Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Child Restraint Systems

The subject of this document is a final rule that amended Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, ``Child Restraint Systems,'' (49 CFR Sec. 571.213) to add a greater array of sizes and weights of test dummies for use in compliance tests. The compliance date for the rule (i.e., the date on which manufacturers must begin complying with the amendments) is September 1, 1996. NHTSA typically includes language in its regulations, when appropriate, to permit manufacturers the option of complying with new requirements before the compliance date of those requirements. However, the agency inadvertently omitted such language from the above-mentioned rulemaking documents. This document corrects this oversight and announces the date on which it became permissible for manufacturers to begin voluntarily producing child restraint systems that comply with the new requirements.