210
Home
Honda Says "No" to
Seat Belts for Larger Passengers
July 29, 2000
Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street, SW
Washington, DC 20590
To whom it may concern:
I am writing in support of Elizabeth Fisher's petition to amend Federal Regulation
SEC. 571.209 Standard No. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies.
Automobile seatbelts are proven to save lives in accidents, and 49 states require
by law that they be worn whenever a vehicle is in motion.
However, the federal regulations regarding seatbelts are inadequate. They do
not require that auto manufacturers provide seatbelts to fit everybody, only
"occupants whose dimensions and weight range from those of a 5th-percentile
adult female to those of a 95th-percentile adult male." That is defined to mean
people who weigh between 102 and 215 pounds.
Thus, auto manufacturers are not currently required to provide safety devices
to at least 5 percent of the population (and given that the US population is
aging and the average weight is increasing, the percentage is likely to be greater
than 5 percent). Yet those 5 percent are still required by law to wear seatbelts,
and seatbelts would help those people survive accidents.
Many auto manufacturers provide seatbelts and seatbelt extenders to fit a larger
subset of people than the federal regulations require, but a number of manufacturers
do not. Although the situation may seem adequate because most people have a
choice of what car they purchase or lease, people don't always have a choice
to avoid riding in a vehicle that has inadequate seatbelts (for example, people
who carpool with co-workers). This creates an unsafe and illegal condition.
This situation can be remedied by amending the regulations to require all auto
manufacturers to provide seatbelts or seatbelt extenders that fit everybody.
I request that this be done.
Sincerely,
Stef Maruch