Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards – Page 2

In October 2008, NHTSA published the “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Seating Systems, Occupant Crash Protection, Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages, School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection” final rule, the last components of which will take effect on October 21, 2011. Important among these is the requirement for new buses of 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less to be equipped with lap-shoulder belts, rather than lap-only belts, in all positions.

Having access to lockable, standardized lap-shoulder seat belts on these smaller buses may make installation of conventional CRs easy on most buses so equipped. However, caregivers and advocates are often surprised to learn that best practice is to NOT use a booster on a school bus, even when a lap-shoulder belt is available and the child would normally ride in a booster in the family vehicle.

Comments on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, Child Restraint Systems; Hybrid III 10-Year-Old Child Test Dummy Docket #NHTSA-2010-0158

We represent Safe Ride News Publications, publisher of materials that support the life-saving efforts of child passenger safety professionals, including Safe Ride News, the major child passenger safety technical periodical in the U.S. Safe Ride News Publications has been advocating for child passenger safety for over thirty years, and we consider NHTSA’s efforts over that time period to develop a range of ATDs that represent children of varying sizes and development to be critically important. The current proposal regarding the Hybrid III 6- and 10-year-old ATDs takes another step forward in that effort, and we appreciate the opportunity to comment.

Topic: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards—School Bus Related

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards—10-year-old Crash Dummy Related

Comments on Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, Child Restraint Systems; Hybrid III 10-Year-Old Child Test Dummy Docket #NHTSA-2010-0158