Public Meeting Concerning Test Device for Human Occupant Restraint

Tim Johnson
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
January 8, 2015

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1073-1074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00150]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0133]


Public Meeting Concerning Test Device for Human Occupant 
Restraint

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

ACTION: Meeting announcement.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public meeting on Tuesday, January 20, 
2015 concerning the development of the Test Device for Human Occupant 
Restraint (THOR). NHTSA has been developing the THOR anthropomorphic 
test device (ATD) in order to better understand the causal mechanisms 
for injury and develop countermeasures to prevent injuries and 
fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. The purpose of this public meeting 
is to provide a forum for open communication and data sharing on the 
THOR ATD towards the common goal of improving the safety of passenger 
vehicle occupants. This notice announces the date and location of the 
meeting and explains how those who wish to attend can register for the 
meeting.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on 
Tuesday, January 20, 2015. If you would like to attend the public 
meeting (either in person or via teleconference), you must register no 
later than Thursday, January 15, 2015. For further information about 
registration, please see the information provided under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. Please submit all written comments no later than 
March 15, 2015.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at: Department of Transportation, 
1200 New Jersey Ave SE., Washington, DC 20590. This facility is 
accessible to individuals with disabilities.
    Written comments. You may submit comments to the docket number 
NHTSA-2014-0133 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West 
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number. Note that all comments received will be posted without 
change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act discussion below.
    Docket: For access to the docket, go to http://www.regulations.gov 
at any time or to 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground 
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Monday through Friday,

[[Page 1074]]

except Federal Holidays. Telephone: (202) 366-9826.
    Privacy Act: 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, (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.
    Confidential Business Information: If you wish to submit 
information under a claim of confidentiality, you should submit two 
copies of your complete submission and one copy of the submission 
containing only the portions for which no claim of confidential 
treatment is made and from which those portions for which confidential 
treatment is claimed have been redacted, to the Office of Chief Counsel 
(NCC-111), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W41-
227, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. You should 
include a cover letter setting forth the information specified in our 
confidential business information regulation (49 CFR part 512). In 
addition, you should submit two copies from which you have redacted the 
claimed confidential business information to Docket Management at the 
address given above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for the public meeting, 
please send your name, affiliation, phone number, email address, and 
whether you will attend in person or over teleconference to 
Dan.Parent@dot.gov by the date stated under DATES. Teleconference 
information will be distributed to the pre-registered remote 
participants. For questions about registering for, or general questions 
about, the public meeting, please contact Dan Parent (202) 366-1724 or 
Stephen Ridella (202) 366-4703.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Test Device for Human Occupant Restraint 
(THOR) is an advanced anthropomorphic test device (ATD, or test dummy). 
It is designed to better represent the automotive occupants in the 
sophisticated restraint systems developed since the advent of the 
Hybrid III test dummy, such as force-limited three-point belts and air 
bags. NHTSA has been researching the application of the THOR 50th 
percentile adult male ATD in frontal and frontal oblique crash test 
modes. The purpose of this public meeting is to provide a forum for 
open communication and data sharing on the THOR ATD towards the common 
goal of improving the safety of passenger vehicle occupants. Potential 
topics for discussion at the meeting include qualification procedures, 
repeatability and reproducibility, biofidelity evaluation, injury 
criteria, and computational models.
    Registration is necessary for all attendees. Please see 
registration instructions under DATES and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. Should it be necessary to cancel the meeting due to inclement 
weather or any other emergencies, a decision to cancel will be made as 
soon as possible and emailed to the registered attendees. If you do not 
have access to email, you may call the contacts listed in this 
announcement and leave your telephone number and/or email address. You 
will be contacted only if the meeting is postponed or canceled.
    Written comments can be submitted to the docket. See information 
under DATES and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. The final agenda, as 
well as material presented at the public meeting, will be posted to the 
NHTSA Web site at http://www.nhtsa.gov/Research/Biomechanics+&+Trauma/THOR+50th+Male+ATD. The agenda will be posted one week prior to the 
meeting. A teleconference will be arranged for those who cannot attend 
the meeting in person.

Tim Johnson,
Acting Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety Research.
[FR Doc. 2015-00150 Filed 1-7-15; 8:45 am]
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