DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 575
[Docket No. NHTSA-2000-6859]
RIN 2127-AC64
Consumer Information Regulations;
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards;
Rollover Prevention

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Request for Comments.

SUMMARY: The agency believes that consumer information on the rollover risk of passenger cars and light multipurpose passenger vehicles and trucks would reduce the number of injuries and fatalities from rollover crashes. This information would enable prospective purchasers to make choices about new vehicles based on differences in rollover risk and serve as a market incentive to manufacturers in striving to design their vehicles with greater rollover resistance. The consumer information program would also inform drivers who choose vehicles with less rollover resistance that their risk of harm can be greatly reduced with seat belt use to avoid ejection.

The agency has tentatively decided that the Static Stability Factor should be used to indicate overall rollover risk in single-vehicle crashes. This notice seeks comment on whether the information should be presented as part of NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), which provides consumer information concerning frontal and side impact protection.

DATES: COMMENT DATE: Comments must be received by (insert date 60 days following publication in the Federal Register).

ADDRESSES: All comments should refer to Docket No. NHTSA-2000-6859 and be submitted to: Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20590. Docket hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For public comments and other information related to previous notices on this subject, please refer to Docket No. 91-68; Notice 3, NHTSA Docket, Room 5111, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. NHTSA Docket hours are from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gayle Dalrymple, NPS-23, Office of Safety Performance Standards, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. Ms. Dalrymple can be reached by phone at (202) 366-5559 or by facsimile at (202) 366-4329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Executive Summary
II. Background
III. Rulemaking History
IV. Recent Research on Maneuver-induced Rollover Crashes
  A. Why Study Untripped Rollovers?
  B. Estimate of the Annual National Incidence of On-road, Untripped Rollover Crashes
  C. Dynamic Test Program
    1. Preliminary Steps
      a. NASS Case Studies
      b. ODI Complaints
      c. Survey of Available Test Procedures
    2. Track Testing - Phase Ia
    3. Track Testing - Phase Ib
    4. Track Testing - Phase II
      a. Test Vehicle Selection
      b. Results
    5. Plans for Continuing Dynamic Test Research
  D. How Do Dynamic Rollover Test Results Compare with Metrics?  
V. Why Choose SSF?
  A. Description of Metrics
  B. Tripped and Untripped Rollover
  C. Correlation and Causation
  D. Simplicity and Measurability
  E. Unintended Consequences
VI. Why not a Standard?
VII. Consumer Information Presentation
  A. How Consumers Want to See Information Displayed
  B. Converting SSF Measurements to Star Ratings
VIII. Rollover Information Dissemination through NCAP
  A. Why NCAP Rather than Vehicle Labeling?
  B. Addition of Rollover Resistance Stars to NCAP
IX. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices
X. Submission of Comments
Appendix