Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Side Impact Protection; Anthropomorphic Test Devices; ES-2re Side Impact Crash Test Dummy, 2105-2108 [05-548]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2005 / Proposed Rules
Following a review and evaluation of
public comments, EPA will finalize the
proposed baseline compliance decision
for the Hanford CCP. EPA will notify
DOE of our final decision via letter and
post the final decision on our Web site.
Dated: January 4, 2005.
Jeffrey R. Holmstead,
Assistant Administrator for Air and
Radiation.
[FR Doc. 05–618 Filed 1–11–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration
49 CFR Parts 229 and 238
[Docket No. FRA–2004–17645, Notice No.
2]
RIN 2130–AB23
Locomotive Crashworthiness
Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM); extension of comment period.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: On November 2, 2004, FRA
published a Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal
Register (69 FR 63890) proposing to
establish comprehensive, minimum
standards for locomotive
crashworthiness. In that NPRM, FRA
established a January 3, 2005 deadline
for submission of written comments.
FRA has received a request to extend
the comment period to give interested
parties additional time to review,
analyze, and submit comments on the
NPRM. After considering this request,
FRA has decided to extend the comment
period until February 3, 2005. This
notice announces the extension of the
comment period.
DATES: Written Comments: Comments
must be received by February 3, 2005.
Comments received after that date will
be considered to the extent possible
without incurring additional expense or
delay.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by DOT DMS Docket Number
FRA–2004–17645 by any of the
following methods:
• Web site: https://dms.dot.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting
comments to the DOT electronic docket
Web site.
• Fax: Comments may be faxed to the
following number: 1–202–493–2251.
• Mail: Comments may be mailed to
the Docket Management Facility at the
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17:43 Jan 11, 2005
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U.S. Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building,
Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590–
001.
• Hand Delivery: Hand deliver
comments to Room PL–401 on the plaza
level of the Nassif Building, which is
located at 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name and docket
name and docket number or Regulatory
Identification Number (RIN) for this
rulemaking. Note that all comments
received will be posted without change
to https://dms.dot.gov, including any
personal information provided.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room
PL–401 on the plaza level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,
Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
John
Punwani, Office of Research and
Development, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue,
NW., Mail Stop 20, Washington, DC
20590 (telephone: (202) 493–6369);
Charles L. Bielitz, Mechanical Engineer,
Office of Safety Assurance and
Compliance, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue,
NW., Mail Stop 25, Washington, DC
20590 (telephone: (202) 493–6314); or
Darrell L. Tardiff, Trial Attorney, Office
of Chief Counsel, Federal Railroad
Administration, 1120 Vermont Avenue,
NW., Mail Stop 10, Washington, DC
20590 (telephone: (202) 493–6038).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 5,
2005.
Robert D. Jamison,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 05–570 Filed 1–11–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–06–P
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
49 CFR Parts 571, 572 and 598
[Docket No. NHTSA–2004–17694; NHTSA–
2004–18864]
RIN 2127–AJ10; 2127–AI89
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards; Side Impact Protection;
Anthropomorphic Test Devices; ES–
2re Side Impact Crash Test Dummy
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Reopening of comment periods;
request for comment on addendum to
initial regulatory flexibility analysis.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This document reopens the
comment period on a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) to amend Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
No. 214, ‘‘Side Impact Protection,’’ to
add a dynamic pole test to the standard,
and on an NPRM on adding
specifications and qualification
requirements for a new mid-size adult
male crash test dummy for use in the
pole test. The agency is taking this
action in response to a petition from the
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
requesting additional time to submit
comments. The agency is reopening the
comment period for 90 days. This
document also informs readers that the
agency will be placing in the docket an
addendum to an initial regulatory
flexibility analysis (IRFA) relating to the
proposed addition of the dynamic pole
test to FMVSS No. 214. Comments are
requested on the addendum.
