certified as meeting all requirements of Standard No. 209.; If you have any further questions on this subject, please contact Mr Stephen Kratzke of my staff at this address or by telephone at (202) 426-2992.; Sincerely, Frank Berndt, Chief Counsel