Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, NHTSA NEWS—COMMENT CALENDAR—NHTSA actions open for public comment, (Oct 11, 2024)

By WK Editorial Staff

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration actions, with links to source documents, are open for public comment until the dates indicated.

As detailed in previous Products Liability Law Daily stories, the following National Highway Traffic Safety Administration actions are open for public comment until the dates indicated below. Comments may be submitted to the docket number identified in the heading of this document by any of the following methods: Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001. Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Fax: 202-493-2251.

October 11, 2024. NHTSA has issued a supplemental initial decision confirming its initial determination that certain frontal driver and passenger airbag inflators manufactured by ARC Automotive Inc. and Delphi Automotive Systems LLC contain a safety defect and should be recalled, along with the vehicles in which they were installed. The comment period was originally scheduled to end on September 4, 2024, was extended to October 4, 2024, and was extended a second time to October 11, 2024 (NHTSA Notice of supplemental initial decision, 89 Fed. Reg. 63473 (Aug. 5, 2024); Extension of deadline for written submissions, 89 Fed. Reg. 68702 (Aug. 27, 2024) (Second extension of deadline for written submissions, 89 Fed. Reg. 81136 (Oct. 7, 2024)).

November 18, 2024. NHTSA has proposed amendments to the requirements and processes for vehicle owners to request approval to install an air bag on-off switch. The proposed rule also would codify the process by which individuals may petition the agency for air bag deactivation in special circumstances (NHTSA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 89 Fed. Reg. 76035 (Sept. 17, 2024)).

November 18, 2024. NHTSA has proposed a rule to establish FMVSS No. 228, Pedestrian head protection, which would require passenger vehicles to be designed to reduce the risk of serious-to-fatal head injuries to pedestrians involved in crashes (NHTSA Notice of proposed rulemaking, 89 Fed. Reg. 76922 (Sept. 19, 2024)).

November 25, 2024. NHTSA has issued a final rule granting petitions to reconsider two previous final rules that established FMVSS No. 213a, Child restraint systems—side impact protection, and FMVSS No. 213b, Child restraint systems. The agency will incorporate a dummy positioning procedure for shield-type CRSs, clarify test procedures for CRSs with certain types of side impact technologies, and remove from frontal sled tests CRSs installed with a lap belt only. The rule takes effect on November 8, 2024. Petitions for reconsideration of the rule must be received by November 25, 2024 (NHTSA Final rule; response to petitions for reconsideration, 89 Fed. Reg. 81836 (Oct. 9, 2024)).

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