These test requirements would include the same basic tests and options as specified for 3-year old child dummies, except that 6-year-old child dummies would be used in place of 3-year old child dummies. The agency believes it is necessary to specify requirements for 6-year-old child dummies as well as 3-year-old child dummies because a device that worked for one might not work for the other. For example, an automatic suppression feature that suppressed air bag deployment in the presence of a 3-year-old child dummy, based on information about size and/or weight, might not suppress air bag deployment in the presence of the larger, heavier 6-year-old child dummy.
The agency notes that, with respect to requirements for an air bag suppression feature (weight or size sensor) that suppresses the air bag when a child is present, some of the positions specified for the 3-year-old child dummy would not apply to the 6-year-old child dummy. This is because the 6-year-old child dummy is too large to be placed in those positions.
NHTSA is proposing to specify use of the Hybrid III 6-year-old child dummy. The Society of Automotive Engineers has guided the development of this dummy, and recently completed that work. Therefore, the motor vehicle industry is familiar with this dummy. The agency published an NPRM in the Federal Register (63 FR 35171) to add the Hybrid III 6-year-old child dummy to Part 572 on June 29, 1998.
