Page images
PDF
EPUB

within the vehicle against the steering wheel, dashboard, windshield, and other parts of the car-has been largely neglected. The committee was greatly impressed by the critical distinction between the causes of the accident itself and causes of the resulting death or injury. Here, the design of the vehicle as well as the public willingness to use safety devices, such as seat belts, are the critical factors.. Recessed dashboard instruments and the use of seat belts can mean the difference between a bruised forehead and a fractured skull.

The committee heard compelling testimony that passenger cars can be designed and constructed so as to afford substantial protection against the "second collision" for both driver and passenger; further, that some of these design changes can be achieved at little or no additional manufacturing cost.

Yet the committee was presented with graphic evidence that the interior design of many 1966 model cars reveal interiors bristling with rigid tubes, angles, knobs, sharp instruments, and heavy metal of small radius of curvature. While such objects are sometimes placed and shaped as they are for the convenience of driver and passenger, substantial safety improvement could be achieved without inconvenience to the car occupants.

The committee was likewise made aware of the substantial needless hazards to pedestrians presented by external fins, ornamental protrusions, sharp edges, stylistically angled bumpers.

Finally, motor vehicles can also be a source of injury to people when the vehicle is not in use as a vehicle. Thousands of minor injuries, and some major ones, occur in entering and exiting the vehicle, and during the service and maintenance of the vehicle. Many of these injuries can be avoided or diminished in severity by careful design, such as the common "hand caught in the door" accidents, engine compartment hoods falling, vehicles slipping off jacks, and burns from engine components.

Federal standards for the safety of ships at sea long antedate the Civil War. By the year 1907, the Interstate Commerce Commission was requiring that pullman cars be constructed of steel rather than of wood. Aviation safety regulations were first authorized in the Air Commerce Act of 1926, a year in which domestic airlines carried a total of less than 6,000 passengers.

Yet, with the exception of a handful of State regulations and the Federal seat belt and brake fluid laws, the automobile sold generally in interstate commerce is today subject only to the standards produced by the committees of the Society of

Automotive Engineers. These SAE standards are the product of a committee consensus, subject to a single manufacturer's veto, while affording no consumer or user representation: Compliance is voluntary. There exist no procedures to compel their adoption, monitor their use, or evaluate their effectiveness.

While the General Services Administration has the authority-given to it 3 or 4 years ago by the Committee on Commerce to set the safety standards for the vehicles which the Government purchases, and individual States have begun to explore the possibility of uniform State motor vehicle standards, these efforts are necessarily limited because there exists today no significant alternative source of standards to the SAE.

There is in being no systematic research, testing, development, and evaluation program for safety standards capable of assigning priorities or correlating existing standards with accident and injury prevention.

Out of the committee's hearings, there emerged a clear outline of the basic needs to be served by Federal legislation:

First. The promotion of motor vehicle safety through voluntary standards has largely failed. The unconditional imposition of mandatory standards at the earliest practicable date is the only course commensurate with the highway death and injury toll.

Second. While the contribution of the several States to automobile safety has been significant, and justifies securing to the States a consultative role in the set- 14222 ting of standards, the primary responsibility for regulating the national automotive manufacturing industry must fall squarely upon the Federal Government. This is the only manner in which this course could be pursued legally.

Third. The Federal Government must develop a major independent technical capacity sufficient to perform comprehensive basic research on accident and injury prevention, adequate to test and contribute to the quality of the industry's safety performance; a technical capacity capable of initiating innovation in safety design and engineering and of serving as a yardstick against which the performance of private industry can be measured; and, finally, a technical capacity capable of developing and implementing meaningful standards for automotive safety.

Fourth. While the sharing of safety technology among motor vehicle and motor vehicle equipment manufacturers can facilitate the development of advanced safety design and engineering, vigorous competition in the development and

marketing of safety improvements must be maintained.

Fifth. Deficiencies in past industry practices relating to the notification and curing of manufacturing defects necessitate the imposition of mandatory procedures to insure such notification of purchasers and correction of all safetyrelated defects.

