Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Occupant Crash Protection, Child Restraint Systems

This document amends Standard No. 213, ``Child Restraint Systems,'' to modify the air bag warning label that child seats which can be used in a rear-facing position (``rear-facing child seats'') are now required to bear. The required label warns that the rear-facing child restraint must never be placed in the front seat with an air bag. On April 17, 1997, NHTSA issued an interim final rule which allowed the phrase ``unless air bag is off'' to be added to the end of the warning, if the child seat automatically deactivates the air bag and activates a specified telltale light in the vehicle. On further examining the issue in response to a request from Porsche Cars North America Inc. (Porsche), NHTSA has tentatively determined that the phrase ``unless air bag is off'' may be added to child seats regardless of the means by which they deactivate the air bag so long as deactivation can be achieved, and that specified telltale requirements are unnecessary so long as an audible or visual signal is provided to the driver that the air bag has been disabled. This document makes final on an interim basis the amendment requested by Porsche, and supplements the amendments made by the April 17, 1997 interim rule. The agency also solicits comments on today's amendment.