Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Grant of Exemption For HELP Inc. |
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T.F. Scott Darling, III
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
June 22, 2015
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 119 (Monday, June 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35697-35699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15159]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2013-0313]
Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Grant of
Exemption For HELP Inc.
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of final disposition.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
announces its decision to grant an exemption to HELP, Inc. that will
allow the placement of its transponder systems at the bottom of
windshields on commercial motor vehicles (CMVs). 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
[[Page 35698]]
driver's sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals. The
exemption will enable motor carriers to mount the HELP, Inc.
transponder systems lower in the windshield than is currently permitted
by the Agency's regulations in order to utilize a mounting location
that maximizes the device's ability to send and receive roadside data.
FMCSA believes that permitting the transponder systems to be mounted
lower than currently allowed, but still outside the driver's sight
lines to the road and highway signs and signals, will maintain a level
of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety
achieved without the exemption.
DATES: This exemption is effective from June 22, 2015 until June 22,
2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mr. Mike Huntley, Vehicle and
Roadside Operations Division, Office of Carrier, Driver, and Vehicle
Safety, MC-PSV, (202) 366-4325; 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. 401] amended 49
U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). On August 20,
2004, FMCSA published a final rule (69 FR 51589) implementing section
4007. 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)).
HELP, Inc. Application for Exemption
Help, Inc. applied for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.60(e)(1) to
allow the installation of transponders on its customers' CMVs in a
location that is lower than currently allowed under the regulation.
Section 393.60(e)(1) of the FMCSRs prohibits the obstruction of the
driver's field of view by devices mounted on 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, highway signs and signals.
In its application, Help, Inc. states:
Help, Inc. is making this request because we are coordinating device
development and installation of PrePass transponder in up to 430,000
commercial motor vehicles. The 5.9 and toll transponder equipment
installed is located at the bottom of the windshield, but within the
swept area of windshield because the safety equipment must have a
clear forward facing view of the road, and low enough to accurately
be read by roadside infrastructure . . . The restrictions on the
location of devices mounted in the windshield area significantly
degrade the ability to capture the proper viewing area in commercial
motor vehicles. A 5.9 and toll transponder which lacks an effective
view of the roadside infrastructure through the front windshield
will negatively impact the ability to send and receive roadside
data.
Help, Inc.'s preferred mounting location for the transponders is 2
inches right of the center of the windshield, and 2-3 inches above the
dashboard. Help, Inc. states that using this mounting location that is
lower in the windshield than currently permitted by the FMCSRs ``will
offer the best opportunity to optimize the data transmission and
evaluate the benefits of such a system'' while maximizing ``the
external view of the roadway.''
Comments
On July 31, 2013, FMCSA published notice of the application and
asked for public comment (78 FR 46406). The Agency received two
comments.
1. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (``Advocates'') provided
general comments stating that it ``supports the development and use of
technology and devices to improve safety and vehicle operation,'' but
noted that it ``is aware of several similar new and emerging
technologies, with applications for commercial motor vehicles, that
will likely come into conflict'' with the regulations in 49 CFR
393.60(e)(1) and (2) that limit the location of devices and decals in
the windshield of CMVs. As a result, Advocates concluded that
``Advances in technology may be such that the agency should reconsider
the limitations specified in section 393.60(e) and consider
establishing updated guidelines which will both permit the optimal
installation of beneficial safety devices while at the same time
limiting the proliferation and installation of multiple devices that
could interfere with a driver's view of the road, side and rearview
mirrors or, in some cases, interfere or distract the driver from the
driving task.''
Specifically with respect to Help, Inc.'s application, Advocates
recommended ``that the agency consider the positioning/size of the
device and its impact on the field of view afforded the driver in
making the determination to grant or deny this application exemption.''
FMCSA response: Enforcement personnel, motor carriers, regulators,
and manufacturers alike are increasingly faced with accommodating the
use of various technologies, designed to improve commercial motor
vehicle safety, which may impact the driver's field of view of the
roadway through the windshield wiper swept area. Examples include a
variety of electronic devices, window tint products, decorations,
decals and stickers, sun visors and window shades, and other devices
and products--all of which serve different purposes but can, in some
cases, diminish or block part of the driver's view.
