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Honda Says "No"
to Seat Belts for Larger Passengers
Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 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.
There are laws in 49 states and the
District of Columbia that require seat belt use, yet there is no federal regulation
that requires vehicle manufacturers to make seat belt assemblies that fit people
who weigh over 215 pounds. What good are stringent safety requirements if we
cannot fasten our seat belts?
I live in Pennsylvania where this law is in force. I could be severely fined
and ticketed for not wearing a seat belt. Often very difficult for me to do
so. Since manufactures are not required to provide seatbelt extenders, how then
can I be expected to comply with the law?
On the NHTSA website there is an advertisement for the Buckle Up America Campaign.
How can you encourage rigorous enforcement of state and local seat-belt laws
when your own regulation seems to be based on exclusion of a significant portion
of our population?
Because fat is more prevalent in certain racial and ethnic populations, more
common in women than in men, and more common in older people than young, denying
fat people the protection of being included within the limits of federal seat
belt regulations disproportionately affects these disadvantaged groups. That's
discrimination.
Please amend 49CFR571.209 to provide a means for large people to buckle their
seat belts in vehicles they are riding in.
Sincerely,
Natalie Neal