Interpretation ID: nht90-1.72

TYPE: INTERPRETATION-NHTSA

DATE: 03/16/90

FROM: STEPHEN P. WOOD -- ACTING CHIEF COUNSEL, NHTSA

TO: BARBARA J. KELLEHER-WALSH -- HARTLEY ASSOCIATES INC.

TITLE: NONE

ATTACHMT: LETTER DATED 3-2-90 TO GEN. JERRY RALPH CURRY, NHTSA, FROM CONGRESSMAN HENRY J. NOWAK ATTACHED; ALSO ATTACHED LETTER DATED 2-20-90 TO HENRY J. NOWAK FROM BARBARA J. KELLEHER-WALSH, HARTLEY ASSOCS. INC., AND LETTER DATED 8-22-89 TO DEIRDRE FUJIT A, OFFICE OF CHIEF COUNSEL, FROM BARBARA J. KELLEHER-WALSH.

TEXT: This responds to your letters concerning an infant restraint system that has a sun visor permanently attached to it. You ask whether Standard 213, Child Restraint Systems, requires the visor to be covered with energy absorbing material, when the visor i s not contactable by a test dummy's head during dynamic testing. I regret the delay in responding. The answer to your question is no.

At the outset, I would like to make clear that the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) places the responsibility for certifying a particular vehicle or item of equipment in the first instance on its manufacturer. For t his reason, NHTSA does not pass approval on the compliance of any vehicle or equipment with a safety standard before actual compliance testing by the agency. NHTSA may examine the manufacturer's certification in the course of any enforcement actions. W e are able to tentatively state whether we believe a particular requirement applies to your product, based on the information contained in your letter. However, it is important for your company to keep in mind that these tentative statements are based e ntirely on the information you presented to NHTSA. Our view could change if the agency were to find reason to test your product or otherwise acquire additional information about it.

Child restraints recommended for use by children weighing less than 20 pounds must comply with paragraph S5.2.3.2 of Standard No. 213. That section requires that each child restraint surface contactable by the child dummy's head during a dynamic test be covered with slow recovery energy absorbing materials with specified characteristics. This requirements ensures that children riding in these child restraints will not suffer unnecessary head injuries during crashes. The standard does not require non-c ontactable surfaces to be covered with the specified protective materials, since doing so would not meet the safety need addressed by S5.2.3.2.

The term "contactable" is intended to refer to "surfaces which can be contacted by the test dummy's head during dynamic testing." (See the preamble to the final rule establishing the current Standard 213, 44 FR 72131, 72135; December 13, 1979; emphasis a dded.) You report that your crash tests indicate that the sun visor cannot be contacted by the dummy's head during Standard 213's dynamic tests, in part because the force of the test caused the visor to fold back into the storage position" during the tes ts. Assuming that these observations are accurate, we would regard the visor to be a non-contactable surface. Accordingly, the visor would not be required to be covered with energy absorbing material.

We are providing a copy of this letter to Congressman Henry Nowak, who contacted us on your behalf about your inquiry. Again, my apologies for our delay in responding.