Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213a; Child Restraint Systems-Side Impact Protection; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213; Child Restraint Systems, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213b; Child Restraint Systems; Incorporation by Reference

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213a; Child Restraint Systems--Side Impact Protection; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213; Child Restraint Systems, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213b; Child Restraint Systems; Incorporation by Reference

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

Final rule; grant of petitions for rulemaking and other amendments.

This final rule amends the safety standards for child restraint systems (CRSs). NHTSA is amending Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) No. 213a, "Child restraint systems--side impact protection," to exempt school bus CRSs from the standard's requirements as long as they meet specified labeling requirements; to delay the compliance date from June 30, 2025 to December 5, 2026; to amend the dummy selection requirements so that the Child Restraint Air Bag Interaction twelve-month-old test dummy (CRABI-12MO) will not be used to test forward-facing CRSs; and to amend positioning procedures for that dummy. The first two of these amendments are in response to petitions from CRS manufacturers. NHTSA is also amending FMVSS No. 213, "Child restraint systems" and FMVSS No. 213b, "Child restraint systems; Mandatory applicability beginning December 5, 2026," to exclude school bus CRSs from the requirements to provide attachments for connection to the vehicle's child restraint anchorage system and to change certain labeling requirements to reflect how school bus child restraints are used.

Effective date: The effective date of this final rule is October 9, 2026. Compliance date: The revised compliance date for FMVSS No. 213a is December 5, 2026. The compliance date for the updated labeling requirements in FMVSS No. 213 adopted by this final rule is December 8, 2026. The compliance date for the updated labeling requirements in FMVSS No. 213b is December 5, 2026. Optional early compliance with FMVSS Nos. 213, 213a, and 213b is permitted. The incorporation by reference of certain material listed in this rule was approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of June 24, 2003 and December 5, 2023. Reconsideration date: If you wish to petition for reconsideration of this rule, your petition must be received by October 26, 2026.

Petitions for reconsideration of this final rule must refer to the docket number set forth above and be submitted to the Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Note that all petitions received will be posted without change to www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Docket: For access to the docket, go to www.regulations.gov, or the street address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the dockets.

For technical issues, you may contact Cristina Echemendia, Office of Crashworthiness Standards (email: [email protected]). For legal issues, you may contact John Piazza, Office of Chief Counsel (email: [email protected]). You can reach these officials by phone at 202-366-1810. Address: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Washington, DC 20590.

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary II. Background III. Amendments to Side Impact Requirements (FMVSS No. 213a) A. Exempt School Bus CRSs From Side Impact Requirements B. Exclude the CRABI-12MO From Testing Forward-Facing CRSs and Make Corresponding Amendments to the Dummy Positioning Procedures C. Delay the Compliance Date From June 30, 2025 to December 5, 2026 IV. Amendments to Frontal Impact Requirements (FMVSS Nos. 213 and 213b) and 49 CFR 571.5 V. Cost and Benefits VI. Incorporation by Reference VII. Effective Date and Compliance Date VIII. Regulatory Notices and Analyses

This final rule amends three different safety standards: FMVSS No. 213, "Child restraint systems; Applicable unless a vehicle or child restraint system is certified to Sec. 571.213b;" FMVSS No. 213b, "Child restraint systems; Mandatory applicability beginning December 5, 2026;" and FMVSS No. 213a, "Child restraint systems--side impact protection." FMVSS Nos. 213, 213a, and 213b set out most of the agency's safety requirements for CRSs. NHTSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) preceding this final rule on May 30, 2025.\1\ This final rule adopts all the proposals in the NPRM. NHTSA received 15 comments to the NPRM with wide support for the proposals. Two commenters (Graco and Dorel) opposed the proposed delay in the compliance date of FMVSS No. 213a.

\1\ 90 FR 23009.

Specifically, this final rule amends the side impact standard (FMVSS No. 213a) by: Exempting school bus CRSs from the side impact requirements in FMVSS No. 213a because these requirements

were not designed to apply to school buses, which do not pose the type of side-impact crash risks the standard was designed to address. Delaying the compliance date of FMVSS No. 213a from June 30, 2025 to December 5, 2026 to enable small manufacturers \2\ to complete validation and conformance testing at oversubscribed third- party test facilities.

\2\ In the context of this final rule a "small manufacturer" is referring to CRS manufacturers with smaller market share which do not typically have their own lab to develop their products.