Sixth. The individual in the marketplace, upon whom the free market economy normally relies to choose the superior among competing products, is incapable of evaluating the comparative safety of competing model cars. The public, which has lately become increasingly interested in safety, still has no means of satisfying that interest. Both industry and Government share the responsibility for supplying adequate consumer information of automobile safety.

It is to the credit of the automotive industry that industry leaders have come to recognize the gravity of the problem and have joined in support of a law establishing binding Federal vehicle safety standards.

The committee also recognizes that the broad powers conferred upon the Secretary, while essential to achieve improved traffic safety, could be abused in such a manner as to have serious adverse

effects on the automotive manufacturing industry. The committeee is not empowering the Secretary to take over the design and manufacturing functions of private industry. The committee expects that the Secretary will act responsibly and in such a way as to achieve a substantial improvement in the safety characteristics of vehicles.

It is the committee's judgment that enactment of this legislation can further industry efforts to produce motor vehicles which are, in the first instance, not unduly accident prone; and perhaps, even more significantly, vehicles which, when involved in accidents, will prove crashworthy enough to enable their occupants to survive with minimal injuries.

We were faced with the problem of proceeding as rapidly as possible in the hope that we could slow up the carnage on the highways by directing the Secretary to establish interim standards. The committee finally approved of the provision for interim standards to be established by January 31, 1967, and to become effective within 6 months to 1 year thereafter.

It is the hope of the committee, with that provision on interim standards, that the 1968 model cars will comply with these interim safety standards.

We do not tell the Secretary what to do. But it is the committee's hope that

he will take into consideration and evaluate the current General Service Administration safety standards for Government purchased vehicles. A copy of these standards is included in the appendix to the report. The list now includes 17 items of safety equipment to be placed on automobiles which the Government buys. There are nine more items that have been proposed by the General Services Administration. The industry needed some time to achieve and work out those nine devices. With the inclusion of the 9 devices, there will be a total of 26 safety devices. They are all included in the appendix to the report.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the RECORD the list of 26 items which appears in the report.

There being no objection, the list was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

[From Federal Register Appendix, Mar. 8, 1966]

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, FEDERAL SUPPLY SERVICE [41 CFR SUBPART 101-29.8] FEDERAL STANDARD No. 515 STANDARD SAFETY DEVICES FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES NOTICE OF PROPOSED REVISION

Notice is hereby given that a revision is proposed in Federal Standard No. 515 which is prescribed in 101-29.303 of the Federal

Property Management Regulations. The revision as finally published will be issued pursuant to Public Law 88-515, approved August 30, 1964 (78 Stat. 696), and the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 377), as amended, and will be effective 1 year and 90 days after the date of publication in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Federal Standard No. 515 was published originally in the FEDERAL REGISTER On June 30, 1965 (30 FR. 8319).

The revision of Federal Standard No. 515

involves the addition of new detailed standards and changes in existing detailed standards and was developed through consultation with the automotive industry, technical societies, trade associations, the medical profession, and Government agencies. Proposed new detailed standards are designated as Federal Standards Nos. 515/18 through 515/ 26. Proposed changes in existing detalled standards are indicated by the letter "a" following the detailed standard number (e.g., 515/1a indicates the revision of 515/1). The changes in the existing detailed standards are as follows:

No. 515/1a-Anchorages for Seat Belt Assemblies for Automotive Vehicles. Made provisions for seat belt anchorages to the seats of school buses. Added anchorages for upper torso restraints for all outboard forward facing seating positions in vehicles other than buses.

No. 515/28-Forward Compartment Energy Absorption for Automotive Vehicles. Title changed from "Padded Instrument Panel and Visors for Automotive Vehicles." Expanded impact area to include extremes of

occupant size and to include 45-degree laterals to each side. Also added knee area protection and header and corner post padding.

No. 515/3a-Recessed Instrument Panel Instruments and Control Devices for Automotive Vehicles. Expanded impact areas to include extremes of occupant sizes and to include 45-degree laterals to each side. Added requirement that specified essential controls be in reach of upper torso belted operator.

