Federal Motor Vehicle Standards; Child Restraints; Review: Evaluation of Child Safety Seat Registration

AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation.

ACTION:

Request for comments on technical report.

SUMMARY:

This notice announces NHTSA's publication of a Technical Report reviewing and evaluating the seat registration-form requirements of its existing Safety Standard 213, Child Restraint Systems. The report's title is Evaluation of Child Safety Seat Registration.

DATES:

Comments must be received no later than May 12, 2003.

ADDRESSES:

Report: You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge by sending a self-addressed mailing label to Communications Services (NPO-503), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. A summary of the report is available on the Internet for viewing on line at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/809518.html. The full report is available on the Internet in PDF format at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/regrev/evaluate/pdf/809518.pdf.

Comments: All comments should refer to the Docket number of this notice (NHTSA-2002-13708). You may submit your comments in writing to: U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. You may also submit your comments electronically by logging onto the Dockets Management System website at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on “Help” to obtain instructions for filing the document electronically.

Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov.

You may call Docket Management at 202-366-9324 and visit the Docket from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Charles J. Kahane, Chief, Evaluation Division, NPO-321, Planning, Evaluation, and Budget, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-2560. FAX: 202-366-2559. E-mail: ckahane@nhtsa.dot.gov.

For information about NHTSA's evaluations of the effectiveness of existing regulations and programs: Visit the NHTSA Web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov and click “Regulations & Standards” underneath “Vehicle & Equipment Information” on the home page; then click “Regulatory Evaluation” on the “Regulations & Standards” page.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Beginning March 1993, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 required manufacturers to provide a postage-paid registration form with each new child safety seat sold, with the goal of increasing consumer response to child seat recalls. Before March 1993, registration was voluntary for manufacturers.

It is estimated that registration increased from 3 percent prior to 1993, to an average 27 percent over the years 1996 through 2000. Based on data from 1990 through 2000, the repair rate for recalled child seats also increased, from 13.8 percent before the registration requirement to 21.5 percent once the requirement was in effect. The cost to consumers for child seat registration and notification is approximately 43 cents per seat sold in the United States.

How Can I Influence NHTSA's Thinking on This Evaluation?

NHTSA welcomes public review of this preliminary report and invites reviewers to submit comments about the data, the statistical methods used in the analyses, and/or additional information. NHTSA will submit to the Docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, additional analyses that supplement the report. If the comments warrant a significant revision, then NHTSA will either add an appendix to the report or publish a revised report; otherwise, this preliminary report will serve as the final report.

How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?

Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the Docket number of this document (NHTSA-2002-13708) in your comments.

Your primary comments must not be more than 15 pages long (49 CFR 553.21). However, you may attach additional documents to your primary comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments.

Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management or submit them electronically. The mailing address is U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. If you submit your comments electronically, log onto the Dockets Management System Website at http://dms.dot.gov and click on “Help” to obtain instructions.

We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Marie Walz, Evaluation Division, NPO-321, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590 (alternatively, FAX to 202-366-2559 or e-mail to Marie.Walz@nhtsa.dot.gov). She can check if your comments have been received at the Docket and she can expedite their review by NHTSA.

How Can I Be Sure That My Comments Were Received?

If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket Management will return the postcard by mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?

If you wish to submit any information under a claim of confidentiality, send three copies of your complete submission, including the information you claim to be confidential business information, to the Chief Counsel, NCC-110, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5219, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Include a cover letter supplying the information specified in our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR part 512).

In addition, send two copies from which you have deleted the claimed confidential business information to Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, or submit them electronically.

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.

Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

You may read the comments by visiting Docket Management in person at Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

You may also see the comments on the Internet by taking the following steps:

1. Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the Department of Transportation ( http://dms.dot.gov ).

2. On that page, click on “Simple Search.”

3. On the next page ( http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchFormSimple.cfm/ ) type in the five-digit Docket number shown at the beginning of this notice (13708). Click on “Search.”

4. On the next page, which contains Docket summary information for the Docket you selected, click on the desired comments. You may also download the comments.

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111, 30168; delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8.