Interpretation ID: 20789sittightlockingclip

Mr. Cecil Creech
P.O. Box 507
Shadyside, MD 20764

Dear Mr. Creech:

This responds to your October 13, 1999, letter concerning a product that you are seeking to develop, called "the SitTight." You ask whether the product is subject to any Federal standards.

According to your letter, the SitTight is a device designed for use with vehicle belt systems, to tighten the vehicle seat belt used to attach a child restraint to the vehicle seat. From your sketches, the SitTight appears to consist of a spooling and ratchet mechanism that takes up slack in the belt system when used on a vehicle seat alongside a child restraint. It appears to be of a size that fits in the palm of a hand. The SitTight would be positioned next to the base of the child restraint, and both straps of a lap and shoulder belt would be fed through the slots in the SitTight. The consumer would move a handle on the SitTight up and down to tighten the seat belt to the correct tension. To remove the SitTight, the seat belt would be released.

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, Congress has established a "self-certification" process under which each manufacturer is responsible for certifying that its products meet all applicable safety standards. The following represents our opinion based on the information set forth in your letter.

There currently are no Federal motor vehicle safety standards that directly apply to the SitTight. Our standard for "child restraint systems," Standard No. 213, applies to "any device except Type I or Type II seat belts, designed for use in a motor vehicle or aircraft to restrain, seat, or position children who weigh 50 pounds or less." The standard does not apply to accessory items, such as a device that is used with a child restraint to remove slack in the vehicle belt system.

While no standard applies to the SitTight, 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 and other manufacturer 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.

For your information, passenger vehicles manufactured since September 1, 1995, are required to have a locking mechanism for the lap belt or lap belt portion of lap and shoulder belts, to enable them "to be capable of being used to tightly secure child safety seats without the necessity of the users attaching any device to the seat belt webbing, retractor, or any other part of the vehicle...." Further, we amended Standard No. 213 earlier this year to require child restraint systems manufactured on or after September 1, 2002 to be equipped with connectors that attach to an independent child restraint anchorage system in vehicles. The effect of this rule will enable child restraints to be attached to the vehicle seat without the use of seat belts. We believe that these requirements will address some of the same securement problems that you hope to address with the SitTight.

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact Deirdre Fujita of my staff at (202) 366-2992.

Sincerely,
Frank Seales, Jr.
Chief Counsel
Enclosure
ref:213
d.11/24/99