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA), in cooperation with
FMCSA and other industry trade associations hosted a dialogue among
enforcement experts, industry representatives, and Federal regulators
to help improve the common understanding of the balance between the
benefits and the possible risks of using these technologies and
devices. The ``Technology Impacts on CMV Driver Direct Field of Vision
Symposium'' was held on April 22, 2013 in conjunction with the CVSA
Workshop in Louisville, KY. FMCSA may consider amendments to 49 CFR
393.60(e) in the future, and will certainly use the information
gathered at that symposium--in conjunction with all other available
information, research, and data--in the development of such possible
amendments.
While FMCSA acknowledges that Help, Inc. did not present specific
studies or data showing that safety will
[[Page 35699]]
not be degraded, the Agency believes that placement of the transponders
lower in the windshield than currently permitted will be outside the
drivers' sight lines, and therefore, will not have an adverse impact on
safety.
2. Mr. Paul Baute supported the application, but noted that ``the
exemption should not be necessary. FMCSA 393.60(e)(1) is in conflict
with FMCSA 393.60(e)(2) with locations of items such as transponders
and decals . . . FMCSR 393.60(e)(1) should be changed to allow the
transponders to be mounted on the bottom of the windshield.''
FMCSA response: The regulations at section 393.60(e)(1) and section
393.60(e)(2) do not conflict. Section 393.60(e)(1) defines the
dimensional limits at the top of the windshield in which ``antennas,
transponders, and similar devices'' can be mounted, whereas section
393.60(e)(2) defines the dimensional limits at the bottom of the
windshield for applying ``Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA)
inspection decals, and stickers and/or decals required under Federal or
State laws.'' Section 393.60(e)(2) does not currently allow other
devices, such as transponders, to be mounted in the area at the bottom
of the windshield, and any amendment to the regulation to allow such
devices to be mounted in this location would have to be made through a
notice-and-comment rulemaking.
Terms and Conditions for the Exemption
Based on its evaluation of the application for an exemption, FMCSA
grants Help, Inc.'s exemption application. The Agency believes that the
safety performance of motor carriers during the 2-year exemption period
will likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater
than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption because (1)
based on the technical information available, there is no indication
that the transponders would obstruct drivers' views of the roadway,
highway signs and surrounding traffic; (2) generally, trucks and buses
have an elevated seating position which greatly improves the forward
visual field of the driver, and any impairment of available sight lines
would be minimal; and (3) the location at the bottom of the windshield
but within the windshield wiper sweep, and out of the driver's
sightline is reasonable and enforceable at roadside. Without the
exemption, Help, Inc. would be unable to utilize a mounting location
that maximizes the device's ability to send and receive roadside data.
The Agency hereby grants the exemption for a two-year period,
beginning June 22, 2015 until June 22, 2017.
During the temporary exemption period, motor carriers using Help,
Inc. transponders must ensure that the devices are mounted 2 inches
right of the center of the windshield, and 2-3 inches above the
dashboard. If however, because of the design and mounting of the
windshield wipers on a particular CMV, use of the mounting location
identified above does not result in the transponder being located
within the swept area of the wipers, the transponder may be positioned
such that it is located (1) to the right of the center of the
windshield, and (2) as low as possible in the swept area of the wipers.
The FMCSA encourages any party having information that motor
carriers utilizing this exemption are not achieving the requisite level
of safety immediately to notify the Agency. If safety is being
compromised, or if the continuation of the exemption is not consistent
with 49 U.S.C. 31315(b) and 31136(e), FMCSA will take immediate steps
to revoke the exemption.
Preemption
In accordance with section 381.600 of the FMCSRs, during the period
the exemption is in effect, no State shall enforce any law or
regulation that conflicts with or is inconsistent with this exemption
with respect to a person operating under the exemption.
Issued on: June 3, 2015.
T.F. Scott Darling III,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-15159 Filed 6-19-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P