DATES: Comments to docket numbers
NHTSA–2004–17694 published May 17,
2004 (69 FR 27990), and NHTSA–2004–
18864 published September 15, 2004
(69 FR 55550), and on the addendum to
the IRFA (Docket No. 17694), must be
received by April 12, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
(identified by the DOT DMS Docket
Number) by any of the following
methods:
Web Site: https://dms.dot.gov. Follow
the instructions for submitting
comments on the DOT electronic docket
site.
Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility;
U.S. Department of Transportation, 400
Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building,
Room PL–401, Washington, DC 20590–
001. Hand Delivery: Room PL–401 on
the plaza level of the Nassif Building,
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 12, 2005 / Proposed Rules
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the agency name and docket
number or Regulatory Identification
Number (RIN) for the rulemaking to
which you are commenting. For detailed
instructions on submitting comments
and additional information on the
rulemaking process, see the Public
Participation heading of the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
this document. Note that all comments
received will be posted without change
to https://dms.dot.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please
see the Privacy Act discussion under the
Public Participation heading.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room
PL–401 on the plaza level of the Nassif
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal Holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
William Fan, NHTSA Office of
Crashworthiness Standards (202) 366–
4922), or Deirdre Fujita, NHTSA Office
of Chief Counsel (telephone (202) 366–
2992; fax (202) 366–3820). Both of these
officials may be reached at 400 Seventh
St., SW., Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In May
2004, NHTSA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking that proposed to
upgrade FMVSS No. 214, ‘‘Side Impact
Protection,’’ by requiring that all
passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle
weight rating of 4,536 kilograms (10,000
pounds) or less protect front seat
occupants against head, thoracic,
abdominal and pelvic injuries in a
vehicle-to-pole test simulating a vehicle
crashing sideways into narrow fixed
objects like telephone poles and trees
(69 FR 27990, May 17, 2004; Docket
2004–17694). The NPRM proposed that
compliance with the pole test would be
determined in tests using a new,
second-generation test dummy
representing mid-size adult males (the
‘‘ES–2re’’ crash test dummy) and a new
test dummy representing small adult
females (the ‘‘SID–IIsFRG’’ test dummy).
The NPRM also proposed using the new
dummies in the standard’s existing
vehicle-to-vehicle test that uses a
moving deformable barrier (MDB) to
simulate a moving vehicle being struck
in the side by another moving vehicle.
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NHTSA provided a 150-day comment
period for the proposal, which closed
October 14, 2004.
Publication of NPRMs to add
specifications and qualification
requirements for the ES–2re and SID–
IIsFRG crash test dummies to 49 CFR
Part 572 (NHTSA’s regulation on
anthropomorphic test devices) followed
the FMVSS No. 214 proposal. A
proposal for the ES–2re was published
September 15, 2004 (69 FR 55550;
Docket No. 18864). The comment period
for that NPRM closed November 15,
2004. An NPRM proposing
specifications and qualification
requirements for the SID–IIsFRG test
dummy was published on December 8,
2004 (69 FR 70947; Docket No. 18865).
A 90-day comment period was
provided.
Petition
The Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers (Alliance) petitioned the
agency to re-open the comment period
for the FMVSS No. 214 NPRM for at
least an additional eight months. The
Alliance believed that the ES–2re and
SID–IIsFRG test dummies were not
available in sufficient quantities for
member companies to assess the
proposed pole test procedures. The
Alliance indicated that dummy
manufacturers were not able to supply
the test dummies in response to
manufacturers’ demand. The petitioner
stated that eight months is needed to
provide sufficient time for Alliance
members to complete dummy
component tests (the petitioner
estimated that three to four months is
needed for this); to undertake vehicle
tests (the petitioner suggested this
would take another three to four
months); and to analyze data and draft
their comments (petitioner stated those
steps would take another one to two
months).
