Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Transition |
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Gregory G. Nadeau
Federal Highway Administration
May 19, 2015
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 96 (Tuesday, May 19, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28761-28762]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12021]
[[Page 28761]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. FHWA-2015-0008]
Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) Transition
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice; request for comment.
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SUMMARY: In issuing Federal-aid eligibility letters for roadside safety
hardware, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) currently makes
determinations of continued eligibility for modifications to devices
tested to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 350
(NCHRP 350). In an effort to facilitate the implementation of the
Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH), FHWA intends to
discontinue issuing eligibility letters for requests received after
December 31, 2015, for modified NCHRP 350-tested devices that do not
involve full scale crash testing to the MASH. Modifications to NCHRP
350-tested devices that have, in the past, been based on engineering
analysis or finite element modeling will no longer receive FHWA
eligibility letters. Effective January 1, 2016, all changes to NCHRP
350-tested devices will require testing under MASH in order to receive
a Federal-aid eligibility letter from FHWA.
DATES: Data and information must be submitted to FHWA on or before June
18, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver data and information to the U.S.
Department of Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room W12-
140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, or fax comments
to (202) 493-2251. Alternatively, you may submit or retrieve
information online through the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov. The Web site is available 24 hours each day, 365
days each year. Electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines
are available under the help section of the Web site. An electronic
copy of this document may also be downloaded from the Government
Printing Office's Web site at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov and the Office
of the Federal Register's Web site at: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register. Please note that the Federal eRulemaking portal is
unable to receive videos or any document larger than 10MB. If you would
like to submit a video or a document that is 10MB or larger, please
directly contact one of the individuals identified in this notice. All
data and information must include the docket number that appears in the
heading of this document. All data and information received will be
available for examination and copying at the above address from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Those
desiring notification of receipt of data and information must include a
self-addressed, stamped postcard or you may print the acknowledgment
page that appears after submitting comments electronically. Anyone is
able to search the electronic form of all information in any one of our
dockets by the name of the individual submitting the information (or
signing the information, if submitted on behalf of an association,
business, or labor union). The DOT solicits comments from the public to
better inform its activities. The DOT posts these comments, without
edit, including any personal information the commenter provides, to
www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/
ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Griffith, Office of Safety,
202-366-9469, mike.griffith@dot.gov, Federal Highway Administration,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. For legal questions,
please contact Jennifer Mayo, Assistant Chief Counsel, FHWA Office of
the Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1523, or via email at
jennifer.mayo@dot.gov, Federal Highway Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Guardrails, guardrail end terminals, and other roadside safety
hardware are tested to criteria established by the American Association
of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) through its
committee structure in which FHWA participates. The States are guided
by the AASHTO Roadside Design Guide (RDG) in their decisions regarding
what roadside safety hardware to install on their roadways. In order
for a State to receive FHWA reimbursement for roadside safety hardware,
the hardware must be crashworthy, meaning that it meets the testing and
evaluation guidelines in effect at the time that hardware was
developed.
Roadside safety hardware guidelines and testing criteria have
evolved over the last several decades with changes in the vehicle fleet
and the emergence of new hardware designs. From 1981 until 1993, NCHRP
230 guidelines were used. From 1993 until 2011, NCHRP 350 guidelines
were used. The MASH was published in 2009 and since January 1, 2011,
all new or significantly changed devices must meet the MASH criteria.
Not unlike other industries, each successive version of guidelines
is meant to encourage manufacturers to advance the state of roadside
safety hardware and to develop devices that work with a changing
vehicle fleet under a wider range of conditions. Because of the
extensive development and testing required, it typically takes many
years after roadside safety hardware guidelines are established for
products meeting those guidelines to be widely available on the market.
Accordingly, when AASHTO adopted MASH, it did not intend or require
that devices designed to meet previous criteria would need to be
retested to meet the newly developed criteria. Instead, a new
generation of devices would need to be developed to meet the newly
adopted criteria. In the six years since the MASH was published,
however, there have not been a significant number of MASH-tested
devices developed and brought to market. As a result and to encourage
the development and installation of MASH-compliant devices, FHWA and
AASHTO agree it is time to begin the transition to requiring that new
installations of roadway safety hardware comply with the MASH criteria.
Purpose of This Notice
The FHWA provides technical assistance to States by issuing
Federal-aid eligibility letters for devices deemed crashworthy. The
FHWA also makes determinations of continued eligibility for modified
devices that have existing eligibility letters. The purpose of this
notice is to seek the input of industry, State Departments of
Transportation, and the broader highway community on the impact of FHWA
no longer issuing eligibility letters after December 31, 2015, for
modified NCHRP 350-tested devices that do not involve full scale crash
testing to MASH. Modifications to NCHRP 350-tested devices that have,
in the past, been based on engineering analysis or finite element
modeling will no longer receive FHWA eligibility letters. Please
provide any information that FHWA should be aware of regarding impacts
of this change.
By taking this action, FHWA believes it will facilitate the
implementation of MASH. Later this year, AASHTO is expected to take
action regarding a schedule for requiring that new installations of
roadway safety hardware comply with the MASH criteria.
[[Page 28762]]
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 148 and 315.
Issued on: May 13, 2015.
Gregory G. Nadeau,
Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2015-12021 Filed 5-18-15; 8:45 am]
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