Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application for an Exemption From Volvo/Prevost LLC

Topics:  Volvo/Prevost

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
December 18, 2013

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76702-76704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-30078]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2013-0386]


Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application 
for an Exemption From Volvo/Prevost LLC

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 
requests public comment on an application for exemption from Volvo/
Prevost LLC (Volvo/Prevost) to allow the placement of a lane departure 
warning (LDW) system at the bottom of the windshield on its 
motorcoaches within the swept area of the windshield wipers. The 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) currently require 
antennas, transponders, and similar devices to be located not more than 
6 inches below the upper edge of the windshield, outside the area swept 
by the windshield wipers, and outside the driver's sight lines to the 
road and highway signs and signals. Volvo/Prevost intends to install 
these devices as original equipment on its motorcoaches. Volvo/Prevost 
believes this mounting position will maintain a level of safety that is 
equivalent to or greater than the level of safety achieved without the 
exemption.

[[Page 76703]]


DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 17, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Federal Docket 
Management System Number FMCSA-2013-XXX by any of the following 
methods:
     Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket 
site. Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 
DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room W12-140, DOT Building, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number for this notice. For detailed instructions on submitting 
comments and additional information on the exemption process, see the 
``Public Participation'' heading below. Note that all comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided. Please see the ``Privacy Act'' 
heading for further information.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or to Room W12-140, 
DOT Building, New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 
5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Privacy Act: Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all 
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19476) or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov.
    Public participation: The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 
generally available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can get 
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the 
``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov Web site and also at 
the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you want to be 
notified you that we received your comments, please include a self-
addressed, stamped envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgement 
page that appears after submitting comments online.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brian J. Routhier, Vehicle and 
Roadside Operations Division, Office of Carrier, Driver, and Vehicle 
Safety, MC-PSV, (202) 366-1225, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
(TEA-21) [Pub. L. 105-178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 107, 401] amended 49 
U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from 
the FMCSRs. On August 20, 2004, FMCSA published a final rule 
implementing section 4007 (69 FR 51589). Under this rule, FMCSA must 
publish a notice of each exemption request in the Federal Register (49 
CFR 381.315(a)). The Agency must provide the public with an opportunity 
to inspect the information relevant to the application, including any 
safety analyses that have been conducted. The Agency must also provide 
an opportunity for public comment on the request.
    The Agency reviews the safety analyses and the public comments and 
determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a level 
of safety equivalent to or greater than the level that would be 
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of 
the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR 
381.315(b)). If the Agency denies the request, it must state the reason 
for doing so. If the decision is to grant the exemption, the notice 
must specify the person or class of persons receiving the exemption and 
the regulatory provision or provisions from which an exemption is 
granted. The notice must also specify the effective period of the 
exemption (up to 2 years) and explain the terms and conditions of the 
exemption. The exemption may be renewed [49 CFR 381.315(c) and 49 CFR 
381.300(b)].

Volvo/Prevost's Application for Exemption

    Volvo/Prevost applied for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.60(e)(1) to 
allow the installation of a LDW system on motorcoaches purchased by its 
customers. A copy of the application is included in the docket 
referenced at the beginning of this notice.
    Section 393.60(e)(1) of the FMCSRs prohibits the obstruction of the 
driver's field of view by devices mounted at the top of the windshield. 
Antennas, transponders and similar devices must not be mounted more 
than 152 mm (6 inches) below the upper edge of the windshield. These 
devices must be located outside the area swept by the windshield wipers 
and outside the driver's sight lines to the road and highway signs and 
signals.
    In its application, Volvo/Prevost stated:

    Volvo/Prevost is making this request so it is possible to 
introduce a Lane Departure Warning system in line with [the] NHTSA 
Bus Safety plan as it already did for several other safety features. 
The camera must be installed in the wiper swept area of [the] 
windshield for the system to perform correctly because it must have 
a clear forward facing view of the road. On a today's typical coach 
the lower part of the windshield is outside the driver's sight lines 
to the road and highway signs and signals which is different from a 
truck. Therefore, we request the installation of the camera on the 
lower part of the windshield within the bottom 7 inches of the wiper 
swept area.

In addition, Volvo/Prevost noted that without the proposed temporary 
exemption, it will not be able to deploy the lane departure warning 
system in motorcoaches because (1) its customers will be fined for 
violating the current regulation, (2) the lane departure warning system 
will not perform adequately and will not bring the safety benefits 
expected, and (3) the camera would be more in the field of view of the 
driver. Volvo/Prevost states that if the exemption is granted, it 
``will be able to install the LDW camera system in a location which 
will offer the best opportunity to optimize the data and evaluate the 
benefits of such a system.''

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests 
public comment from all interested persons on Volvo/Prevost's 
application for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.60(e)(1). All comments 
received before the close of business on the comment closing date 
indicated at the beginning of this notice will be considered and will 
be available for examination in the docket at the location listed under 
the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Comments received after the 
comment closing date will be filed in the public docket and will be 
considered to the extent practicable. In addition to late comments, 
FMCSA will also continue to file, in the public docket, relevant 
information that becomes available after the comment closing date. 
Interested persons should continue to examine the public docket for new 
material.


[[Page 76704]]


    Issued on: December 11, 2013.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-30078 Filed 12-17-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P