The Alliance also petitioned to extend
the comment period for the ES–2re
NPRM for eight months. The petitioner
stated that it needs the time to facilitate
a comprehensive technical evaluation of
the dummy and perform fleet testing,
and that the eight months would align
the comment closing date with that
requested by the Alliance for the
FMVSS No. 214 NPRM. The petitioner
believed that the 150-day comment
period provided for the May 2004
FMVSS No. 214 NPRM contrasts with a
nine-month comment period that
NHTSA provided in 1988 when the
agency proposed to adopt the MDB test
into FMVSS No. 214.
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Agency Decision
The agency is reopening the comment
periods for the FMVSS No. 214 and the
ES–2re NPRMs for 90 days. The 90 day
period coincides with the comment
period that the agency has provided for
the SID–IIsFRG NPRM. We note that the
ES–2re and SID–IIsFRG dummies were
available following publication of the
FMVSS No. 214 NPRM in May 2004 and
that the 150 day comment period
provided ample time for manufacturers
to obtain and begin evaluating the test
dummies and to perform fleet
assessments. However, vehicle
manufacturers did not know the
calibration procedures and values that
the agency was considering for the
dummies’ performance requirements
until publication of the Part 572 NPRMs
in September (ES–2re) and December
2004 (SID–IIsFRG). Reopening the
comment period gives manufacturers
time to assess the dummies’
performance and to conduct fleet testing
using the calibrated dummies.
NHTSA believes that a 90 day
extension is sufficient and that
providing 8 months is unwarranted. The
Alliance stated that manufacturers need
three to four months to do ‘‘component
testing’’ of the dummies. We believe
that component testing can be done in
a matter of days or weeks rather than
months. Also, calibration procedures
were published for the ES–2re dummy
in September and for the SID–IIsFRG in
early December. We also estimate that
six weeks is sufficient for conducting
vehicle tests and for evaluating the data,
based on the agency’s experience with
testing vehicles under NHTSA’s
consumer information New Car
Assessment Program (NCAP). We
further estimate that drafting and
submitting comments on this priority
rulemaking can be done in less than a
month. All told, this period amounts to
not more than 3 months. A longer
period would unnecessarily delay key
decisions by NHTSA about the FMVSS
No. 214 rulemaking and would delay
the potential societal benefits associated
with a final rule.
It is noted that the 90 day period does
not even include the period that has
passed since the closing dates of the
comment periods for the FMVSS No.
214 and ES–2re NPRMs (October 14,
2004 and November 15, 2005,
respectively). From those dates until
today, manufacturers could have been
and presumably were working on
dummy and vehicle assessment. Thus,
as a practicable matter, more than 90
days has been provided. It is further
noted that the agency will consider late
comments to the extent possible.
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The 8-month period that the Alliance
requested is too long. The petitioner has
not explained how the manufacturers
have been using the 150 day comment
period of the FMVSS No. 214 NPRM to
respond to the proposal. Information
obtained by NHTSA from the two
dummy manufacturers indicate that
they were able to fill orders of the SID–
IIsFRG and ES–2re dummies and of the
conversion kits (converting a SID–IIs to
the SID–IIsFRG by the addition of the
floating rib guide modifications and an
ES–2 to an ES–2re by addition of the rib
extensions) within a reasonable time.
One manufacturer shipped full
dummies or conversion kits within nine
days on the average from receipt of
order, while the other needed less than
8 weeks for full dummies and 4 weeks
for kits. The agency is not convinced
that a good faith effort to obtain the test
dummies went unheeded by the dummy
manufacturers.