No. 515/48 Energy Absorbing Steering Control System for Automotive Vehicles. Changed title from "Impact Absorbing Steering Wheel and Column Displacement for Automotive Vehicles." This proposal more clearly permits collapsible steering columns, denies clothes-catching hardware on steering wheel and increases barrier collision test to 30 miles per hour.

No. 515/5a-Safety Door Latches and Hinges for Automotive Vehicles. Increased door latch load requirements and added a requirement for a positive locking device or handles not operable by accidental side, rearward or forward force.

No. 515/6a-Anchorage of Seats for Automotive Vehicles. Added a requirement for locking devices for folding and pedestal type

seats.

No. 515/9a-Hydraulic Service Brake Systems for Automotive Vehicles. Title changed from "Dual Operation of Brake System for Automotive Vehicles." Brake performance requirements for sedans, carryalls, and station wagons added. Brake fluid system changed to exclude absorption of moisture. Provisions made to more clearly permit other than hydraulic actuation of emergency backup system.

Wipers

No. 515/128-Windshield and Washers for Automotive Vehicles. Changed to include a specific area to be wiped.

No. 515/13a-Glare Reduction Surfaces for Automotive Vehicles. Expanded requirements to include all interior surfaces in the operator's field of view. Title changed from "Glare Reduction Surfaces Instrument Panel and Windshield Wipers for Automotive Vehicles."

No. 515/148 Control of Air Pollution from Automotive Vehicles. Title changed from "Exhaust Emission Control System for Automotive Vehicles." Incorporated requirements contained in a new standard proposed by Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

No. 515/17a-Rearview Mirror(s) for Automotive Vehicles. Changed title from "Outside Rearview Mirror(s) for Automotive Vehicles." Added breakaway or detachable requirement for the inside rearview mirror and increased outside mirror minimum size to 5 inches.

Comments and suggestion are welcomed and should be submitted, in duplicate, to the Commissioner, Federal Supply Service, General Services Administration, Washington, D.C. 20405, within the period of 30 calendar days from the date of publication of this notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

The text of the changes in and additions to the Federal Standard No. 515 are set forth below.

Dated: March 4, 1966.

LAWSON B. KNOTT, Jr., Administrator of General Services. Section 101-29.308 is amended as follows: 101-29.303 Federal Standard No. 515Standard Safety Devices for Automotive Vehicles.

(a) This section prescribes Federal Standard No. 515, covering safety devices for automotive vehicles, as required by Public Law 88-515, August 30, 1964 (78 Stat. 696). AutoGovernment for use by the Federal Governmotive vehicles purchased by the Federal ment shall be equipped with safety devices Copies of this standard my be obtained from conforming to Federal Standard No. 516. the Commissioner, Federal Supply Bervice, 14223 General Services Administration, Washington, D.C. 20405. Since Federal Standard No. 515 was originally prescribed (30 FR. 8319, June 30, 1965), a number of detailed standards therein have been revised and new standards have been added. Where a standard has been revised the letter "a" appears in the number of the standard, e.g., 515/1a. The new detailed standards which have been added include Standards Nos. 515/18 through 515/26. In the introduction entitled Standard Safety Devices for Automotive Vehicles, paragraphs 83 has been revised. As amended Federal Standard No. 515 is composed of detailed standards which include:

"(1) No. 515/1a-Anchorages for Seat Belt Assemblies for Automotive Vehicles. "(2) No. 515/2a-Forward Compartment Energy Absorption for Automotive Vehicles. "(3) No. 515/3a-Recessed Instrument Panel Instruments and Control Devices for Automotive Vehicles.

"(4) No. 515/4a-Energy Absorbing Steering Control System for Automotive Vehicles. "(5) No. 515/5a-Safety Door Latches and Hinges for Automotive Vehicles.

"(6) No. 515/6a-Anchorage of Beats for Automotive Vehicles.

"(7) No. 515/7-Four Way Flasher for Automotive Vehicles.

"(8) No. 515/8-Safety Glazing Materials for Automotive Vehicles.

