FMVSS Child Occupant Protection Regulations

The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) include a number of different regulations that are applicable to child occupants. Some of the FMVSS, such as those covering child restraint systems (FMVSS 213) and occupant protection (FMVSS 208), have provisions specifically targeted to children and have been analyzed in the literature. Other FMVSS may not mention children but address aspects of vehicle safety that are relevant to child occupants. This paper examines the full range of occupant-related regulations in the context of how each one affects children. Topics include the use of anthropometric data to analyze restraint regulations (FMVSS 213), a comparison of general seating strength (FMVSS 207) against school bus seating strength (FMVSS 222), and interior trunk releases (FMVSS 401). This paper highlights a number of child occupant safety issues that have been addressed by the FMVSS, as well as others that either already are or will likely be the focus of future rules.