We further disagree with the
petitioner’s view that an 8 month
extension is supported by the agency’s
decision in 1988 to provide a 9 month
comment period for the NPRM on the
MDB test. The comment period for that
rulemaking was extraordinarily long
because it was the first time that a full
scale dynamic impact test had been
proposed for FMVSS No. 214. In
contrast, a pole test with an
instrumented dummy, substantially
similar to the test proposed in the May
2004 NPRM, is already an option being
used in FMVSS No. 201, ‘‘Occupant
protection in interior impact,’’ and
manufacturers are thus familiar with the
protocol. Also, the deformable barrier
was a new test device with its own
properties, and was much more
complex than the rigid pole used in the
pole test. In addition, there were three
new test dummies under consideration
in the MDB rulemaking to represent a
50th percentile adult male: General
Motors supported the BioSID; the
European community supported the
EuroSID; and NHTSA supported the
SID. The three dummies had different
characteristics and new injury criteria,
each of which had to be individually
considered. In contrast, the May 2004
NPRM only proposes the ES–2re as the
50th percentile male test dummy used
in the NPRM. Not only is this the sole
test dummy proposed as the
representative device for the mid-size
male, all vehicle manufacturers were
familiar with the dummy through use of
the ES–2 in vehicle development and
NCAP-type programs in Europe, Japan
and Australia. In light of these facts,
reopening the comment period for an
additional 8 months is unwarranted.
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Accordingly, the public comment
closing dates for DOT Docket Nos.
17694 and 18864 are reopened for 90
days as indicated in the DATES section
of this document.
Addendum to Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis
NHTSA is preparing an addendum to
the initial regulatory flexibility analysis
(IRFA) that was contained in the
Preliminary Economic Assessment
(PEA) for the May 17, 2004 NPRM on
FMVSS No. 214. The addendum will be
placed in Docket No. 17694. (The PEA
is the first entry in Docket No. 17694).
The addendum to the IRFA discusses
the economic impacts on small vehicle
manufacturers, of which there are four.
Comments are requested on the
addendum to the IRFA. Comments
should be submitted to Docket. No.
17694 within the comment period
reopened by today’s Federal Register
document.
Public Participation
How Do I Prepare and Submit
Comments?
Your comments must be written and
in English. To ensure that your
comments are correctly filed in the
Docket, please include the appropriate
docket number in your comments.
Your comments must not be more
than 15 pages long. (49 CFR 553.21).
NHTSA established this limit to
encourage you to write your primary
comments in a concise fashion.
However, you may attach necessary
additional documents to your
comments. There is no limit on the
length of the attachments.
Please submit two copies of your
comments, including the attachments,
to Docket Management at the address
given above under ADDRESSES.
You may also submit your comments
to the docket electronically by logging
onto the Dockets Management System
website at https://dms.dot.gov. Click on
‘‘Help & Information’’ or ‘‘Help/Info’’ to
obtain instructions for filing the
document electronically.
How Can I Be Sure That My Comments
Were Received?
If you wish Docket Management to
notify you upon its receipt of your
comments, enclose a self-addressed,
stamped postcard in the envelope
containing your comments. Upon
receiving your comments, Docket
Management will return the postcard by
mail.
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How Do I Submit Confidential Business
Information?
If you wish to submit any information
under a claim of confidentiality, you
should submit three copies of your
complete submission, including the
information you claim to be confidential
business information, to the Chief
Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given
above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. In addition, you should
submit two copies, from which you
have deleted the claimed confidential
business information, to Docket
Management at the address given above
under ADDRESSES. When you send a
comment containing information
claimed to be confidential business
information, you should include a cover
letter setting forth the information
specified in our confidential business
information regulation. (49 CFR Part
512.)
Will the Agency Consider Late
Comments?
NHTSA will consider all comments
that Docket Management receives before
the close of business on the comment
closing date indicated above under
DATES. To the extent possible, the
agency will also consider comments that
Docket Management receives after that
date. If Docket Management receives a
comment too late for the agency to
consider it in developing a final rule
(assuming that one is issued), the
agency will consider that comment as
an informal suggestion for future
rulemaking action.
How Can I Read the Comments
Submitted by Other People?
You may read the comments received
by Docket Management at the address
given above under ADDRESSES. The
hours of the Docket are indicated above
in the same location.
You may also see the comments on
the Internet. To read the comments on
the Internet, take the following steps:
1. Go to the Docket Management
System (DMS) Web page of the
Department of Transportation (https://
dms.dot.gov/).