Amending the dummy selection criteria in FMVSS No. 213a regarding the Child Restraint Air Bag Interaction twelve-month-old test dummy (CRABI-12MO) \3\ so that it will not be used to test forward- facing CRSs for side impact requirements in FMVSS No. 213a. NHTSA makes this change because the rulemaking prohibits CRS manufacturers from recommending forward-facing CRSs for children weighing less than 12 kg (26.5 pounds) and the CRABI-12MO represents a smaller child.

\3\ 49 CFR part 572, subpart R--CRABI 12-Month-Old Infant, Alpha Version.

Amending the positioning procedures for the CRABI-12MO to reflect that the dummy would no longer be tested with forward-facing CRSs. This final rule also amends FMVSS No. 213, "Child restraint systems" and FMVSS No. 213b "Child restraint systems; Mandatory applicability beginning December 5, 2026," by: Excluding school bus CRSs from the requirements to provide attachments for connection to the vehicle's child restraint anchorage system because school bus CRSs are designed to be mounted to the seat back and seat pan, and school bus seats do not generally include anchorage systems.\4\

\4\ As defined in FMVSS No. 225, "Child restraint anchorage systems," a child restraint anchorage system means a vehicle system that is designed for attaching a child restraint system to a vehicle at a particular designated seating position, consisting of: (a) Two lower anchorages meeting the requirements of Sec. 571.225 S9; and (b) A tether anchorage meeting the requirements of Sec. 571.225 S6.

Amending the S5.5.2(g)(1)(ii) label statement requirement to be consistent with how school bus CRSs are installed. Making technical corrections to the regulatory text in FMVSS No. 213 S5.9(a) and 49 CFR 571.5 related to references to certain documents previously incorporated by reference.

This final rule amends three different safety standards: FMVSS No. 213, "Child restraint systems; Applicable unless a vehicle or child restraint system is certified to Sec. 571.213b;" FMVSS No. 213b, "Child restraint systems; Mandatory applicability beginning December 5, 2026;" and FMVSS No. 213a, "Child restraint systems--side impact protection." FMVSS No. 213, established in the 1970s, sets out requirements for CRSs including requirements for frontal impact protection. FMVSS No. 213b, established in December 2023, updates aspects of FMVSS No. 213 and is set to replace FMVSS No. 213 on December 5, 2026. FMVSS No. 213a, established in June 2022, sets forth side impact protection requirements for CRSs. On May 30, 2025, NHTSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (90 FR 23009) in response to three petitions for reconsideration that NHTSA is treating as petitions for rulemaking.\5\ The NPRM proposed to exempt school bus CRSs from the side impact requirements and to delay the compliance date of FMVSS No. 213a. The NPRM also proposed to amend the dummy selection criteria in FMVSS No. 213a so that the CRABI-12MO would not be used to test forward-facing CRSs. The NPRM also proposed updates to FMVSS No. 213 and 213b to exclude school bus CRSs from requirements to provide attachments for connection to a vehicle's child restraint anchorage system and to amend a label requirement for school bus CRSs so the label reflects the attachment type (seat back mount) these CRSs use to attach to the school bus seat.

\5\ NHTSA received three petitions for reconsideration of the October 2024 (89 FR 81836) final rule responding to petitions for reconsideration of the December 2023 final rule (88 FR 84514) establishing FMVSS No. 213b, "Child restraint systems; Mandatory applicability beginning December 5, 2026." However, the three petitions for reconsideration did not request any amendments to the October 2024 final rule and instead requested amendments to FMVSS No. 213a. Because the requests were outside the scope of the October 2024 final rule, and in accordance with NHTSA's regulations, the agency decided to treat the three petitions for reconsideration as new petitions for rulemaking.

On July 2, 2025, NHTSA published a notice of enforcement discretion (90 FR 28909) that announced a temporary pause on NHTSA's enforcement of the applicability of FMVSS No. 213a for CRSs produced on or after June 30, 2025 and until the date of publication of any rule finalizing NHTSA's May 30, 2025 proposal. There were fifteen (15) comments to the NPRM. Four comments were from individual CRS manufacturers--Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc. (Dorel); Graco Children's Products, Inc. (Graco); IMMI; and BESI, Inc. (BESI). One comment was submitted jointly by six CRS manufacturers with relatively small market share--Baby Trend, Babyark, Diono, Doona (Traveler Innovations Ltd), KidsEmbrace, and WAYB--and one consulting firm (DECA Consulting).\6\ Eight comments were from private citizens, and two comments were from pupil transportation organizations: National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) and National Association of Pupil Transportation (NAPT). The NPRM generally received wide support from commenters except for two commenters opposing the delay in FMVSS No. 213a compliance date. Details of the comments and NHTSA's response are provided in the following sections.

