Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Laydon Composites Ltd. Application for an Exemption

Topics:  Wabco

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
28 March 2019

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 60 (Thursday, March 28, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11858-11859]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05946]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2019-0070]


Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Laydon 
Composites Ltd. Application for an Exemption

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 Laydon Composites Ltd. (Laydon) to allow motor carriers to operate 
commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) that are equipped with Laydon's 
OptiTail\TM\ 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 OptiTail\TM\ aerodynamic device is currently mounted slightly below 
the roof of the vehicle, Laydon 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. Laydon 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.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 29, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2019-0070 using any of the 
following methods:
     Website: 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 website is 
generally available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You may find 
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the 
``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov website as well as 
the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov website. 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 Carrier, Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC-
PSV, (202) 366-5541, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Under Agency regulations, 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

[[Page 11859]]

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)).

Laydon Application for Exemption

    Laydon, on behalf of motor carriers utilizing its OptiTail\TM\ 
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.
    Laydon is wholly owned by WABCO Europe BVBA, with headquarters in 
Brussels, Belgium. Laydon and WABCO have developed a trailer 
collapsible boat tail technology which improves the overall tractor 
trailer aerodynamic efficiency. The OptiTail\TM\ systems, both the 
fully auto and manual versions, are currently installed to the rear 
doors of a CMV trailer such that the upper panels are below the 
trailer's identification and clearance lamps. Laydon notes that 
installing the upper panels below the identification lights--about 1.25 
to 3 inches below the trailer roof--is not the ideal aerodynamic 
condition, and that the upper panels could yield better aerodynamic 
flow characteristics if they were mounted flush with the trailer roof. 
However, mounting the upper panel of the OptiTail\TM\ system flush with 
the roof will block the full view of the trailer identification and 
clearance lights, in violation of section 393.11 of the FMCSRs.
    Laydon is requesting the exemption to allow trailers using its 
OptiTail\TM\ system to have the required identification and clearance 
lights mounted lower than currently permitted, and at the same required 
location for flatbed trailers and intermodal chassis. Laydon states 
that while it has conducted (1) computer simulation analysis, (2) 
scaled wind tunnel testing, and (3) full scale environmental testing of 
the flush roof mounted configuration, the temporary exemption is 
necessary to complete actual performance testing in full environmental 
conditions by various fleet operators located in multiple areas of the 
U.S. and with different standard travel routes.
    In its application, Laydon states:

    The safety impact of the proposed 49 CFR 393.11 exemption would 
be similar to existing CMVs already in operation, provided the 
relocation or addition of lower level identification and clearance 
lamps are installed on the CMV. Assuming additional lamps are 
installed lower on the trailer and just not relocated, the improved 
OptiTail\TM\, auto version (AutoTail), would still have the existing 
centerline identification lamp and both clearance lamps visible when 
the trailer is traveling at slow speeds. Our AutoTail is self-
deploying and self-retracting. The AutoTail will remain retracted 
until the tractor reaches a speed of approximately 40 mph and remain 
open until the tractor reduces speed to approximately 6 mph. The 
AutoTail will continue to remain closed as long as the trailer does 
not exceed 40 mph. As a result the current centerline identification 
and clearance lights would be visible when the tractor trailer is 
stopped at a traffic light or other slow speed road condition. We 
are not advocating that this is sufficient to allow the exemption 
without additional clearance and identification lamps installed 
lower on the trailer. All CMV trailers have conspicuity materials 
installed across the width of the trailer. These reflex reflectors 
will still be visible with the OptiTail\TM\ deployed or retracted. 
Both the two clearance and three identification lights should be 
relocated or additionally added to the approximate horizontal plane 
with other rear lamps. These are generally regarded as the brake and 
running lamps. This location is the same as found on some CMVs, such 
as flatbed trailers, with or without ``curtain sides'' and 
intermodal chassis trailers. Now is the time for all good men to 
come to the aid of their country.

    Laydon states that without the exemption, it will be unable to 
establish and verify the maximum fuel economy and environmental impacts 
of the OptiTail\TM\ system, which could have long term impacts on 
meeting future greenhouse gas or California Air Resources Board fuel 
economy requirements.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests 
public comment from all interested persons on Laydon'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 also continue to file, in the 
public docket, relevant information that becomes available after the 
comment closing date. Interested persons should continue to examine the 
public docket for new material.

    Issued on: March 20, 2019.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-05946 Filed 3-27-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P