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Honda Says "No"
to Seat Belts for Larger Passengers
Sue Bailey, Administrator
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
via
email to webmaster@nhtsa.gov
Dear Dr. Bailey: I am writing
in support of Elizabeth Fisher's petition to amend Federal Regulation Sec. 571.209
Standard NO. 209, Seat Belt Assemblies.
First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your new position as administrator for the NHTSA. I am pleased to hear, that you are an advocate for seat belts. They are indeed very important to saving lives. I hope, that one of your first acts as administrator, is to ensure that every passenger who gets into a car has a seat belt, he/she can fasten.
I was surprised and dismayed, to learn that car manufacturers are only required to make seat belts to fit passengers who weigh up to 215 lb.. What about the millions of people who don't? Are they required to break the law, and put themselves as well as their fellow passengers at risk, because they are unable to buckle up? That sounds like old fashioned discrimination. People, should not have to put both their lives, and the lives of others at risk, just because they don't fit a certain mold.
I hope as a seat belt advocate, you can help change the current regulation. All I am asking, is that you require car manufacturers to make seat belt extenders for those passengers who cannot fit the current standard. All of us, big and small, deserve have the right to be safe in an automobile.
Thanks, Marcia Kearns