"(9) No. 515/9a-Hydraulic Service Brake Systems for Automotive Vehicles. "(10) No. 515/10 Standard Bumper Heights for Automotive Vehicles. "(11) No. 515/11-Standard Gear Quadrant (PRNDL) for Automotive Vehicles Equipped with Automatic Transmissions.

"(12) No. 515/12a-Windshield Wipers and Washers for Automotive Vehicles.

"(13) No. 515/13a-Glare Reduction Surfaces for Automotive Vehicles.

"(14) No. 515/148-Control of Air Pollution from Automotive Vehicles.

"(15) No. 515/15-Tires and Safety Rims for Automotive Vehicles.

"(16) No. 515/16-Backup Lights for Automotive Vehicles.

"(17) No. 515/17a-Rearview Mirror(s) for Automotive Vehicles.

“(18) No. 515/18-Window and Door Controls for Automotive Vehicles.

"(19) No. 515/19-Ash Trays and Lighters for Automotive Vehicles.

"(20) No. 515/20-Arm Rests for Automotive Vehicles.

"(21) No. 515/21-Padding for Automotive Seat Backs.

"(22) No. 515/22-Headrests for Automotive Vehicles.

"(23) No. 515/23-Side Marker Devices for Automotive Vehicles.

"(24) No. 515/24-Rear Window Defogger for Automotive Vehicles.

"(25) No. 515/25-Roll Bars for Automotive Vehicles.

"(26) No. 515/26 Fuel Tanks and Tank Filler Pipes for Automotive Vehicles.

(b) The Standard reads as follows: "[Federal Standard No. 515] "STANDARD SAFETY DEVICES FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

[ocr errors]

"S3. Safety devices. Safety devices shall be as specified in the detailed standards (see 84). Publications referenced in the detailed standards form a part of this standard, as applicable. The publications referred to are the issues in effect on the date of the publication of this standard in the FEDERAL REGISTER; in the case of changes in Federal Standard No. 515, reference to publications therein are to the issues in effect on the date of the publication of the respective changes in the FEDERAL REGISTER.

"NOTE: Copies of ASTM Standards may be obtained from the American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103.

"NOTE: Copies of SAE publications may be obtained from the Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc., 485 Lexington Aevnue, New York, N.Y. 10017.

44

"[Federal Standard No. 515/1a] "ANCHORAGES FOR SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES FOR AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES

"81. Purpose and scope. This standard establishes the requirements and test procedures for anchorages for seat belt assemblies for automotive vehicles. This standard does not cover seat belt assemblies.

"82. Application. This standard applies to sedans, station wagons, carryalls, buses (designated as school buses), and to light trucks up to 10,000 pounds G.V.W. Excluded are stand-up, walk-in package delivery vehicles with tilt type drivers' seats. Excluded are folding jump seats that are folded directly

behind the front seat.

"S3. Standard characteristics. "S3.1 Definitions.

"S3.1.1 Anchorages. A seat belt anchorage shall consist of a threaded hole, an eyebolt, or other suitable means of attachment and shall be situated in a suitable structure to receive the seat belt attachments fittings. "S3.1.2 Attachment fittings. Attachment fittings are the parts necessary to attach the seat belt assembly to the vehicle structure.

"S3.1.3 Seat belt assembly. A seat belt assembly is any strap, webbing, or similar device designed to secure a person in an automotive vehicle with the intention of mitigating the results of a traffic accident, including all buckles or other fasteners, and all hardware designed for installing the asThe seat sembly in an automotive vehicle.

the anchorages specified hereinafter are described in Fed. Spec. JJ-B-185 and Standards for Seat Belts for Use in Motor Vehicles, 80 F.R. 8432 (July 1, 1965); 15 CFR.

A

"S3.1.3.1 Type 1 seat belt assembly. type 1 seat belt assembly is a lap belt for pelvic restraint.

A

A

"S3.1.3.2 Type 2 seat belt assembly. type 2 seat belt assembly is a combination of pelvic and upper torso restraints. "S3.1.3.3 Type 2a seat belt assembly. type 2a seat belt assembly is a shoulder belt for upper torso restraint for use only in conjunction with a type 1 lap belt.

