Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, NHTSA NEWS—COMMENT CALENDAR—NHTSA actions open for public comment, (Jan 14, 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.

January 31, 2025. NHTSA has issued a final rule formalizing its whistleblower program. The effective date is January 16, 2025. Petitions for reconsideration of the rule must be received by January 31, 2025 (NHTSA Final rule, 89 Fed. Reg. 101952 (Dec. 17, 2024)).

February 3, 2025. NHTSA has amended its event data recorder (EDR) regulations to increase the recording period and data sample rate of the devices. The effective date is January 17, 2025. Petitions for reconsideration of the rule must be received by February 3, 2025 (NHTSA Final rule, 89 Fed. Reg. 102810 (Dec. 18, 2024)).

February 3, 2025. NHTSA has issued a final rule establishing FMVSS No. 305a, Electric-powered vehicles: Electrolyte spillage and electrical shock protection. The effective date is February 18, 2025. Petitions for reconsideration of the rule must be received by February 3, 2025 (NHTSA Final rule, 89 Fed. Reg. 104318 (Dec. 20, 2024)).

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 effective date is March 4, 2025. Petitions for reconsideration of the rule must be received by February 18, 2025 (NHTSA Final rule, 90 Fed. Reg. 390 (Jan. 3, 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 effective date is February 18, 2025. That date is also the deadline for petitions for reconsideration of the rule (NHTSA Final rule, 90 Fed. Reg. 250 (Jan. 3, 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. It takes effect on March 10, 2025. Petitions for reconsideration of the rule must be received by February 21, 2025 (NHTSA Final rule, 90 Fed. Reg. 1288 (Jan. 7, 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)).

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