Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Head Impact Protection

This document responds to petitions for reconsideration of a final rule amending Standard No. 201, Occupant Protection in Interior Impact, to permit, but not require, the installation of dynamically deploying upper interior head protection systems. These systems are currently being used by some vehicle manufacturers to provide added head protection in lateral crashes. Since compliance with the upper interior head protection requirements of the standard as originally adopted would often not be practicable at points located at or near the places where these dynamic systems are stored, the final rule allowed vehicles equipped with the systems to meet slightly reduced requirements at those points. However, these vehicles were also required to meet new requirements in a side crash into a pole to ensure that the systems enhance safety. This document grants two petitions, and amends Standard No. 201 accordingly. The American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA) requested that NHTSA delete a humidity range specification for calibration of the test device used in the car-to-pole test on the basis that the specification was both unnecessary and difficult to meet. Noting that the final rule specified a broad range of potential impact speeds for the car-to-pole test, the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, Inc. (AIAM) requested that the agency specify a narrower speed range for this test. This document also denies two other petitions. Mercedes-Benz of North America (Mercedes) argued that the reduced requirements should apply not only to points near the stored dynamic systems, but also to points covered by those systems when they are deployed. Chrysler Corporation (Chrysler) objected to a requirement that manufacturers choosing one of the compliance test options must select which option it is using at the time of certification and may not, after selecting one test option, rely on a different test option to demonstrate compliance.