\6\ Six of these commenters (Baby Trend, Babyark, Diono, Doona, KidsEmbrace, and Deca Consulting) were also among the group of CRS manufacturers and the consulting firm who petitioned for an extension in lead time for FMVSS No. 213a. In this notice, we refer to the signatories to the jointly submitted comment as the "Small CRS Manufacturers Group."

III. Amendments to Side Impact Requirements (FMVSS No. 213a)

In the NPRM, the agency proposed to exclude school bus CRSs from side impact requirements in FMVSS No. 213a. This proposal was in response to IMMI \7\ and BESI \8\ petitions that requested NHTSA amend FMVSS No. 213a so that this type of restraint would not be subject to the side impact protection standard.

\7\ NHTSA-2024-0058-0003. \8\ NHTSA-2024-0058-0004.

IMMI described in its petition its school bus CRS product named the "Student Transportation Add-on Restraint" (STAR), which consists of a harness attached to a rigid seat base that provides fixed anchorage points for the harness's lap belt and crotch strap. IMMI explained that because the purpose of the STAR is to secure safely the child to the school bus seat, there is no shell component in this restraint to provide protection for side impact collisions. IMMI stated that "due to the nature of its design, [STAR] is not capable of meeting the newly established side impact requirements of FMVSS 213a." It also explained what it viewed as the advantages of the product and noted that NHTSA has included this type of CRS in its training materials. IMMI and BESI each stated that unless school bus CRSs are excluded from side impact requirements, it would have to stop production of these CRSs (for the U.S. market) and that this would affect Head Start programs that require the use of child restraint systems in school bus transportation of their students.

Comments Twelve commenters--IMMI, BESI, NASDPTS, NAPT, and eight private citizens \9\--supported the proposal to exclude school bus CRSs from FMVSS No. 213a requirements. No commenter opposed the proposal.

\9\ Kimberly Loughlin, Jimmy Lacy, Susan Shutrump, Wilson Barnes, Jacob Whilhite, Judy Korn, Michelle Summers and an anonymous route coordinator for special needs students.

Agency Response This final rule excludes school bus CRSs from the side impact requirements. As noted in the NPRM, school bus CRSs should be excluded because of practicability concerns about the ability of the school bus CRS to meet the proposed requirements and because school bus CRSs serve a niche market where the needs cannot be met by any other type of CRS. NHTSA also recognizes that the side impact crash environment of a school bus is significantly different from the simulated side impact test in FMVSS No. 213a, which simulates a near-side impact of a small passenger car. Accordingly, NHTSA corrects this inconsistency in FMVSS No. 213a and amends the applicability of the CRS side impact standard to exempt explicitly all school bus CRSs.

B. Exclude the CRABI-12MO From Testing Forward-Facing CRSs and Make Corresponding Amendments to the Dummy Positioning Procedures

Child restraint systems must meet the performance requirements in FMVSS Nos. 213, 213a, and 213b when tested dynamically with specific anthropomorphic test devices (test dummies). FMVSS Nos. 213a and 213b specify testing with the CRABI-12MO for CRSs recommended for children weighing 5 kilograms (kg) (11 pounds) to 13.6 kg (30 pounds) and specify a 3-year-old dummy--the Hybrid III 3-year-old dummy \10\ for 213b and Q3s \11\ for 213a--for testing CRSs recommended for children weighing greater than 13.6 kg (30 pounds) but not greater than 18 kg (40 pounds).\12\ However, FMVSS No. 213b states that the CRABI-12MO will not be used to test forward-facing CRSs because recent updates to FMVSS No. 213 and 213b now require that forward-facing CRSs cannot be recommended for children weighing less than 12 kg (26.5 pounds). Therefore, testing a forward-facing CRS to the requirements of FMVSS No. 213a with a 10 kg (22 pounds) CRABI-12MO would not be appropriate, as the dummy's weight is not within the recommended weight range of forward-facing CRSs. The NPRM therefore proposed to exclude forward- facing CRSs from being tested with the CRABI-12MO in the side impact test to align dummy selection specified in FMVSS No. 213a for the side impact test with that in FMVSS No. 213b for the frontal impact test. NHTSA proposed to add a sentence in S7.1(a) to state that the CRABI- 12MO dummy will not be used to test forward-facing CRSs.

