Interpretation ID: 1983-1.40

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 04/13/83

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; F. Berndt; NHTSA

TO: Andial

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

APR 13 1983 NOA-30

Mr. Arnold H. Wagner Andial 3207 S. Shannon Street Santa Ana, California 92704

Dear Mr. Wagner:

This responds to your February 2, 1983, letter asking whether a child seat that you plan to produce must comply with Standard No. 213, Child Restraint Systems. From the description of your child seat, it appears that the answer is yes.

Standard No. 213 states in section 4 that a child restraint system is any device used to restrain, seat, or position children who weigh not more than 50 pounds. It is not necessary that a seat be equipped with its own restraint devices to fall within the ambit of the standard. If a device is designed to seat or position a child within the designated weight range, that device must comply with the requirements.

The instructions that accompanied your letter showed how the seat should be installed for children from three to six years of age and subsequently for children in the age range of six to ten. Certainly children in the three to six age bracket would fall within the weight range (50 pounds or less) designated in the standard. Since this is the case, it appears that your child seat is designed to seat or position children of the size specified in the standard and would therefore be required to comply with the requirements of the standard.

Sincerely, Frank Berndt Chief Counsel February 2, 1983 Mr. Frank Berndt Chief Council US Department of Transportation N.H.T.S.A. 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 Re: Approval of child restraint, by means of 3 point type belt system

Dear Mr. Berndt:

Enclosed please find copies of a letter from Arvin/Calspan to us, and a copy of the installation instructions of said restraint.

We understand that the application of FMVSS No. 213 restraint designs does not cover our particular system, and a formal decision is needed in order to get it safety approved.

We would like to ask you to consider our request at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely

Arnold H. Wagner Sec/Tres.

AHW/mgm

January 24, 1983

Mr. Arnold Wagner Andial 3207 S. Shannon Street Santa Ana, CA 92704

Dear Mr. Wagner:

We received your child restraint last week and have examined the restraint and the installation instructions. The design of this restraint (i.e., use of a three-point belt system) is not addressed in the Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213 (FMVSS 213).

We have been informed by the Department of Transportation that a formal decision is required with regard to the applicability of FMVSS No. 213 to restraint designs which are not specifically addressed in this safety standard. A request for a formal decision should be sent to:

Mr. Frank Berndt Chief Council U. S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Washington, DC 20590

I would suggest that you include a copy of your installation instructions.

A brochure of Calspan's child restraint testing capabilities is included with this letter. Our recommendation for a sled test program follows:

Sled Test #1 - Two restraints placed side-by-side on the sled (see Photograph #2 in brochure). One restraint will be occupied by a 3- year-old size dummy (15 kg) with the restraint installed as suggested for 9-18 kg children and the other restraint occupied by a 6-year-old size dummy (22 kg) with the restraint installed as suggested for 15-25 kg children. This test would be performed at 30 mph as required in FMVSS 213 Configuration 1.

Sled Test #2 - One restraint occupied by a 3-year-old size dummy with the restraint attached to the seat by means of a lap belt only, tested at 20 mph. This should satisfy the requirements of FMVSS No. 213, Configuration II.

Although FMVSS No. 215 only requires testing with the three-year-old size dummy, we have included a test with the larger six-year-old size dummy since your restraint is designed for use by larger children.

Calspan charges one thousand dollars ($1,000) U. S. funds for each sled test, regardless of the number of dummies used. This price includes high-speed movie films, electronic data, and photographs for each test and analysis and reporting of all relevant data.

I look forward to hearing from you soon. We would like to perform these sled tests in February if this is convenient for you.

Sincerely yours,

Barbara J. Kelleher Staff Associate Transportation Research/Physical Sciences

kd

Enc.