Interpretation ID: nht87-2.39

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 07/09/87

FROM: AUTHOR UNAVAILABLE; Erika Z. Jones; NHTSA

TO: Ms. Deborah Rutan

TITLE: FMVSS INTERPRETATION

TEXT:

Ms. Deborah Rutan 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 Motor 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 yo ur 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 is subject to all applicable requirements of the standard. From the pictures and descriptions of your harness/ve st 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 requirement with which your harness/vest does not appear to 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." Th e 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 is 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 re quirements 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 not 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 in formation 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 installation 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 the 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 harnes s/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 Nation al 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 before certifying that the new system complies with 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 of motor vehicle equipment if you manufacture your harness/vest for sale. As such, you will be subject to the requirements of 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 requirement 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 defect and either:

1. repair the harness/vest so that the noncompliance or defect was removed; or

2. replace the harness/vest with an identical or reasonably equivalent product that does not have the noncompliance or defect.

Whichever of these options were chosen, your company as the 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/vests we re purchased less than eight years before the notification campaign.

If you decide to manufacture these harness/vests for sale, you should 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 bri ef 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 our 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 prac ticality of its product.

If you have any further questions or need more information on this 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

Enclosures

Nat. Highway Traffic Safety Admin. Office of Chief Council 400 7th Street S.W. Washington D.C. 20590 April 22, 1987

Ms. Erika Jones,

We have recently developed a new type of Child Safety Restraint System. We were referred to this Administration by Mr. Tim Kennedy of the N.S.C., and received your name through the office of Occupant Protection. It was their suggestion, as well as our Pa tent Attorneys', Lundy and Walker, to write and explain the product in detail. Enclosed you will find photos of a 3 yr. old child wearing the Safety Restraint System.

According to the Fed. Motor Vehicle Safety Standards: as stated in the definition for Child Restraint Systems (Law 49 CFR 571.213), "a child restraint system is any device except type I or II seat belts, designed for use in a motor vehicle or aircraft to restrain, seat, or position children who weigh 50 lbs. or less."

Construction

Our Safety Restraint System is a type of harness/vest which is held secure by means of an existing type I seat belt. The harness/vest is designed with the following safety features:

-240 P.S.I. Dupont strapping extending from the front waist, up over the shoulders, crossing mid-back, and forming a casing at the lower back edge- in which to secure the seat belt (belt must be tightened down to seat level).

-Two adjustable straps encasing the vest; mid-chest, and t bottom. -Fastex SRI Cam Buckles; U.L. approved with 300 P.S.I., are attached to the above two straps, and fasten at vest font. -Front closure (beneath cam buckles) is made from a 2x10" strip of industrial strength 8-hock Velcro, with 50# pull strength, enduring up to 20,000 pulls. -Vest fabric is a strong, yet light-weight, polyester jersey knit.

Concept

It should be understood that this Safety Restraint System is designed for children ages 3-6; not to exceed 50#. It has been our observation and experience, that children of this age group have out-grown the Ca Seat, and should be fastened into seat belts . However, many times children resist seat belt usage because of discomforts, such as: seat belts that tighten on the tummy as the child moves, children can't see out the window, or can't lay down when sleepy. As a result, many small children are left un belted and unprotected, even though this is against the law in many states.

Our concept of an ideal Safety Restraint system for ages 3-6, is one that protects from forward motion in case of impact, yet offers more comfort and flexibility. In our opinion, the harness/vest would hold the child in place; not squeezing the stomach, and gives a bit more freedom of movement -- such as laying down, and sitting on the knees. Comfortable, happy, children will be safer children; staying in their seat belts via the harness/vest device, which we have developed.

In closing, the proto-type as shown in the photos, was sewn on a domestic sewing machine. If put into production, the product will be sewn on commercial machines, capable of heavy-duty stitching.

We look forward to your comments and recommendations, especially concerning any product-safety tests, which may be necessary. Thank you for your time and consideration of this new Child restraint System.

Sincerely,

Deborah Rutan

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