2. On that page, click on ‘‘search.’’
3. On the next page (https://
dms.dot.gov/search/), type in the fivedigit docket number shown at the
beginning of this document. Example: If
the docket number were ‘‘NHTSA–
2004–12345,’’ you would type ‘‘12345.’’
After typing the docket number, click on
‘‘search.’’
4. On the next page, which contains
docket summary information for the
docket you selected, click on the desired
comments. You may download the
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comments. Although the comments are
imaged documents, instead of word
processing documents, the ‘‘pdf’’
versions of the documents are word
searchable.
Please note that even after the
comment closing date, NHTSA will
continue to file relevant information in
the Docket as it becomes available.
Further, some people may submit late
comments. Accordingly, the agency
recommends that you periodically
check the Docket for new material.
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 https://dms.dot.gov.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115,
30117 and 30166; delegation of authority at
49 CFR 1.50.
Issued on January 5, 2005.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 05–548 Filed 1–11–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–U
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
50 CFR Part 648
[I.D. 122304D]
RIN 0648–AN25
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the
Northeastern United States; Monkfish
Fishery; Amendment 2 to the Monkfish
Fishery Management Plan; Correction
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
AGENCY:
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Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request
for comments; correction.
SUMMARY: On January 3, 2005, NMFS
published a notification that the New
England Fishery Management Council
and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council have submitted
Amendment 2 to the Monkfish Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment
2) incorporating the draft Final
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (FSEIS), Regulatory Impact
Review (RIR), and the Initial Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), for
Secretarial review and requested
comments from the public. Amendment
2 was developed to address essential
fish habitat and bycatch issues, and to
revise the FMP to address several issues
raised during the public scoping
process. In the January 3, 2005,
notification, NMFS inadvertently
referred to this action as a proposed
interim rule. This document corrects
that error.
DATES: Comments on Amendment 2 to
the Monkfish FMP must be received on
or before March 3, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Allison R. Ferreira, Fishery Policy
Analyst, phone: (978) 281–9103; fax:
(978) 281–9135; e-mail:
allison.ferreira@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An NOA
for Amendment 2 to the Monkfish FMP
was published in the Federal Register
on January 3, 2005 (70 FR 68), with
public comment accepted through
March 3, 2005. Public comments are
being solicited on Amendment 2 and its
incorporated documents through the
end of the comment period on the NOA
(i.e., March 3, 2005). A proposed rule
that would implement Amendment 2
may be published in the Federal
Register for public comment, following
NMFS’s evaluation of the proposed rule
under the procedures of the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens
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Act). All comments received by March
3, 2005, whether specifically directed to
Amendment 2 or the proposed rule, will
be considered in the approval/
disapproval decision on the
amendment. To be considered,
comments must be received by close of
business on March 3, 2005; that does
not mean postmarked or otherwise
transmitted by that date.
NMFS in the ADDRESSES section of the
January 3rd publication inadvertently
referred to the amendment as a
‘‘proposed interim rule.’’ However,
because a proposed rule may be
published in the near future following
NMFS’s evaluation of the proposed rule
under the procedures of the MagnusonStevens Act, NMFS is correcting the
NOA Federal Register publication to
identify clearly that the January 3, 2005,
publication is requesting public
comments on the Amendment 2
document along with the FSEIS, RIR,
and IRFA.
Therefore, in the NOA for
Amendment 2 to the Monkfish FMP
published on January 3, 2005, which
was the subject of FR Doc 04–28738, in
the second line of the ADDRESSES section
in the first column on page 68, the
words ‘‘proposed interim rule’’ are
removed and in their place the words
‘‘proposed amendment’’ are added.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
Dated: January 5, 2005.
