§30128 Vehicle Rollover Prevention and Crash Mitigation

Summary

The Secretary must start rulemaking to create safety rules that cut down on vehicle rollovers and reduce deaths and injuries for motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 10,000 pounds. One rulemaking must set performance goals to lower rollovers using stability-enhancing technology, with a proposed rule by October 1, 2006, and a final rule by April 1, 2009. Another must set standards to reduce full and partial ejections from outboard seats, considering ejection-mitigation systems, with a final rule no later than October 1, 2009. The Secretary must finish updating Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 206 (door locks and door retention) within 30 months after the date of enactment of this section. One rulemaking must update Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 216 (roof strength for driver and passenger sides); the Secretary may use dynamic tests that mimic rollover forces, with a proposed rule by December 31, 2005, and a final rule by July 1, 2008. If the Secretary cannot meet any deadline, they must tell the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, explain why, and set a new deadline.