DATES: Comments should be received on or before February 24, 2020. NHTSA proposes that Final Rule will become effective 45 days after its publication.
SUMMARY: This document proposes to revise the chest jacket and spine box specifications for the Hybrid III 5th Percentile Female Test Dummy (HIII– 5F).
This rulemaking responds to a petition for rulemaking from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.
The proposed jacket revisions would resolve discrepancies between the jacket specifications in Subpart O and jackets available in the field, and ensure a sufficiently low level of variation between jackets fabricated by different manufacturers.
- Existing jackets available do not meet the NHTSA Regulation requirements
- SAE has developed SAE J2921 Jacket Specifications
- NHTSA proposes to incorporate by reference SAE Standard J2921
The spine box revisions would eliminate a source of signal noise caused by fasteners within the box that may become loose.
- In the mid-2000s, the SAE Task Force began an effort—in parallel with its efforts on the chest jacket—to find and eliminate a source of signal noise that sometimes emanated from the HIII–5F spine box.
- Alliance members determined that the noise was caused by loosening of six socket head cap screws attaching the spine box to the lower spine.
- As a long-term solution, SAE developed an alteration to improve the spine box. Specifically, it recommended adding plates to the side of the spine box, with bolts countersunk into the plate to remove any play from the assembly. The alteration prevents the screws from loosening and eliminates the signal noise.
- NHTSA and others tested the new spine box fix as it was being developed.
- NHTSA proposes to change the spine box specifications to permanently fix the signal noise problem. The new versions of the drawing package, parts list and PADI proposed for incorporation by reference include the SAE J2915 specifications for the improved spine box.
