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Honda Says "No" to
Seat Belts for Larger Passengers
July
30, 2000
Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Dear Administrator:
I am writing in support of Elizabeth Fisher's petition to amend Federal Regulation
SEC. 571.209 Standard No. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies.
I am the husband of a supersize woman, and therefore greatly concerned that
the requirements for seatbelt length be, at least, updated as to the present
95th percentile, it being widely given that this would be substantially greater
than that which was originally calculated, and ideally of sufficient length
to fasten upon the body of the largest dimensions capable of entry into the
vehicle.
The current ability of vehicle manufacturers to use an arbitrary number not
related to the volume or cross sectional area of a compartment creates the danger
of the denial of driving privelege, not by the proper state agencies for legitimate
offenses or disqualifications, but by for-profit corporations for reasons of
incremental economic expediency, the kind which led them in a former time to
resist the installation of seatbelts altogether. The power to decide who drives
must at all times remain with the state and be determined by equitable means,
and the safety devices deemed sufficiently important to require for all drivers
must, self-evidently, be utilizable by all drivers. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Avery Ray Colter
Citizen, Driver, Motorcyclist, Green, and Fat-Acceptance Activist