Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations; Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Speed Limiting Devices

Raymond R. Posten
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
7 November 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 215 (Monday, November 7, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 78103-78104]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-26816]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0087]
RIN 2127-AK92

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 393

[Docket No. FMCSA-2014-0083]
RIN 2126-AB63


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Federal Motor Carrier 
Safety Regulations; Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; 
Speed Limiting Devices

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), Department of 
Transportation.

ACTION: Extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: NHTSA and FMCSA have received requests to extend the comment 
period for their proposal that would require vehicles with a gross 
vehicle weight rating of more than 11,793.4 kilograms (26,000 pounds) 
to be equipped with a speed limiting device and that such device be 
maintained for the service life of the vehicle. In the proposal, NHTSA 
and FMCSA established a deadline for the submission of written comments 
of November 7, 2016. The Agencies have also received a letter opposing 
any extension of the comment period. To ensure that all interested 
parties have a sufficient amount of time to fully develop their 
comments, the Agencies are extending the deadline for the submission of 
written comments on the proposal, including comments on the Preliminary 
Regulatory Impact Analysis and Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
and Draft Environmental Assessment accompanying the proposal, by 30 
days.

DATES: Written comments must be received by December 7, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by one or both of the 
docket numbers in the heading of this document, by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern 
Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the discussion 
under the Public Participation heading of the September 7, 2016 notice 
of proposed rulemaking (81 FR 61942). Note that all comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided.
    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 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    NHTSA: For technical issues, you may contact Mr. Wayne McKenzie, 
Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, Telephone: (202) 366-4000. 
Facsimile: (202) 366-7002. For legal issues, you may contact Mr. David 
Jasinski, Office of Chief Counsel, Telephone (202) 366-2992. Facsimile: 
(202) 366-3820. You may send mail to these officials at: The National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Attention: NVS-010, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    FMCSA: For technical issues, you may contact Mr. Michael Huntley, 
Vehicle and Roadside Operations, Telephone (202) 366-5370. Facsimile: 
(202) 366-8842. For legal issues, you may contact Mr. Charles Medalen, 
Office of Chief Counsel, Telephone (202) 366-1354. Facsimile: (202) 
366-3602. You may send mail to these officials at: The Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Administration, Attention: MC-PSV, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 7, 2016, NHTSA and FMCSA 
published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing regulations 
that would require vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of more 
than 11,793.4 kilograms (26,000 pounds) to be equipped with a speed 
limiting device initially set to a speed no greater than a speed to be 
specified in a final rule and would require motor carriers operating 
such vehicles in interstate commerce to maintain functional speed 
limiting devices set to a speed no greater than a speed to be specified 
in the final rule for the service life of the vehicle.
    The American Trucking Associations (ATA) (with the support of the 
Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance), the EMA Truck & Engine 
Manufacturers Association (EMA) and the Owner Operator Independent 
Drivers Association (OOIDA) have requested that NHTSA and FMCSA extend 
the public comment period beyond the November 7, 2016 date specified in 
the NPRM. The ATA and EMA requested a 30-day extension. In support of 
its request, ATA states that the proposal differs significantly from 
its initial petition for rulemaking in a number of areas, and 
additional time is needed to confer with its membership on these 
issues. EMA states that at least 30 additional days is needed to more 
thoroughly analyze the issues in order to develop detailed and complete 
comments.
    The OOIDA requested a 60-day extension of the comment period. In 
support of its request, OOIDA states that it will take a considerable 
amount of time and resources to develop meaningful comments from its 
members, many of which are on the road and away from home upwards of 
250 days a year.
    NHTSA and FMCSA have also received a letter signed by a number of 
safety advocacy groups and individuals opposing any extension of the 
comment period. The letter states that in the 10 years since the 
petitions for rulemaking were initially filed, truck crashes and 
fatalities have increased at rates faster than overall crashes and 
fatalities, and that additional time for comment is not

[[Page 78104]]

necessary and would further delay issuance of a final rule implementing 
the proposal.
    In considering the requests to extend the public comment period and 
the letter opposing any extension, NHTSA and FMCSA weighed the 
complexity and importance of this rulemaking and the rationale provided 
in support of each position. We have determined that there is good 
cause to grant the requests to extend the comment period, and have 
decided to extend the comment period for an additional 30 days. The 
extension is in the public interest since it will provide the public 
additional time to prepare and submit useful technical information and 
comments that should benefit Agency decision-making in this rulemaking 
action. Accordingly, NHTSA and FMCSA will extend the period for the 
submission of written comments in this proceeding to December 7, 2016. 
In addition, NHTSA and FMCSA are extending the comment period for the 
Preliminary Regulatory Impact Analysis and Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis and the Draft Environmental Assessment, which have 
been placed in the rulemaking docket, until December 7, 2016 as 
well.\1\
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    \1\ A notice of availability of the Draft Environmental 
Assessment specifically seeking comment on the Draft Environmental 
Assessment was published in the Federal Register on September 29, 
2016. See 81 FR 67056.

    Issued pursuant to authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.81 and 1.95 
on: November 2, 2016.
Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration.
    Issued pursuant to authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.81 and 1.87.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy, Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2016-26816 Filed 11-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P