Alan D. Risenhoover,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 05–625 Filed 1–11–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 12, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 2105-2108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-548]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Parts 571, 572 and 598
[Docket No. NHTSA-2004-17694; NHTSA-2004-18864]
RIN 2127-AJ10; 2127-AI89
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Side Impact Protection;
Anthropomorphic Test Devices; ES-2re Side Impact Crash Test Dummy
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Reopening of comment periods; request for comment on addendum
to initial regulatory flexibility analysis.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This document reopens the comment period on a notice of
proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 214, ``Side Impact Protection,'' to add a dynamic
pole test to the standard, and on an NPRM on adding specifications and
qualification requirements for a new mid-size adult male crash test
dummy for use in the pole test. The agency is taking this action in
response to a petition from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
requesting additional time to submit comments. The agency is reopening
the comment period for 90 days. This document also informs readers that
the agency will be placing in the docket an addendum to an initial
regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) relating to the proposed
addition of the dynamic pole test to FMVSS No. 214. Comments are
requested on the addendum.
DATES: Comments to docket numbers NHTSA-2004-17694 published May 17,
2004 (69 FR 27990), and NHTSA-2004-18864 published September 15, 2004
(69 FR 55550), and on the addendum to the IRFA (Docket No. 17694), must
be received by April 12, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by the DOT DMS Docket
Number) by any of the following methods:
Web Site: https://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401,
Washington, DC 20590-001. Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level
of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,
[[Page 2106]]
DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal
Holidays.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number or Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) for the
rulemaking to which you are commenting. For detailed instructions on
submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking
process, see the Public Participation heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document. Note that all comments received
will be posted without change to https://dms.dot.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act discussion
under the Public Participation heading.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW,
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except Federal Holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. William Fan, NHTSA Office of
Crashworthiness Standards (202) 366-4922), or Deirdre Fujita, NHTSA
Office of Chief Counsel (telephone (202) 366-2992; fax (202) 366-3820).
Both of these officials may be reached at 400 Seventh St., SW.,
Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In May 2004, NHTSA published a notice of
proposed rulemaking that proposed to upgrade FMVSS No. 214, ``Side
Impact Protection,'' by requiring that all passenger vehicles with a
gross vehicle weight rating of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less
protect front seat occupants against head, thoracic, abdominal and
pelvic injuries in a vehicle-to-pole test simulating a vehicle crashing
sideways into narrow fixed objects like telephone poles and trees (69
FR 27990, May 17, 2004; Docket 2004-17694). The NPRM proposed that
compliance with the pole test would be determined in tests using a new,
second-generation test dummy representing mid-size adult males (the
``ES-2re'' crash test dummy) and a new test dummy representing small
adult females (the ``SID-IIsFRG'' test dummy). The NPRM also proposed
using the new dummies in the standard's existing vehicle-to-vehicle
test that uses a moving deformable barrier (MDB) to simulate a moving
vehicle being struck in the side by another moving vehicle. NHTSA
provided a 150-day comment period for the proposal, which closed
October 14, 2004.
Publication of NPRMs to add specifications and qualification
requirements for the ES-2re and SID-IIsFRG crash test dummies to 49 CFR
Part 572 (NHTSA's regulation on anthropomorphic test devices) followed
the FMVSS No. 214 proposal. A proposal for the ES-2re was published
September 15, 2004 (69 FR 55550; Docket No. 18864). The comment period
for that NPRM closed November 15, 2004. An NPRM proposing
specifications and qualification requirements for the SID-IIsFRG test
dummy was published on December 8, 2004 (69 FR 70947; Docket No.
18865). A 90-day comment period was provided.
Petition
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (Alliance) petitioned the
agency to re-open the comment period for the FMVSS No. 214 NPRM for at
least an additional eight months. The Alliance believed that the ES-2re
and SID-IIsFRG test dummies were not available in sufficient quantities
for member companies to assess the proposed pole test procedures. The
Alliance indicated that dummy manufacturers were not able to supply the
test dummies in response to manufacturers' demand. The petitioner
stated that eight months is needed to provide sufficient time for
Alliance members to complete dummy component tests (the petitioner
estimated that three to four months is needed for this); to undertake
vehicle tests (the petitioner suggested this would take another three
to four months); and to analyze data and draft their comments
(petitioner stated those steps would take another one to two months).