\10\ 49 CFR Part 572, subpart P--3-year-Old Child Crash Test Dummy, Alpha Version. \11\ 49 CFR Part 572, subpart W--Q3s Three-Year-Old Child Test Dummy. \12\ FMVSS Nos. 213 and 213b have additional different sized dummies for evaluating frontal impacts.

Comments Four CRS manufacturers (BESI, IMMI, Dorel and Graco) and a private citizen (Michelle Summers) supported the proposal to remove the requirement to test with the CRABI-12MO in forward-facing car seats during 213a testing. No commenter opposed the proposal. Agency Response This final rule amends FMVSS No. 213a so that the CRABI-12MO is not used to test a forward-facing child restraint system recommended for children weighing greater than 5 kg (11 pounds) but not greater than 13.6 kg (30 pounds), or for children whose height is greater than 650 millimeters but not greater than 870 millimeters. NHTSA believes CRSs should be tested with the same size test dummies in both the frontal impact and side impact tests to minimize burden on CRS manufacturers. NHTSA also believes that a requirement to test a CRS in a configuration that the agency prohibits CRS manufacturers from recommending is unnecessary and burdensome. The agency is also finalizing its proposal to delete paragraphs S9.1(c) and (d) in FMVSS No. 213a because those sections contain positioning information relating to testing forward-facing CRSs with the CRABI-12MO, which are no longer relevant given the amendments described above. NHTSA is also amending S9.1(b). Currently, that section describes how to position the CRABI-12MO in a "forward- facing" child restraint system. Instead, S9.1(b) will now indicate how to position the CRABI-12MO dummy in CRSs used rear-facing using the same procedure in FMVSS No. 213b for consistency between the standards. For completeness, the update also includes the rotation plane required for positioning the dummy's arm.

The petition for rulemaking from the group of CRS manufacturers \13\ requested a delay of the June 30, 2025 compliance date of the CRS side impact standard, FMVSS No. 213a, to prevent "significant market disruption resulting from a reduced availability of child restraint systems and higher costs than necessary for those that are available." The petitioners argued that the extension is needed because of "inconsistent results within individual labs and lab to lab variation," and the limited "availability of compliance lab sled time" to develop their products to certify compliance with the new standard. CRS manufacturers with smaller market share (such as the petitioners) do not typically have their own lab to develop their products and are dependent on commercial compliance lab sled time. The petitioners suggested that the agency consider moving the FMVSS No. 213a compliance date to December 5, 2026 to match the compliance date of FMVSS No. 213b. In the NPRM, NHTSA proposed to grant the petition to delay the compliance date of FMVSS No. 213a to December 5, 2026.

\13\ BabyTrend, Babyark, DECA Consulting, Diono, Doona, KidsEmbrace, Peg Perego, and Safe Traffic System.

Comments Five commenters--IMMI, BESI, a group of six CRS manufacturers and one consulting company (the Small CRS Manufacturers Group), and 2 private citizens--supported the proposal to delay the FMVSS No. 213a compliance date to December 5, 2026. Two CRS manufacturers--Dorel and Graco--opposed it. Dorel and Graco are CRS manufacturers with a larger share of the market and have their own test labs, which facilitates product development because they are not as dependent on commercial lab sled time for their development work. Specifically, the Small CRS Manufacturers Group commented that they would need to cease the production of certain models and delay production of other models if the compliance date was not delayed, resulting in reduced availability of child restraints in the market. This group added that variance in their sled test outcomes resulted in the need to test the CRS designs in multiple laboratories. The Small CRS Manufacturers Group further explained that increased demand for CRS sled testing has caused delays in test lab availability, which in turn lengthened the development