"S3.2 Anchorages. The SAE Recommended Practice for Motor Vehicle Seat Belt Anchorage, J787, forms a basis, in part, for this Federal Standard.

"S3.2.1 General. ages are furnished, they shall conform to the When eyebolt anchorapplicable requirements of Fed. Spec. JJ-A530. All threads shall be in accordance with Bureau of Standards Handbook the applicable requirements of the National H28. The mined with the seat in its rearmost limit of location of the anchorages shall be detertravel.

assemblies and lap portion of types 2 and 2a "83.2.1.1 Anchorages for type 1 seat belt seat belt assemblies. Anchorages for type 1 seat belt assemblies or the lap belt portion be provided for three sets of seat belts for of types 2 and 2a seat belt assemblies shall all bench type seats designed to accommodate three persons. The location of anchorages for type 1 seat belt assemblies or the lap portion of type 2 seat belt assemblies shall be such that a line from the anchorage to the passengers' 'hip' point will make an angle from the horizontal as near as practicable to 45 degrees, as shown in figures 1, 2, and 3. [Not shown in RECORD.] The hip point is the point on the manikin defined as the 'H' point in SAE Standard, Manikins for Use in Defining Vehicle Seating Accommodations, J826. The location of the hip point shall be determined by following the procedures in SAE J826. Anchorages for belts that will be installed over the seat bottom frame rear bar shall be rearward of a vertical line through the point where the belt will enter the seat, as shown in figure 4. [Not shown in RECORD.] All anchorages shall be spaced laterally so that the lap portion of the belt essentially forms a U-shaped loop when in use. The same anchorage shall not be used for both ends of a single type 1 seat belt assembly or the lap portion of a single type 2 seat belt assembly. Type 1 seat belt assemblies used in school buses shall utilize the seat for the anchorage attachment points and shall comply with the above, where applicable. Common anchorages may be used for one end of each of two assemblies provided strength requirements are in accordance with S3.2.2.

"S3.2.1.2 Anchorages for types 2 and 2a seat belt assemblies. Except for buses and vinyl or canvas top or bolted-on metal enclosure vehicles and utility vehicles of the three-wheel type, automotive vehicles covered by this standard shall be provided with anchorages for a type 2 or 2a seat belt asbelt assemblies intended for installation in Bembly for at least each outboard front seat

occupant of carryalls and light trucks. Front and rear seat anchorages shall be provided for each outboard occupant of sedans and station wagons (forward facing seats only) for which the vehicle is designed. For buses, only the drivers' seat need be provided with anchorages for types 2 and 2a seat belt assemblies. At least three anchorages shall be provided for each type 2 or 2a seat belt assembly; two anchorages for the lap portion of a type 2 seat belt assembly and at least one anchorage for the upper torso or shoulder portion of a type 2 or 2a seat belt assembly. The upper end of the upper torso or shoulder portion of the type 2 or 2a seat belt assembly may be fastened to either the seat, side anchorage, rear anchorage, roof or floor provided that the seat or other structure over which the belt passes or to which it is fastened has been designed or reinforced to withstand the resulting load. The lower end may be fastened either to the lap portion of the belt or to the existing inboard anchorage for the lap portion of the seat belt assembly.

"S3.2.1.3 Anchorages for the upper torso or shoulder portion of seat belt assemblies. Anchorages for the upper torso or shoulder portion of a type 2 or 2a seat belt assembly shall be provided for at least each outboard front seat occupant of carryalls and light trucks, and both front and rear outboard occupants of sedans and station wagons (front facing seats only) for which the vehicle is designed. With the seat in the rearmost limit of travel and the seat back in the nominal design position, these anchorages shall be longitudinally in line with or rear ward of the torso line of the SAE 3-dimensional manikin described in the SAE Standard 'Manikins for Use in Deaning Vehicle Seating Accommodations,' SAE J826. If there is a downward angle of the belt passing from the point of tangency on the shoulder of the SAE manikin to an anchorage or over suitable structure to an anchorage, this angle shall not be more than 40 degrees from the horizontal.

