Wednesday,
April 16, 2003
NHTSA
11-03
Contact:
Tim Hurd
Telephone:
(202) 366-9550
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has made an Initial Decision that NexL
Sports Products’ “Beanie DOT Motorcycle Helmets” (model 02), made by NexL
Sports Products (NexL) of Watsonville, CA, do not comply with Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 218, “Motorcycle Helmets.”
The agency also announced that it has reason to believe that NexL has not
provided an adequate remedy for the noncompliance previously found to exist in
its model 01 helmets, which were recalled in 2002.
The
Initial Decision follows an investigation that began in June 2002 after
compliance testing at two laboratories revealed multiple failures of the NexL
model 02 helmets. These helmets did
not satisfy requirements for reducing
impact forces, resisting penetration, staying on during a crash, and proper
labeling. Other failures
occurred in testing conducted this year. NexL
has rejected the safety agency’s request to recall the model 02 helmets.
In March 2002, the company agreed to recall 17,483 model 01
helmets that failed to comply with FMVSS No. 218. NexL attempted to remedy more than 8,000 of those model 01
helmets by converting them to model 02 helmets. In addition, NexL has manufactured and sold over 27,000 model
02 helmets.
A
public meeting will be held at 10 a.m. May 14, 2003, in Room 6332 of the
USDOT’s Nassif Building at 400 Seventh St. SW, Washington, DC, at which
interested persons may present information and arguments on the issues of
whether the NexL model 02 helmets fail to comply with FMVSS No. 218 and whether
NexL failed to provide an adequate remedy in the earlier recall.
The
NHTSA Administrator will make the final decision on both issues.
Persons who wish to speak at the meeting must contact Tilda Proctor at
202-366-4759 before the close of business on May 7, 2003.
Persons who wish to file written comments should reference the
investigation file number (File No. CI-218-020612) and submit them to Tilda
Proctor in NHTSA Room 5321, 400 Seventh St. SW, Washington, DC 20590, preferably
before the meeting. However, the agency will accept written submissions until May
28, 2003. Documents from the investigation file may be viewed and written comments
also may be submitted electronically via the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov/,
docket number 14880.
The investigation file is available for public viewing on business days from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Technical Information Services (TIS) Reading Room, Room 5111 at NHTSA; written requests for copies may be submitted to TIS by fax (202-366-2833) or by email to tis@nhtsa.dot.gov.
Further information may be found on NHTSA’s web site: http://www.nhtsa.gov/.
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