Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a safety rating program for child restraints to provide practicable, understandable, and timely information to parents and caretakers for use in making informed purchases of child restraints.
[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2070 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2070
To improve safety standards for child restraints in motor vehicles.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 10, 2000
Mr. Fitzgerald (for himself and Mrs. Lincoln) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve safety standards for child restraints in motor vehicles.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Child Passenger Protection Act of
2000''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) each day, an average of 7 children are killed and 866
injured in motor vehicle crashes;
(2) certain standards and testing procedures for child
restraints in the United States are not as rigorous as those in
some other countries;
(3) although the Federal Government establishes safety
standards for child restraints, the Federal Government--
(A) permits companies that manufacture child
restraints to conduct their own tests for compliance
with the safety standards and interpret the results of
those tests, but does not require that the
manufacturers make the results of the tests public;
(B) has not updated test standards for child
restraints--
(i) to reflect the modern designs of motor
vehicles in use as of the date of enactment of
this Act;
(ii) to take into account the effects of a
side-impact crash, a rear-impact crash, or a
rollover crash; and
(iii) to require the use of anthropomorphic
devices that accurately reflect the heights and
masses of children at ages other than newborn,
9 months, 3 years, and 6 years; and
(C) has not issued motor vehicle safety standards
that adequately protect children up to the age of 12
who weigh more than 50 pounds; and
(4) the Federal Government should update the test standards
for child restraints to reduce the number of children killed or
injured in automobile accidents in the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Child restraint.--The term ``child restraint'' has the
meaning given the term ``child restraint system'' in section
571.213 of title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect
on the date of enactment of this Act).
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Transportation.
SEC. 4. TESTING OF CHILD RESTRAINTS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall update and improve crash test
standards and conditions for child restraints.
(b) Elements for Consideration.--In carrying out subsection (a),
the Secretary shall consider--
(1) whether to conduct more comprehensive and dynamic
testing of child restraints than is typically conducted as of
the date of enactment of this Act, including the use of test
platforms designed--
(A) to simulate an array of accident conditions,
such as side-impact crashes, rear-impact crashes, and
rollover crashes; and
(B) to reflect the designs of passenger motor
vehicles in use as of the date of enactment of this
Act;
(2) whether to use an increased number of anthropomorphic
devices in a greater variety of heights and masses; and
(3) whether to provide improved protection in motor vehicle
accidents for children up to 59.2 inches tall who weigh more
than 50 pounds.
(c) Required Elements.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Secretary shall--
(1) require that manufacturers design child restraints to
minimize head injuries during side-impact and rollover crashes,
including requiring that child restraints have side-impact
protection;
(2) include a child restraint in each vehicle crash-tested
under the New Car Assessment Program of the Department of
Transportation; and
(3) prescribe readily understandable text for any labels
that are required to be placed on child restraints.
(d) Funding.--For each fiscal year, of the funds made available to
the Secretary for activities relating to safety, not less than $750,000
shall be made available to carry out crash testing of child restraints.
SEC. 5. CHILD RESTRAINT SAFETY RATING PROGRAM.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall develop and implement a safety rating program for child
restraints to provide practicable, readily understandable, and timely
information to parents and caretakers for use in making informed
decisions in the purchase of child restraints.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S626-627)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. (text of measure as introduced: CR S627)
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
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