Home
Honda Says "No" to Seat Belts for Larger Passengers
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.
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?
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,
Paula Crippen