The Alliance also petitioned to extend the comment period for the
ES-2re NPRM for eight months. The petitioner stated that it needs the
time to facilitate a comprehensive technical evaluation of the dummy
and perform fleet testing, and that the eight months would align the
comment closing date with that requested by the Alliance for the FMVSS
No. 214 NPRM. The petitioner believed that the 150-day comment period
provided for the May 2004 FMVSS No. 214 NPRM contrasts with a nine-
month comment period that NHTSA provided in 1988 when the agency
proposed to adopt the MDB test into FMVSS No. 214.
Agency Decision
The agency is reopening the comment periods for the FMVSS No. 214
and the ES-2re NPRMs for 90 days. The 90 day period coincides with the
comment period that the agency has provided for the SID-IIsFRG NPRM. We
note that the ES-2re and SID-IIsFRG dummies were available following
publication of the FMVSS No. 214 NPRM in May 2004 and that the 150 day
comment period provided ample time for manufacturers to obtain and
begin evaluating the test dummies and to perform fleet assessments.
However, vehicle manufacturers did not know the calibration procedures
and values that the agency was considering for the dummies' performance
requirements until publication of the Part 572 NPRMs in September (ES-
2re) and December 2004 (SID-IIsFRG). Reopening the comment period gives
manufacturers time to assess the dummies' performance and to conduct
fleet testing using the calibrated dummies.
NHTSA believes that a 90 day extension is sufficient and that
providing 8 months is unwarranted. The Alliance stated that
manufacturers need three to four months to do ``component testing'' of
the dummies. We believe that component testing can be done in a matter
of days or weeks rather than months. Also, calibration procedures were
published for the ES-2re dummy in September and for the SID-IIsFRG in
early December. We also estimate that six weeks is sufficient for
conducting vehicle tests and for evaluating the data, based on the
agency's experience with testing vehicles under NHTSA's consumer
information New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). We further estimate that
drafting and submitting comments on this priority rulemaking can be
done in less than a month. All told, this period amounts to not more
than 3 months. A longer period would unnecessarily delay key decisions
by NHTSA about the FMVSS No. 214 rulemaking and would delay the
potential societal benefits associated with a final rule.
It is noted that the 90 day period does not even include the period
that has passed since the closing dates of the comment periods for the
FMVSS No. 214 and ES-2re NPRMs (October 14, 2004 and November 15, 2005,
respectively). From those dates until today, manufacturers could have
been and presumably were working on dummy and vehicle assessment. Thus,
as a practicable matter, more than 90 days has been provided. It is
further noted that the agency will consider late comments to the extent
possible.
[[Page 2107]]
The 8-month period that the Alliance requested is too long. The
petitioner has not explained how the manufacturers have been using the
150 day comment period of the FMVSS No. 214 NPRM to respond to the
proposal. Information obtained by NHTSA from the two dummy
manufacturers indicate that they were able to fill orders of the SID-
IIsFRG and ES-2re dummies and of the conversion kits (converting a SID-
IIs to the SID-IIsFRG by the addition of the floating rib guide
modifications and an ES-2 to an ES-2re by addition of the rib
extensions) within a reasonable time. One manufacturer shipped full
dummies or conversion kits within nine days on the average from receipt
of order, while the other needed less than 8 weeks for full dummies and
4 weeks for kits. The agency is not convinced that a good faith effort
to obtain the test dummies went unheeded by the dummy manufacturers.
