Notice of Date for Submission of Requests for Confidential Treatment of Certain Early Warning Reporting Data
This notice establishes a submission date for those manufacturers that choose to submit requests for confidential treatment of Early Warning Reporting data on incidents involving a death or an injury, property damage claims or light vehicle production to send the requests to NHTSA's Chief Counsel.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Rearview Mirrors
In response to a petition for rulemaking, in 2005 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 111, ``Rearview Mirrors'' to require straight trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of between 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) and 11,793 kilograms (26,000 pounds) to be equipped with a system capable of providing drivers with a view of objects directly behind the vehicle. More refined data generated since the 2005 NPRM shows that the sub-population of mid-sized trucks accounts for only four of the estimated 183 fatalities per year due to back-over accidents. In addition, the recently signed Cameron Gulbranson Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 \1\ (K.T. Safety Act of 2007) requires NHTSA to revise the Federal standard for rearward visibility, specifically to reduce backing crashes involving children and disabled people. Considering these developments, the agency believes it more appropriate to address backing safety of straight trucks as part of the comprehensive effort to address backing safety generally, and that solutions should be formulated after the completion and review of ongoing research and data gathering on backing safety. We are therefore withdrawing this rulemaking at this time.
Petition for Exemption From the Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard; Mazda
This document grants in full the petition of Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) in accordance with Sec. 543.9(c)(2) of 49 CFR part 543, Exemption From the Theft Prevention Standard, for the Mazda Tribute vehicle line beginning with model year (MY) 2010. This petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the Theft Prevention Standard.
Preliminary Theft Data; Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard
This document requests comments on data about passenger motor vehicle thefts that occurred in calendar year (CY) 2006 including theft rates for existing passenger motor vehicle lines manufactured in model year (MY) 2006. The preliminary theft data indicate that the vehicle theft rate for CY/MY 2006 vehicles (2.08 thefts per thousand vehicles) increased by 12.4 percent from the theft rate for CY/MY 2005 vehicles (1.85 thefts per thousand vehicles). Publication of these data fulfills NHTSA's statutory obligation to periodically obtain accurate and timely theft data, and publish the information for review and comment.
Consumer Information; New Car Assessment Program
On January 25, 2007, NHTSA published a notice announcing a public hearing and requesting comments on an agency report titled, ``The New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) Suggested Approaches for Future Program Enhancements.'' This notice summarizes the comments received and provides the agency's decision on how it will improve the NCAP ratings program. For model year (MY) 2010, the agency will make changes to its existing front and side crash rating programs. For the frontal crash test program, NHTSA will maintain the 35 mph (56 kmph) full frontal barrier test protocol but will update the test dummies and associated injury criteria used to assess and assign a vehicle's frontal impact star rating. For side impact, NHTSA will maintain the current moving deformable barrier test at 38.5 mph (63 kmph) but will update that test to include new side impact test dummies and new injury criteria that are used to assign a vehicle's side impact star rating. Additionally, vehicles will also be assessed using a new pole test and a small female crash test dummy. For rollover, the agency will continue to rate vehicles for rollover propensity, but will wait to update its rollover risk model to allow for more real-world crash data of vehicles equipped with electronic stability control. Also for MY 2010, the agency will implement a new ratings program that will rate vehicles on the presence of select advanced technologies and establish a new overall Vehicle Safety Score that will combine the star ratings from the front, side, and rollover programs. Finally, for the agency's vehicle labeling program, we are announcing that the side score, rather than being based only on the moving deformable barrier test, will be based on the combination of the moving deformable barrier test and the pole test. Additionally, the agency will initiate rulemaking to include the new overall crashworthiness rating on the Monroney label.
Schedule of Fees Authorized by 49 U.S.C. 30141 Offer of Cash Deposits or Obligations of the United States in Lieu of Sureties on DOT Conformance Bonds
This document amends NHTSA's regulations that prescribe fees authorized by 49 U.S.C. Sec. 30141 for various functions performed by the agency with respect to the importation of motor vehicles that are not originally manufactured to conform to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety and bumper standards. An importer must file with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) a Department of Transportation (DOT) conformance bond at the time that a nonconforming motor vehicle is offered for importation into the United States, or in lieu of such a bond, the importer may post cash deposits or obligations of the United States to ensure that the vehicle will be brought into conformance with all applicable standards within 120 days from the date of importation, or will be exported from, or abandoned to, the United States. To avoid the costs of a DOT conformance bond, some importers have attempted to post cash deposits, which would relieve the importers of the bonding costs, but cause the agency to expend considerable resources. The amendments adopted today establish a fee of $459.00 that will permit the government to recover all the direct and indirect costs incurred by the agency in processing cash deposits or obligations of the United States that are furnished in lieu of a DOT conformance bond.
