Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, NHTSA NEWS—COMMENT CALENDAR—NHTSA actions open for public comment, (Feb 18, 2025)

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.

February 18, 2025. NHTSA has issued a final rule that mandates seat belt warnings for rear seats and enhances the warnings for front seats. The original effective date (March 4, 2025) has been delayed until March 20, 2025. Petitions for reconsideration of the rule must be received by February 18, 2025 (NHTSA Final rule, 90 Fed. Reg. 390 (Jan. 3, 2025); Delay of effective date, 90 Fed. Reg. 9610 (Feb. 14, 2025)).

February 18, 2025. NHTSA has issued a final rule revising the chest jacket and spine box specifications for the Hybrid III 5th Percentile Female Test Dummy (HIII-5F) set forth in 49 C.F.R. part 572, Anthropomorphic Test Devices. The original effective date (February 18, 2025) has been delayed until March 20, 2025. Petitions for reconsideration of the rule must be received by February 18, 2025 (NHTSA Final rule, 90 Fed. Reg. 250 (Jan. 3, 2025); Delay of effective date, 90 Fed. Reg. 9611 (Feb. 14, 2025)).

February 21, 2025. NHTSA has issued a final rule to improve the usability of lower anchorages and tether anchorages for child restraint systems. The rule amends Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 225, Child restraint anchorage systems, and No. 213b, Child restraint systems. The original effective date (March 10, 2025) has been delayed until March 20, 2025. Petitions for reconsideration of the rule must be received by February 21, 2025 (NHTSA Final rule, 90 Fed. Reg. 1288 (Jan. 7, 2025); Delay of effective date, 90 Fed. Reg. 9611 (Feb. 14, 2025)).

March 3, 2025. NHTSA has issued a final rule creating FMVSS No. 307, Fuel system integrity of hydrogen vehicles, and FMVSS No. 308, Compressed hydrogen storage system integrity. The effective date is July 16, 2025. Petitions to reconsider the rule must be received by March 3, 2025 (NHTSA Final Rule, 90 Fed. Reg. 6218 (Jan. 17, 2025)).

March 11, 2025. NHTSA has issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking to provide for a two-tiered approach to electronic recall notifications. Manufacturers would be required to use all reasonable efforts to send electronic notifications through contact information specific to each owner, and if that is not possible, to send the notices via other electronic means, such as television or social media (NHTSA Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 90 Fed. Reg. 1909 (Jan. 10, 2025)).

March 17, 2025. NHTSA has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish the ADS-equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency, and Evaluation Program (AV STEP) (NHTSA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 90 Fed. Reg. 4130 (Jan. 15, 2025)).

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