2002 SAE Govt/Industry Meeting  Brian Park

SLIDE 1:
A DYNAMIC SAFETY RATING PROGRAM FOR CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEMS AND REVIEW OF COMMENTS


SLIDE 2:
WHAT DID CONGRESS SAY?
- Section 14(b)(9) "whether to include child restraint in each vehicle crash tested under the New Car Assessment Program"

- Section 14(g) "No later than 12 months after the date this law is passed, (which was November 1, 2000)...issue a notice of proposed rulemaking [sic] to establish a child restraint safety rating consumer information program..."


SLIDE 3:
PUBLIC COMMENTS SUGGESTED NHTSA DEVELOP A CRS RATING SYSTEM BASED ON ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS:
 - FMVSS No.213 compliance tests
 - higher-speed sled tests
 - full-scale, in-vehicle testing with CRS


SLIDE 4:
FMVSS No.213 SLED TESTING (30mph)
Data exampined:
Nine CRSs tested according to FMVSS No.214 testing procedure except:
 - Hybrid III dummy used instead of Hybrid II
 - all seats tested w/lap, shoulder, and tether belts
 - one seat tested w/LATCH


SLIDE 5:
'213" TEST USING HYBRID III WITH SCALED NCAP CURVES
[scatter chart w/5-star rating curves for chest Gs]


SLIDE 6:
FMVSS No. 213 SLED TESTING CONT.
What we showed:
 - nine sled tests using Hybrid III dummy show clustered data indicating all child restraints perform similarly at 30mph.
 - all CRSs pass the 208 head and chest injury criterion with large margin
 - NCAP 5-star rating system scaled for the 3-year-old dummy. all CRSs we tested received 5 stars.


SLIDE 7:
HIGHER SPEED SLED TESTING (35mph)
Data examined:
 - results of sled tests - the same 9 CRSs that were tested at 30mph (as in a 213 sled test) were also tested at 35mph. the same testing procedure was used


SLIDE 8:
HIGHER-SPEED SLED AND HYBRID III WITH SCALED NCAP CURVES
[scatter chart w/5-star rating curves for chest Gs]


SLIDE 9:
HIGHER-SPEED SLED TESTING CONT.
What we showed:
 - the 9 sled tests at 35mph showed similar clustering (spread) of data as those at 30mph.
 - all CRSs still pass the 208 head and chest injury criterion.
 - NCAP 5-star rating system scaled for the 3-year-old dummy. based on these nine tests, we believe most CRSs would still recieve 8 stars, but a few would receive 4 stars, indicating a slight increase in risk of serious injury as the speed is increased from 30 mph to 35 mph.


SLIDE 10:
IN-VEHICLE TESTING OF CHILD RESTRAINTS
data examined:
results of in-vehicle testing of child restraints
 - six different five-point harnes, forward-facing CRSs were placed into the rear seat of 20 MY 2001 vehicles
 - we tested thirty-four child seats
 - tests were performed at 35mph using the Hybrid III dummy to assess injury
 - a top tether was used to restrain all child restraints whether secured w/ lap/shoulder belt or LATCH


SLIDE 11:
IN-VEHICLE TESTING USING HYBRID III WITH SCALED NCAP CURVES
[scatter chart w/5-star rating curves for chest Gs]


SLIDE 12:
IN-VEHICLE TESTING OF CHILD RESTRAINTS CONT.
what we showed:
 - the 20 CRS in-vehicle tests at 35mph produced much more scattered data than the sled tests conducted at 30mph or 35mph
 - in the vehicle crashes not all CRSs pass the 208 injury criteria
 - NCAP 5-star rating system scaled for the 3-year-old dummy. vehicles displayed a CRS performance ranging from 5 stars to 2 stars


SLIDE 13:
REVIEW OF COMMENTS TO THE NOTICE FOR DYNAMIC CRS SAFETY RATING


SLIDE 14:
GENERALLY SUPPORT 30mph SLED TESTING
 - half of the responses were in favor of having rating system based on *upgraded* FMVSS No.213 - Evenflo, Ford, GM, Honda, AAM, CU, National Safe Kids Campaign, JPMA, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety

 - Suggested upgrade included: new bench, realistic sled pulse, H-III child dummy


SLIDE 15:
SUPPORT 35mph SLED TEST
Rating for 35mph sled testing should be done with dummies and bench of the *revised* 213 - DJG, Honda, CU


SLIDE 16:
OPPOSED TO 35mph SLED TEST
 - responses not favoring high speed sled tests - Evenflo, Chidren's Hospital of Philadelphia, IIHS, AAM, National Safe Kids Campaign, Toyota

 - Current 213 is already severe test. 5mph faster will not provide additional information, majority of real-world crashes occur at much less than 35mph - Evenflo, JPMA, Children's Hospital of Philidelphia, AAM


SLIDE 17:
SUPPORT NCAP TESTS
Few suggested to do Vehicle Child Protection Rating: Evenflo, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety


SLIDE 18:
VOICED STRONG OPINIONS TO NCAP VEHICLE TESTING
 - no response favored rating CRS based on vehicle testing
 - CRS performance is strongly influences [sic] by vehicle, and one CRS can't be compared to CRS in an other vehicle - Evenflo, Safe Ride News Publication, JPMA, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, IIHS, AAM, CU, National Safe Kids Campaign
 - with all the different vehicle and CRS models, it is not feasilble to test every vehicle/CRS combination - DJG, NADA
 - TREAD 14(g) stated to *evaluate CRS*, not vehicle - GM, IIHS, Honda, AAM, JPMA


SLIDE 19:
STATUS
 - the agency is studying dynamic performance of rear-facing CRS performance in dynamic sled and in-vehicle testing
 - Final Notice is expected to be published by November 1, 2002.