Request for Public Comments on Guidance and Recommended Best Importer Practices To Enhance the Safety of Imported Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment
This notice solicits comments from the public, from importers and manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment, and from other interested parties concerning best practices to be followed by importers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to reduce the likelihood of importing products that contain defects related to motor vehicle safety or do not comply with applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Power-Operated Window, Partition, and Roof Panel Systems
This document responds to two petitions for reconsideration of a final rule amending the Federal motor vehicle safety standard for power-operated window, partition, and roof panel systems. The subject final rule, statutorily mandated and published in April 2006, established a new safety requirement for vehicle power window switches, specifically that such switches have a ``pull-to-close'' design. That final rule set a compliance date of October 1, 2008, which was the same as the compliance date for a rule published in September 2004 that amended the standard to include a performance test to prevent inadvertent actuation of power window switches, particularly by children. Petitions for reconsideration were submitted by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance) and DaimlerChrysler Corporation. The petitioners requested an extension of the compliance date by two years, as well as additional amendments to the standard. This document grants the requests common to both petitions for an additional two years to comply with the pull-to-close operability requirements of the April 2006 rule. It denies petitioners' other requests. Specifically, we are denying the request that power window switches be excluded from the ``pull-to-close'' design requirement if the power window systems are equipped with an automatic reversal feature. We are also denying a request for exclusion from the pull-to- close requirement for switches mounted in overhead locations and switches that operate vent-type power windows.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Windshield Zone Intrusion
This document proposes to rescind Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 219, ``Windshield zone intrusion.'' This proposed action results from NHTSA's periodic review of its regulations to determine whether a continuing safety need exists for the standard under review. NHTSA tentatively concludes that the windshield zone intrusion standard is no longer necessary because other FMVSSs are now in place to meet the safety need that the standard had addressed.
Reports, Forms and Record Keeping Requirements; Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on December 28, 2007 [72 FR 73972].
National EMS Advisory Council; Notice of Federal Advisory Committee Meeting
NHTSA announces a meeting of the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council (NEMSAC) to be held in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area. This notice announces the date, time and location of the meeting, which will be open to the public. The purpose of NEMSAC is to provide a nationally recognized council of emergency medical services representatives and consumers to provide advice and recommendations regarding EMS to the U.S. DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Notice of Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for New Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards; Notice of Public Hearing
NHTSA has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to disclose and analyze the potential environmental impacts of proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for model year (MY) 2011-2015 passenger cars and light trucks, which NHTSA recently proposed pursuant to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and a reasonable range of alternative standards. To inform decisionmakers and the public, the DEIS compares the potential environmental impacts of the proposed standards and alternative standards reflecting a full range of stringencies, and it analyzes direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts in proportion to their significance. The DEIS provides a detailed analysis of potential impacts on energy resources, air quality, and climate. The DEIS uses climate modeling and NHTSA's own computer model to provide quantitative estimates of potential impacts on air quality, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, global mean surface temperature, rainfall, and sea level rise. The DEIS provides a qualitative analysis of resources that may be impacted by changes in climate, such as freshwater resources, terrestrial ecosystems, coastal ecosystems, land use, human health, and environmental justice. It examines these impacts on the U.S. and on a global scale. In addition, the DEIS analyzes potential environmental impacts unrelated to climate change. NHTSA invites Federal, State, and local agencies, Indian tribes, and the public to submit written comments and participate in a public hearing on the DEIS using the instructions set forth in this notice. As described in the PROCEDURAL MATTERS section of this notice, each speaker should anticipate speaking for approximately ten minutes, although we may need to adjust the time for each speaker if there is a large turnout. To facilitate review of the DEIS, NHTSA has posted the DEIS on its Web site, and it will be available in the Docket identified by the docket number at the beginning of this notice.\1\ Copies in hard copy or electronic (CD-ROM) form have been mailed to all stakeholders on NHTSA's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) mailing list for the proposed CAFE standards, and NHTSA will mail a copy of the DEIS or a CD-ROM containing the Appendices to any other interested party who requests one. NHTSA will consider the public comments received on the DEIS in preparing final NEPA documents to support final CAFE standards for MY 2011-2015 passenger cars and light trucks, which NHTSA plans to issue later this year. The agency's NEPA analysis is informing NHTSA's development of those standards.