Interpretation ID: 20334bottleholder

Ms. Christie Skelton
Skelton Design, Inc.
9732 Slater Avenue
Kirkland, WA 98033

Dear Ms. Skelton:

This responds to your inquiry asking about safety regulations for a device you call "the Lil Cub Bottle Holder" for infants and toddlers. I apologize for the delay in responding. Your query follows up on a conversation you had with Deirdre Fujita of my staff. You describe the product as:

a support device for bottle feeding infants and toddlers. It attaches securely onto the car seat or infant carrier with Velcro straps and holds the bottle in a position allowing an infant or toddler to drink when they desire. When properly attached, the bottle can not be dropped or pushed aside; a driver would not need to reach over the seat to rescue a lost bottle. When properly attached, the Lil Cub gently rests around the shoulder harness straps. There is a warning label sewn into the product, which cautions caregivers while attaching the product not to interfere with the child restraint system.

By way of background information, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the authority to issue Federal motor vehicle safety standards for new motor vehicles and new items of motor vehicle equipment. NHTSA does not, however, approve or certify any vehicles or items of equipment. Instead, each manufacturer is responsible for "self-certifying" that its products meet all applicable safety standards. The agency periodically tests vehicles and items of equipment for compliance with the standards.

There is currently no Federal motor vehicle safety standard that directly applies to the product you wish to manufacture. However, your product is considered to be an item of motor vehicle equipment. As a manufacturer of motor vehicle equipment, you are subject to the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30118-30121 concerning the recall and remedy of products with safety related defects. I have enclosed an information sheet that briefly describes those responsibilities. In the event you or NHTSA determines that your product contains a safety-related defect, you would be responsible for notifying purchasers of the defective equipment and remedying the problem free of charge.

While it is unlikely that your product would be installed by a motor vehicle manufacturer, distributor, dealer or repair business, our statute (at 49 U.S.C. 30122) prohibits those businesses from installing the device if the installation "makes inoperative" compliance with any safety standard. Our standard for child restraint systems (Standard 213) specifies requirements that ensure that shoulder harness straps securely restrain a child in a crash. Our standard also has requirements for protection of a child's torso in a crash (S5.2.2). If your bottle holder would cause the child restraint to no longer meet Standard 213, the aforementioned parties may not install the product in new or used vehicles.

The prohibition of 30122 does not apply to individual owners who install equipment in their own vehicles. Thus, individual owners may install any item of motor vehicle equipment regardless of its effect on compliance with Federal motor vehicle safety standards. However, NHTSA encourages vehicle owners not to degrade the safety of their vehicles.

Your product is designed to position a bottle in front of the child while the child is being transported in a vehicle. We are concerned about the possibility of injury caused by a relatively hard object (a bottle) positioned where a child's head, neck or chest could impact it in a crash. In a frontal crash, a positioned bottle could break and cause injury or could otherwise be contacted by a child's head, face, neck or torso and injure the child. We ask you to consider these and any other relevant safety concerns when designing the bottle holder and when instructing consumers how to use the device.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any other questions, please contact Ms. Fujita at this address or by phone at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:213
d.10/26/99