"S3.2.2 Strength. The vehicle structure (excluding school buses) shall sustain the simultaneous pull on each seat of seat belt assemblies for each passenger for which the seat is designed. Permanent deformation of any anchorage or surrounding area is acceptable provided there is no rupture or breakage and the anchorage does not pull loose. Each school bus seat may be tested independently, but must sustain established forces for all attached anchorages. The upper end anchorage for upper torso types 2 and 2a belts may be tested independently provided the anchorages are located in structural members in which no lap belt anchorages are located.

of 3,000 pounds. Common anchorages for one end of a center lap belt and either the inboard end of a type 1 seat belt or the lap belt portion of a type 2 seat belt and the inboard end of an upper torso or shoulder restraint shall sustain a pull of 5,500 pounds. A common anchorage for the inboard ends of two outboard lap belts and inboard ends of the upper torso or shoulder restraint portion of the types 2 and 2a seat belt assemblies shall sustain a pull of 6,000 pounds.

"S3.2.2.2 Anchorages for type 1 seat belt assemblies. Anchorages for type 1 seat belt assemblies shall sustain a pull of 2,500 pounds for each lap belt end attached.

"S3.2.2.2.1 Anchorages for type 1 seat belt assemblies jor school buses. Anchorages for type 1 seat belt assemblies shall sustain a pull of 2,500 pounds for each lap belt end attached.

"S3.2.2.3 Anchorages for seat belt assemblies attached to the seat frame. The seat structure, the seat adjusters, if applicable, and the attachments, shall sustain the load specified in $3.2.2.1, S3.2.2.2, and S32.2.2.1, as applicable, for each seat belt end attached to the seat plus the seat inertia force. The seat inertia force shall be 20 times the seat weight. Floor and seat deformation is acceptable provided there is no structural failure or release of the seat adjuster mechanism.

"S3.2.3 Test procedure. The strength test shall be conducted either with the connection from the body block to the anchorages made in a manner in which the belts are installed or a suitable equivalent method. The load shall be applied to the body block at an angle of 10 degrees plus or minum 5 degrees from the horizontal. As applicable, the doors of the vehicle may be closed during the test.

"83.2.3.1 Test for types 2 and 2a seat belt anchorages. The loads specified in S3.2.2.1 shall be applied using either a body block set up similar to that shown in figure 5 [not shown in RECORD] or a suitable equivalent method. The strength test shall be conducted with the seat in place in the vehicle.

"S3.2.3.2 Test for type 1 seat belt anchorages. The load specified in S3.2.2.2 or $3.2.2.2.1, as applicable, shall be applied using either a body block similar to that shown in figure 6 [not shown in the RECORD] or 8 suitable equivalent method. The strength test shall be conducted either with the seat in place in the vehicle or with the seat installed on an applicable vehice floor pan.

"[Federal Standard No. 515/28] "FORWARD COMPARTMENT ENERGY ABSORPTION

FOR AUTOMOBILE VEHICLES "S1. Purpose and scope. This standard establishes requirements and test procedures "S3.2.2.1 Anchorages for types 2 and 2a seat for forward compartment energy absorption belt assemblies. The outboard anchorage for for automotive vehicles. The forward comthe lap belt portion of a type 2 seat belt partment includes the areas of the instruassembly shall sustain a pull of 2,500 pounds. ment panel, sun visors, header, corner A Outboard anchorages for the upper torso or pillars, and under the instrument panel with 14224 shoulder restraint portion of type 2 or 28 construction designed to afford a reasonable seat belts shall sustain a pull of 1,500 pounds degree of protection for the front seat occufor each anchorage. Common anchorages for pants wearing type 1 seat belt assemblies. the inboard ends of. types 1 and 2a seat belt "S2. Application. This standard applies to combination or the inboard anchorage of a sedans, carryalls, station wagons, and to light type 2 seat belt assembly shall sustain a pull trucks up to 10,000 pounds G.V.W.

« PreviousContinue »