timeline for compliant designs. These commenters stated that delaying the compliance date to December 5, 2026, would provide the necessary time to complete development and validation of the new CRS designs, while preventing market disruption that could reduce availability of compliant CRSs or increase costs to consumers. In contrast, Dorel opposed delaying the FMVSS No. 213a compliance date. Dorel stated that the arguments from the "relatively small car seat manufacturers" (petitioners) that there would be a significant market disruption resulting in reduced availability of CRSs were "without merit." Dorel explained that it, together with several other manufacturers, sell most car seats in the U.S. and have already begun selling FMVSS No. 213a-compliant CRSs for several months. Dorel also claimed that even some of the petitioners have FMVSS No. 213a compliant CRSs in the market already. Dorel concluded that the market disruption claimed by the petitioners "is not supported by the evidence." Dorel also added that the petitioner's concerns on variability would not be solved by the delay in compliance date and stated that only additional research would help identify the sources of variation. Similarly, Graco did not support a delay of the FMVSS No. 213a compliance date because, Graco stated, most manufacturers already updated their products to meet the new side impact requirements. Graco explained that shortly after the final rule was published, retailers expressed their desire to carry only FMVSS No. 213a-certified products by the compliance date. Graco added that retailers have been purchasing FMVSS No. 213a certified CRSs since the fall of 2024 and that retailers have been discontinuing purchases of products not meeting the side impact standard. Graco argued that a shortage of products does not and will not exist because the "absence of the petitioner's products has already been accounted for by retailer purchasing decisions." Graco also added that since belt positioning boosters would not need to meet FMVSS No. 213a, there would be no shortage of belt positioning boosters in the market. Graco also stated that the compliance date delay would "punish in the marketplace those companies that invested in compliance to the provisions of FMVSS No. 213a under the original three-year schedule." Graco explained that since the new dummy selection criteria indicates CRSs recommended for 13.6 kg (30 pounds) or more would be tested with the Q3s dummy, FMVSS No. 213a compliant rear-facing only CRSs already have updated product instructions, labels, marketing and promotional materials to reflect a 30 pounds maximum weight limit. Graco added that the compliance date delay would allow non-FMVSS No. 213a compliant products to continue selling infant carriers for children weighing more than 30 pounds, which some consumers may choose instead, even though they are not FMVSS No. 213a compliant. Graco also argued that granting the extension would "forgo some or all of the societal benefits of injury prevention." \14\

\14\ Graco also argued that, if NHTSA extended the compliance date, it would happen after the mandatory compliance date (June 30, 2025) for FMVSS No. 213a. As explained earlier in this document, on July 2, 2025 NHTSA published a notice of enforcement discretion announcing a temporary pause on the enforcement of the applicability of FMVSS No. 213a for CRSs produced on or after June 30, 2025 until the date of publication of any rule finalizing NHTSA's May 30, 2025 proposal.

Dorel also asked for a clarification on footnote 26 in the NPRM that states: "It would be permissible for manufacturers to recommend a seat for forward-facing use for a subset of children weighing between 10 kg (22 pounds) and 13.6 kg (30 pounds)--namely, children weighing less than 12 kg (26.5 pounds)--but NHTSA has decided not to specify the CRABI-12MO for testing CRS designated for forward-facing . . ." Agency Response After considering the comments, NHTSA has decided to delay the compliance date of FMVSS No. 213a to December 5, 2026. When considering the impacts resulting from the delay in the compliance date, NHTSA takes into account the entirety of the CRS market. The agency considered the potential negative impacts to small manufacturers that may result in long-term impacts to market competition if some are forced to exit the market should an extension not be granted. Similarly, the agency considered the negative impacts to those manufacturers that are already complying with the requirement, but also noted that those manufacturers may gain a competitive advantage during the extension in lead time. Overall, the agency concluded that the negative impacts to the market would be greater in the case that delay in the compliance date was not granted. NHTSA is mindful of the disparate effect of regulations on small and large manufacturers. Small manufacturers, such as the petitioners, may find it more costly and time consuming to comply with the regulation due to lack of their own testing facilities. This can potentially lead small manufacturers to exit the CRS market, resulting in reduced competition and consumer options. The agency considered the potential burden that small manufacturers may face when developing and testing their products to meet the FMVSS No. 213a requirements by the original compliance date of June 30, 2025. Rather than creating specific requirements for these small CRS manufacturers to relieve regulatory burden, the agency decided to extend the lead time afforded to all CRS manufacturers. The delay in compliance date provided in this final rule would ease the burden on small manufacturers and make it less likely that they would be forced to exit the CRS market, thereby helping to preserve competition and consumer choice in the CRS market without significant loss in safety benefits. The costs and benefits of this final rule are further discussed in section V. The agency has also concluded that CRS manufacturers whose products are already in compliance with FMVSS No. 213a would not be negatively impacted by this final rule. The agency acknowledges that several CRS manufacturers have expended time and resources to meet the requirements of FMVSS No. 213a by the original compliance date of June 30, 2025. Furthermore, many of those manufacturers have demonstrated voluntary early compliance to FMVSS No. 213a. Those manufacturers that would continue to comply with the requirement even under the extended time before the new compliance date will provide a societal benefit through the safety benefits realized by their improved CRSs. These manufacturers may also gain a competitive advantage relative to those manufacturers that do not comply with the standard during the extended time. As noted by Graco, manufacturers that are not yet certifying their applicable CRSs to FMVSS No. 213a are unable to sell their products to bigger retailers that require the certification. These manufacturers may still be able to sell their products in some retail stores or directly to the consumer but would miss the advantages of larger retail stores. Caregivers in the process of purchasing a child restraint may prefer CRSs that have additional safety features, such as FMVSS-certified side impact protection, to enhance crash protection to their children. With respect to Graco's argument that a delay in the compliance date would punish the manufacturers that are already complying with the side impact requirements because CRS

