Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation, Lamps and Reflective Devices; Application for an Exemption From STEMCO LP |
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Topics: Stemco
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Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
10 June 2016
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 112 (Friday, June 10, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37662-37664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13774]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA--2016-0167
Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation, Lamps and
Reflective Devices; Application for an Exemption From STEMCO LP
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: FMCSA requests public comment on an application for exemption
from STEMCO LP (STEMCO) to allow motor carriers to operate commercial
motor vehicles (CMVs) that are equipped with STEMCO's
TrailerTail[supreg] aerodynamic device with rear identification lamps
and rear clearance lamps that are mounted lower than currently
permitted by the Agency's regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations (FMCSRs) require rear identification lamps and rear
clearance lamps to be located ``as close as practicable to the top of
the vehicle.'' While the TrailerTail[supreg] aerodynamic device is
currently mounted slightly below the roof of the vehicle, STEMCO states
that this offset prevents the device from delivering the maximum
available fuel economy benefit as opposed to mounting it flush with the
top of the vehicle which may block the visibility of the rear
identification lamps and rear clearance lamps. STEMCO believes that
locating the rear identification lamps and rear clearance lamps lower
on the vehicle, on a horizontal plane with other required lamps (stop,
turn, and tail lamps) as is done on a flatbed trailer or an intermodal
chassis, will maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or
greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption.
STEMCO is requesting the temporary exemption in advance of petitioning
FMCSA to conduct a rulemaking to amend 49 CFR 393.11.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 11, 2016.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2016-0167 using 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-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, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. 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.
Public participation: The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is
generally available 24 hours each day,
[[Page 37663]]
365 days each year. You may find electronic submission and retrieval
help and guidelines under the ``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov Web site as well as the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you would like notification that we
received your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped
envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgment page that appears
after submitting comments online.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jose Cestero, Vehicle and Roadside
Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations,
MC-PSV, (202) 366-5541; 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 specify the effective
period of the exemption (up to 5 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)).
STEMCO Application for Exemption
STEMCO, on behalf of motor carriers utilizing its
TrailerTail[supreg] aerodynamic devices, applied for an exemption from
49 CFR 393.11 to allow rear identification lamps and rear clearance
lamps to be mounted lower than currently permitted by the Agency's
regulations. A copy of the application is included in the docket
referenced at the beginning of this notice.
Table 1 of Sec. 393.11, ``Required lamps and reflectors on
commercial motor vehicles,'' specifies the requirements for lamps,
reflective devices and associated equipment by the type of CMV. All
CMVs manufactured on or after December 25, 1968, must, at a minimum,
meet the applicable requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, ``Lamps, reflective devices, and associated
equipment,'' in effect at the time of manufacture of the vehicle. Rear
identification lamps must be mounted as close as practicable to the top
of the vehicle. One lamp must be as close as practicable to the
vertical centerline and one on each side of the center lamp with the
lamp centers spaced not less than 6 inches or more than 12 inches
apart, and all on the same level. One rear clearance lamp must be
located on each side of the vertical centerline of the vehicle to
indicate overall width, both of which must be on the same level and as
high as practicable.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department
of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) have jointly proposed a national program that would establish
the next phase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel efficiency
standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. This ``Phase 2 program''
would significantly reduce carbon emissions and improve the fuel
efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles, helping to address the challenges of
global climate change and energy security. In February 2015, STEMCO
purchased ATDynamics and its TrailerTail[supreg] product line, a
collapsible boat tail technology that improves the rear aerodynamic
shape of CMVs. STEMCO states that motor carriers are evaluating the
TrailerTail[supreg] rear aerodynamic device to help meet (1) the
proposed Phase 2 program standards, and (2) the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) Tractor-Trailer Greenhouse Gas Regulation for
dry van and refrigerated van type trailers that has been in effect
since 2010.
For newly manufactured trailers, STEMCO states that the
TrailerTail[supreg] top panel is mounted 1.5--3.5 inches below the roof
of the trailer in order to comply with the FMVSS No. 108 and FMCSR
mounting location requirements for rear identification and clearance
lamps. However, STEMCO states:
This inset creates an unaeordynamic gap as airflow transitions
from the trailer roof onto the TrailerTail panels and has prevented
TrailerTails from delivering the maximum available fuel economy
benefit. Wind tunnel flow visualization highlights the contrast in
airflow between flush and inset panels and our own internal testing
estimates an additional 0.14 delta CDA (measured drag
area) gain and 70 million gallons of annual diesel fuel savings can
be achieved simply by installing TrailerTails flush with the trailer
roof. In order to evaluate the actual performance of flush mounted
TrailerTail aerodynamic systems on actual fleet based fuel economy,
it is necessary to request relief from the location requirements for
upper identification lamps and rear clearance lamps on commercial
van trailers and box trucks. Additionally, these lower clearance and
identification lamp locations will pave the way for the commercial
launch of collapsible boat tails for roll door box trailers, where
the rear upper header is a critical mounting location of boat tail
components.
In support of its application, STEMCO states that ``The relocation
of the rear identification lamps and rear clearance lamps to a lower
location on the trailer or box truck are equivalent to the current
required lamp location on a flatbed trailer or intermodal chassis, so
no safety impact is anticipated.'' In addition, according to the
application:
STEMCO believes that there will be no safety impact from the
relocation of both the rear identification lamps and the rear
clearance lamps to a location on an approximate horizontal plane
with other rear lamps. NHTSA issued legal interpretations from 1968
until approximately 1999 to trailer manufacturers to allow the lower
mounting location for rear identification lamps and rear clearance
lamps when there was no ``practicable'' means of installing the
lamps ``as close as practicable to the top of the vehicle.'' NHTSA
subsequently issued an interpretative rule on April 5, 1999, 64 FR
16358, suggesting that trailer manufacturers could no longer mount
lamps at the lower location as narrow lamps were now readily
available, and NHTSA would no longer defer to a manufacturer's
subjective determination of practicability for locating lamps in the
rear upper header location on van trailers and box trucks. However,
NHTSA noted in that same Notice that they did not intend to bring
enforcement actions based on this interpretive rule immediately.
Subsequently, trailer manufacturers continued to manufacture van
trailers and box trucks with the rear identification lamps and rear
clearance lamps mounted lower on the vehicles on an approximate
horizontal plane with the other required lamps.''
STEMCO states that without the exemption, it will be unable to
verify fleet performance of a higher performance TrailerTail[supreg]
design that is expected to provide the maximum available fuel economy
benefit that may
[[Page 37664]]
be necessary in order to meet future fuel efficiency requirements.
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests
public comment from all interested persons on STEMCO's application for
an exemption from 49 CFR 393.11. 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 continue to file relevant
information in the public docket that becomes available after the
comment closing date. Interested persons should continue to examine the
public docket for new material.
Issued on: June 2, 2016.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-13774 Filed 6-9-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P