Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Side Impact Protection Light Trucks, Buses and Multipurpose Passenger Vehicles

Résumé

This document denies a petition from Toyota Motor Corporate Services of North America (``Toyota'') for reconsideration of the agency's final rule that extended Safety Standard 214's dynamic side impact testing requirements to light trucks, multipurpose passenger vehicles and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 6,000 (lb) or less. Toyota requested that instead of using GVWR as the attribute for identifying vehicles to be excluded from the new requirements, NHTSA should exclude vehicles based on the height of their seating reference point. The agency is denying the petition because NHTSA believes Toyota's approach would exclude some vehicles that are and should remain subject to the dynamic side impact requirements.