Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Rear Impact Guards, Rear Impact Protection

Topics:  Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

David M. Hines
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
July 10, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 132 (Thursday, July 10, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39362-39363]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16018]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0080]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Rear Impact Guards, Rear 
Impact Protection

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Grant of petition for rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: By initiating rulemaking to consider enhancing related safety 
standards, this notice grants the part of the petition for rulemaking 
submitted by Ms. Marianne Karth and the Truck Safety Coalition 
(Petitioners) requesting that the agency improve the safety of rear 
impact (underride) guards on trailers and single unit trucks. Based on 
the petition, available information, and the agency's analysis in 
progress, NHTSA has decided that the Petitioners' request related to 
rear impact guards merits further consideration. Therefore, the agency 
grants the Petitioners' request to initiate rulemaking on rear impact 
guards. NHTSA is planning on issuing two separate notices--an advanced 
notice of proposed rulemaking pertaining to rear impact guards and 
other safety strategies for single unit trucks, and a notice of 
proposed rulemaking focusing on rear impact guards on trailers and 
semitrailers. NHTSA is still evaluating the Petitioners' request to 
improve side guards and front override guards and will issue a separate 
decision on those aspects of the petition at a later date.

DATES: The Petitioners' request to initiate rulemaking on rear impact 
guards on trailers and single unit trucks is granted on July 10, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    For non-legal issues: Mr. Robert Mazurowski, Office of 
Crashworthiness Standards, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590 (202-
366-1012). Mr. Mazurowski's fax number is: (202) 493-2990.
    For legal issues: Mr. Ryan Hagen, Office of the Chief Counsel, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue 
SE., Washington, DC 20590 (202-366-2992). Mr. Hagen's fax number is: 
(202) 366-3820.

Background and Summary of Petition

    On September 12, 2013, Ms. Karth and members of the Truck Safety 
Coalition (Petitioners) met with the Secretary of Transportation to 
discuss their petition for rulemaking on truck safety issues. The 
Petitioners requested a standard requiring improved underride guards be 
issued, and that the Department of Transportation begin studies and 
rulemakings for side guards and front override guards.
    In additional correspondence from the Petitioners to the Department 
of Transportation following the meeting, the Petitioners stated that if 
the Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs) for rear underride 
guards were amended to be equivalent to Canadian motor vehicle safety 
standards, injuries and fatalities could be avoided. Moreover, the 
Petitioners stated that all trucks and trailers should be required to 
be equipped with energy absorbing rear impact guards mounted 16 inches 
from the ground with vertical supports mounted 18 inches from the side 
edges.
    On May 5, 2014, the Petitioners presented the Secretary of 
Transportation with more than 11,000 identical petitions from members 
of the public, again requesting the initiation of a rulemaking on rear 
impact guards. In particular, the Petitioners requested that the 
Department adopt a requirement for improved rear impact guards and that 
the Department begin the process of improving side guards and front 
override guards.\1\
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    \1\ In their petition, the Petitioners also requested that the 
Department raise the minimum insurance liability limits that truck 
drivers are required to carry and take certain actions to improve 
enforcement of hours of service limits and reduce truck driver 
fatigue, both of which are actions under the jurisdiction of the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), not NHTSA. 
Consequently, these two requests are not addressed in this notice, 
which is not intended to either grant or deny the petitioners 
request on these two actions.
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    Documents exchanged between the Petitioners and NHTSA in regard to 
this petition can be found at http://www.regulations.gov by entering 
docket number NHTSA-2014-0063.

 Agency Analysis and Decision

    The aspects of the petition that fall within NHTSA's authority 
relate to U.S. rear impact guards, side guards, and front override 
guards.\2\ NHTSA is

[[Page 39363]]

granting the Petitioners' request with respect to rear impact guards 
and will initiate rulemakings on this issue. NHTSA is still evaluating 
the Petitioners' request to improve side guards and front override 
guards and will issue a separate decision on those aspects of the 
petitions at a later date.
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    \2\ We note that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and 
the National Transportation Safety Board requested some of the same 
amendments to rear impact guards as the Petitioners.
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    The standards for rear impact protection that NHTSA will consider 
in its rulemaking are FMVSS No. 223, Rear Impact Guards, and FMVSS No. 
224, Rear Impact Protection.\3\ FMVSS No. 223 specifies equipment 
requirements for rear impact guards for trailers and semitrailers. 
FMVSS No. 224 specifies requirements for the installation of rear 
impact guards for trailers and semitrailers.
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    \3\ 49 CFR 571.223; 571.224.
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    The major difference between the Canadian motor vehicle safety 
standard for rear impact protection (No. 223) on trailers and the 
relevant FMVSSs is that Canadian underride guards are required to meet 
higher strength and energy absorption requirements than U.S. underride 
guards.
    As part of its analysis of the petition, NHTSA reviewed recent 
research it conducted on rear impact protection and rear underride 
occurrences. Specifically, NHTSA considered a 2013 University of 
Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) report, a 2012 UMTRI 
report, a 2011 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report on rear 
impact protection, and a 2002 Transport Canada report. The data and 
analysis in these reports indicate that amending the FMVSSs pertaining 
to rear impact protection could potentially improve the safety of light 
duty vehicles underriding trailers in rear end crashes.
    As part of its rulemaking effort, NHTSA will take into account 
currently available data and seek additional information from the 
public, including Canadian officials. The agency plans to pursue 
rulemaking through two separate notices on distinct applications of 
rear impact protection. The first notice would be an advanced notice of 
proposed rulemaking pertaining to rear impact guards for single unit 
trucks and other safety strategies not currently applicable to single 
unit trucks. The second notice would be a notice of proposed rulemaking 
focusing on rear impact guards for trailers and semitrailers.
    The agency notes that its granting of the petition submitted by Ms. 
Karth and the Truck Safety Coalition does not prejudge the outcome of 
the rulemaking or necessarily mean that a final rule will be issued. 
The determination of whether to issue a rule will be made after study 
of the requested action and the various alternatives in the course of 
the rulemaking proceeding, in accordance with statutory criteria.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117 and 30162, 30166; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.95, 49 CFR Part 552.

David M. Hines,
Acting Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2014-16018 Filed 7-9-14; 8:45 am]
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