Interpretation ID: nht92-1.36

DATE: 12/07/92

FROM: PAUL JACKSON RICE -- CHIEF COUNSEL, NHTSA

TO: MARK W. RUSSO

COPYEE: MICHAEL F. HECKER -- MICHO INDUSTRIES

ATTACHMT: ATTACHED TO LETTER DATED 9-17-92 FROM MARK W. RUSSO TO WALTER MYERS (OCC 7817); ALSO ATTACHED TO LETTER DATED 7-14-92 FROM PAUL J. RICE TO MICHAEL F. HECKER (STD. 222)

TEXT: This responds to your letter to Walter Myers of this office regarding the applicability of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 222 to the R-Bar Passenger Restraint System and related issues. I note that on July 13, 1992, I sent you copies of five previous NHTSA letters which addressed the use of "safety bars" in school buses. In your new letter, you expressed a number of safety concerns about the R-Bar and asked whether there have been any further development at NHTSA regarding the R-Bar subject since May 14, 1992, the date of the most recent of the five letters I sent to you.

We have issued one additional letter concerning Standard No. 222 and the use of "safety bars" in school buses. The letter (copy enclosed) was sent to Mr. Michael F. Hecker of Micho Industries on July 14, 1992, and concerned how the R-Bar should be positioned during testing under Standard No. 222. As discussed in that letter, a school bus must meet the requirements of Standard No. 222 with a "safety bar" in every position at which it may be placed.

I also note that manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment are subject to the defect provisions of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. If data indicated that devices such as "safety bars" were exposing occupants to an unreasonable risk of injury, such as by excessive abdominal or leg loading during a crash, the agency might conduct a defect investigation which could lead to a safety recall.

If you have any further questions or need any additional information, feel free to contact Mr. Myers at this address or at (202) 366-2992.