manufacturers that do not have CRSs that meet FMVSS No. 213a (or FMVSS No. 213b) requirements can still market their infant carriers (rear- facing CRSs) for children weighting over 30 pounds, NHTSA reviewed the available infant carriers in the current market and the vast majority are already recommending infant carriers for children weighing 30 pounds or less. There is a small number of infant carriers recommended for children weighing 35 pounds or less. However, due to the small number of such models and because these models are from small manufacturers, those volumes would not likely be significant enough to disadvantage bigger manufacturers that are already complying with FMVSS No. 213a.\15\

\15\ We note that the standard does not limit infant carriers from being recommended for children over 30 pounds. However, the standard does require the infant carrier to be tested with the Q3s dummy if it is recommended for children over 30 pounds.

Regarding Dorel's request to clarify footnote 26 in the NPRM, NHTSA clarifies that the footnote is incorrect. The footnote should have stated "It would be permissible for manufacturers to recommend a seat for forward-facing use for a subset of children weighing between 10 kg (22 pounds) and 13.6 kg (30 pounds)--namely, children weighing more than 12 kg (26.5 pounds)--but NHTSA has decided not to specify the CRABI-12MO for testing CRS designated for forward-facing use for such children to simplify the requirements."

IV. Amendments to Frontal Impact Requirements (FMVSS Nos. 213 and 213b) and 49 CFR 571.5

The NPRM proposed to exclude "school bus CRSs" from the FMVSS Nos. 213 and 213b S5.9(a) requirements for CRSs to provide lower anchor attachments. These attachments are unnecessary for school bus CRSs because these CRSs attach to the school bus seat using a seat back mount. The NPRM also proposed to amend the labeling requirements in S5.5.2(g)(1)(ii) of FMVSS Nos. 213 and 213b regarding how to secure the CRS to the vehicle. Because the requirement lists the "child restraint anchorage system" or "vehicle belt" as methods to attach the CRS to the vehicle, NHTSA proposed to adopt a requirement specific for school bus CRSs that states that the school bus child restraint is secured to the school bus seat using the child restraint's seat back mount instead of the "child restraint anchorage system or vehicle belt" because those methods of attachment are not applicable when using school bus CRSs.

Comments

Eleven commenters--2 CRS manufacturers (IMMI and BESI), NASDPTS, NAPT and 7 private citizens \16\--supported the proposal to exclude school bus CRSs from the requirement to provide lower anchorage attachments in FMVSS Nos. 213 and 213b. No commenter opposed the proposal.

\16\ Kimberly Loughlin, Jimmy Lacy, Susan Shutrump, Wilson Barnes, Jacob Whilhite, Judy Korn, Michelle Summers.

Agency Response

NHTSA is amending FMVSS Nos. 213 and 213b to exclude "school bus CRSs" from the S5.9(a) requirements and amending S5.5.2(g)(1)(ii) so that the required labeling statement reflects that school bus CRSs are attached using a seat back mount. In addition, to align with the installation methods used to test CRSs under FMVSS Nos. 213 and 213b, the updated labeling requirement in section S5.5.2(g)(1)(ii) will allow manufacturers to indicate either a seat back mount or a seat back and seat pan mount as acceptable installation options for school bus child restraints. NHTSA is also making two technical corrections to the regulatory text related to paragraph S5.9 in FMVSS Nos. 213 and 213b. First, paragraph S5.9(a) in FMVSS No. 213b references NHTSA Standard Seat Assembly; FMVSS No. 213, No. NHTSA-213-2021, (March 2023), which is incorporated by reference in 571.5(k)(6). The final rule corrects the formatting of the title of this document in 571.5(k)(6). Second, paragraph S5.9 in FMVSS No. 213 references (among other things) "Drawing Package SAS-100-1000, Standard Seat Belt Assembly with Addendum A." As S5.9 notes, this document is incorporated by reference in Sec. 571.5(k)(2). For clarification, NHTSA is amending S5.9 to add the phrase "Seat Base Weldment" to the title of this document.