NHTSA Takes Important Step Toward Improving Occupant Protection, Seeks Comment on Updating Seatback Safety Standards

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today took an important step toward identifying opportunities to improve the safety of people inside vehicles by issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update seatback safety standards. The ANPRM fulfills a requirement in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and supports the Department of Transportation’s National Roadway Safety Strategy. 

The notice continues to lay the groundwork for advancing vehicle safety and reducing occupant injuries — especially in rear-end crashes, as controlled interaction of the occupant with the seatback is the primary countermeasure to injury in those incidents.

With this ANPRM, NHTSA is seeking public comment on a variety of topics to determine what upgrades, if any, are needed to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 207, “Seating systems,” and potentially FMVSS No. 202a, “Head restraints,” with an emphasis on occupant protection in rear impacts.

“This action today is a significant step toward improving and better understanding occupant safety, especially in rear-end vehicle crashes,” Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman said. “NHTSA welcomes and encourages all public comments, which will help inform a potential rulemaking to update seatback safety standards.”

FMVSS No. 207 establishes requirements for seats, seat attachment assemblies and their installation in passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks designed to carry at least one person, and buses. The standard sets minimum requirements for seatback strength and associated restraining devices and adjusters and outlines a test procedure. FMVSS No. 202a specifies requirements for head restraints to reduce the frequency and severity of neck injuries in rear-end and other crashes.

Among its considerations in the ANPRM, the agency seeks comment on seatback strength requirements, performance test parameters and various seat characteristics that are considered for regulation to improve rear impact protection, as well as relevant incident data.