We further disagree with the petitioner's view that an 8 month
extension is supported by the agency's decision in 1988 to provide a 9
month comment period for the NPRM on the MDB test. The comment period
for that rulemaking was extraordinarily long because it was the first
time that a full scale dynamic impact test had been proposed for FMVSS
No. 214. In contrast, a pole test with an instrumented dummy,
substantially similar to the test proposed in the May 2004 NPRM, is
already an option being used in FMVSS No. 201, ``Occupant protection in
interior impact,'' and manufacturers are thus familiar with the
protocol. Also, the deformable barrier was a new test device with its
own properties, and was much more complex than the rigid pole used in
the pole test. In addition, there were three new test dummies under
consideration in the MDB rulemaking to represent a 50th percentile
adult male: General Motors supported the BioSID; the European community
supported the EuroSID; and NHTSA supported the SID. The three dummies
had different characteristics and new injury criteria, each of which
had to be individually considered. In contrast, the May 2004 NPRM only
proposes the ES-2re as the 50th percentile male test dummy used in the
NPRM. Not only is this the sole test dummy proposed as the
representative device for the mid-size male, all vehicle manufacturers
were familiar with the dummy through use of the ES-2 in vehicle
development and NCAP-type programs in Europe, Japan and Australia. In
light of these facts, reopening the comment period for an additional 8
months is unwarranted.
Accordingly, the public comment closing dates for DOT Docket Nos.
17694 and 18864 are reopened for 90 days as indicated in the DATES
section of this document.
Addendum to Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
NHTSA is preparing an addendum to the initial regulatory
flexibility analysis (IRFA) that was contained in the Preliminary
Economic Assessment (PEA) for the May 17, 2004 NPRM on FMVSS No. 214.
The addendum will be placed in Docket No. 17694. (The PEA is the first
entry in Docket No. 17694). The addendum to the IRFA discusses the
economic impacts on small vehicle manufacturers, of which there are
four. Comments are requested on the addendum to the IRFA. Comments
should be submitted to Docket. No. 17694 within the comment period
reopened by today's Federal Register document.
Public Participation
How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?
Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the
appropriate docket number in your comments.
Your comments must not be more than 15 pages long. (49 CFR 553.21).
NHTSA established this limit to encourage you to write your primary
comments in a concise fashion. However, you may attach necessary
additional documents to your comments. There is no limit on the length
of the attachments.
Please submit two copies of your comments, including the
attachments, to Docket Management at the address given above under
ADDRESSES.
You may also submit your comments to the docket electronically by
logging onto the Dockets Management System website at https://
dms.dot.gov. Click on ``Help & Information'' or ``Help/Info'' to obtain
instructions for filing the document electronically.
How Can I Be Sure That My Comments Were Received?
If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket
Management will return the postcard by mail.
How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?
If you wish to submit any information under a claim of
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential
business information, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given
above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. In addition, you should
submit two copies, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential
business information, to Docket Management at the address given above
under ADDRESSES. When you send a comment containing information claimed
to be confidential business information, you should include a cover
letter setting forth the information specified in our confidential
business information regulation. (49 CFR Part 512.)
Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?
NHTSA will consider all comments that Docket Management receives
before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated
above under DATES. To the extent possible, the agency will also
consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date. If
Docket Management receives a comment too late for the agency to
consider it in developing a final rule (assuming that one is issued),
the agency will consider that comment as an informal suggestion for
future rulemaking action.
How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?
You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the Docket are
indicated above in the same location.
You may also see the comments on the Internet. To read the comments
on the Internet, take the following steps:
1. Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the
Department of Transportation (https://dms.dot.gov/).
2. On that page, click on ``search.''
3. On the next page (https://dms.dot.gov/search/), type in the five-
digit docket number shown at the beginning of this document. Example:
If the docket number were ``NHTSA-2004-12345,'' you would type
``12345.'' After typing the docket number, click on ``search.''
4. On the next page, which contains docket summary information for
the docket you selected, click on the desired comments. You may
download the
[[Page 2108]]
comments. Although the comments are imaged documents, instead of word
processing documents, the ``pdf'' versions of the documents are word
searchable.
Please note that even after the comment closing date, NHTSA will
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly,
the agency recommends that you periodically check the Docket for new
material.
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
https://dms.dot.gov.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117 and 30166;
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.
Issued on January 5, 2005.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 05-548 Filed 1-11-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-U
