[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 5]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR571.203]

[Page 465]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
                            OF TRANSPORTATION
 
PART 571--FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS--Table of Contents
 
            Subpart B--Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards
 
Sec. 571.203  Standard No. 203; Impact protection for the driver from the steering control system.

    S1. Purpose and scope. This standard specifies requirements for 
steering control systems that will minimize chest, neck, and facial 
injuries to the driver as a result of impact.
    S2. Application. This standard applies to passenger cars and to 
multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses with a gross vehicle 
weight rating of 4,536 kg or less. However, it does not apply to 
vehicles that conform to the frontal barrier crash requirements (S5.1) 
of Standard No. 208 (49 CFR 571.208) by means of other than seat belt 
assemblies. It also does not apply to walk-in vans.
    S3. Definitions. Steering control system means the basic steering 
mechanism and its associated trim hardware, including any portion of a 
steering column assembly that provides energy absorption upon impact.
    S4. Requirements. Each passenger car and each multipurpose passenger 
vehicle, truck and bus with a gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kg or 
less manufactured on or after September 1, 1981 shall meet the 
requirements of S5.1 and S5.2.
    S5. Impact protection requirements.
    S5.1  Except as provided in this paragraph, the steering control 
system of any vehicle to which this standard applies shall be impacted 
in accordance with S5.1(a). However, the steering control system of any 
such vehicle manufactured on or before August 31, 1996, may be impacted 
in accordance with S5.1(b).
    (a) When the steering control system is impacted by a body block in 
accordance with SAE Recommended Practice J944 JUN80 Steering Control 
System--Passenger Car--Laboratory Test Procedure, at a relative velocity 
of 24 km/h, the impact force developed on the chest of the body block 
transmitted to the steering control system shall not exceed 11,120 N, 
except for intervals whose cumulative duration is not more than 3 
milliseconds.
    (b) When the steering control system is impacted in accordance with 
Society of Automotive Engineers Recommended Practice J944, ``Steering 
Wheel Assembly Laboratory Test Procedure,'' December 1965, or an 
approved equivalent, at a relative velocity of 24 km/h, the impact force 
developed on the chest of the body block transmitted to the steering 
control system shall not exceed 11,120 N, except for intervals whose 
cumulative duration is not more than 3 milliseconds.
    S5.2  The steering control system shall be so constructed that no 
components or attachments, including horn actuating mechanisms and trim 
hardware, can catch the driver's clothing or jewelry during normal 
driving maneuvers.
    Note: The term jewelry refers to watches, rings, and bracelets 
without loosely attached or dangling members.

[36 FR 22902, Dec. 2, 1971, as amended at 44 FR 68475, Nov. 29, 1979; 47 
FR 47842, Oct. 28, 1982; 58 FR 26527, May 4, 1993; 58 FR 63304, Dec. 1, 
1993; 63 FR 28935, May 27, 1998; 63 FR 51003, Sept. 24, 1998]