Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Systems; Booster Seat Effectiveness Estimates Based on CDS and State Data

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Systems; Booster Seat Effectiveness Estimates Based on CDS and State Data
Topics: Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Systems; Booster Seat Effectiveness Estimates Based on CDS and State Data
James F. Simons
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
November 8, 2010
[Federal Register: November 8, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 215)]
[Notices]               
[Page 68664-68666]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08no10-90]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2010-0145]

 
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Systems; 
Booster Seat Effectiveness Estimates Based on CDS and State Data

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

ACTION: Request for comments on technical report.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces NHTSA's publication of a Technical 
Report on its existing Safety Standard 213, Child Restraint Systems. 
The report's title is: Booster Seat

[[Page 68665]]

Effectiveness Estimates Based on CDS and State Data.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than March 8, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Report: The technical report is available on the Internet 
for viewing in PDF format at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/
811338.pdf. You may obtain a copy of the report free of charge by 
sending a self-addressed mailing label to Robert Sivinski (NVS-431), 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-440, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    Comments: You may submit comments [identified by Docket Number 
NHTSA-2010-0145] by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    You may call Docket Management at 202-366-9826.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Procedural Matters section of this document. Note that all comments 
received will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, 
including any personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Sivinski, Statistician, Evaluation 
Division, NVS-431, National Center for Statistics and Analysis, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-312, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: 202-366-2570. E-
mail: robert.sivinski@dot.gov.
    For information about NHTSA's evaluations of the effectiveness of 
existing regulations and programs: You may see a list of published 
evaluation reports at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/cats/
listpublications.aspx?Id=226&ShowBy=Category and if you click on any 
report you will be able to view it in PDF format.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Safety Standard 213 (49 CFR 571.213) 
establishes standards for child restraint systems, including booster 
seats, manufactured for use in motor vehicles as well as aircraft. This 
report uses CDS data from 1998-2008 and 17 combined years of State data 
from Kansas, Washington and Nebraska to estimate the effects of early 
graduation from child restraint seats to booster seats and of early 
graduation from booster seats to lap and shoulder belts. Estimates are 
computed by double-pair comparison, a method uniquely suited to address 
the confounding variables which may bias results and are difficult or 
impossible to account for with other statistical methods.
    The principal findings are that among 3-4-year-olds there is 
evidence of increased risk of injury when restrained in booster seats 
rather than the recommended child restraint seats. This effect may be 
more pronounced in the 3-year-olds. Among 4-8-year-olds there is strong 
evidence of increased risk of injury when restrained by lap and 
shoulder belts rather than the recommended booster seats. The magnitude 
of this effect is estimated at a 14% increase in risk of any type of 
injury, but may vary depending on data source and injury severity.
    Procedural Matters:

How can I influence NHTSA's thinking on this subject?

    NHTSA welcomes public review of the technical report. NHTSA will 
submit to the Docket a response to the comments and, if appropriate, 
will supplement or revise the 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-2010-0145) 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.
    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) or you may visit http://
www.regulations.gov.
    Please send two paper copies of your comments to Docket Management, 
fax them, or use the Federal eRulemaking Portal. The mailing address is 
U. S. Department of Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, 
West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 
Washington, DC 20590. The fax number is 1-202-493-2251. To use the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow 
the online instructions for submitting comments.
    We also request, but do not require you to send a copy to Bob 
Sivinski, Statistician, Evaluation Division, NVS-431, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room W53-440, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE., Washington, DC 20590 (or e-mail them to robert.sivinski@dot.gov). 
He can check if your comments have been received at the Docket and he 
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, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., 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 U. S. Department of 
Transportation, Docket Management Facility, M-30, West Building, Ground 
Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590, 
or submit them via the Federal eRulemaking Portal.

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

[[Page 68666]]

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 materials placed in the docket for this document 
(e.g., the comments submitted in response to this document by other 
interested persons) at any time by going to http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets. You may also 
read the materials at the Docket Management Facility by going to the 
street address given above under ADDRESSES. The Docket Management 
Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through 
Friday, except Federal holidays.

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

James F. Simons,
Director, Office of Regulatory Analysis and Evaluation.
[FR Doc. 2010-28112 Filed 11-5-10; 8:45 am]
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