NHTSA Activities Under the United Nations World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations 1998 Global Agreement, 21507-21514 [2014-08532]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 2014 / Notices
Department of Transportation’s Docket
Operations Unit, West Building Ground
Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC.
Privacy Act: All comments will be
posted without change including any
personal information provided to the
FDMS at https://www.regulations.gov.
Anyone can search the electronic form
of all our dockets in FDMS, by the name
of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.). The
Department of Transportation’s (DOT)
complete Privacy Act Systems of
Records notice was published in the
Federal Register on April 11, 2000 (65
FR 19476), and can be viewed at
https://docketsinfo.dot.gov. Comments
received after the comment closing date
will be included in the docket, and we
will consider late comments to the
extent practicable.
Mr.
Gerald Folsom, Office of Research and
Information Technology, (202) 493–
0337, FMCSA, Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave.
SE., Washington, DC 20590 or by email
at: gerald.folsom@dot.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Background
Section 4305(b) of the Safe,
Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for
Users (SAFETEA–LU) [Pub. L. 109–59,
119 Stat. 1144, August 10, 2005] enacted
49 U.S.C. 14504a entitled ‘‘Unified
carrier registration system plan and
agreement.’’ Under the UCR Agreement,
motor carriers, motor private carriers,
brokers, freight forwarders, and leasing
companies that are involved in
interstate transportation register and pay
certain fees. The UCR Plan’s Board of
Directors must issue rules and
regulations to govern the UCR
Agreement. Section 14504a(a)(9) defines
the Unified Carrier Registration Plan as
the organization of State, Federal, and
industry representatives responsible for
developing, implementing, and
administering the UCRA. Section
14504a(d)(1)(B) directed the Secretary to
establish a Unified Carrier Registration
Plan Board of Directors made up of 15
members from FMCSA, State
governments, and the motor carrier
industry. The Board also must
recommend initial annual fees to be
assessed against carriers, leasing
companies, brokers, and freight
forwarders under the UCRA, as well as
any annual adjustments to those fees.
Section 14504a(d)(1)(B) provides that
the UCR Plan’s Board of Directors must
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:20 Apr 15, 2014
Jkt 232001
consist of directors from the following
groups:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration: One director must be
selected from each of the FMCSA four
service areas (as defined by FMCSA on
January 1, 2005) from among the chief
administrative officers of the State
agencies responsible for administering
the UCRA.
State Agencies: The five directors
selected to represent State agencies
must be from among the professional
staffs of State agencies responsible for
overseeing the administration of the
UCR Agreement.
Motor Carrier Industry: Five directors
must be from the motor carrier industry.
At least one of the five motor carrier
industry directors must be from ‘‘a
national trade association representing
the general motor carrier of property
industry’’ and one of them must be from
‘‘a motor carrier that falls within the
smallest fleet fee bracket.’’
U.S. Department of Transportation
(the Department): One individual, either
the FMCSA Deputy Administrator or
such other Presidential appointee from
the Department appointed by the
Secretary, represents the Department.
The establishment of the Board was
announced in the Federal Register on
May 12, 2006 (71 FR 27777). In that
notice, the Agency recognized the
American Trucking Associations, Inc.
(ATA) as the national trade association
representing the general motor carrier of
property industry. ATA is a national
affiliation of State trucking
organizations representing the national,
State and local interests of the 50
affiliated State trucking associations;
and the interests of specialized areas of
the trucking industry through
conferences and councils. The Agency
selected the Owner-Operator
Independent Drivers Association
(OOIDA) as the organization from which
to appoint an individual to represent
motor carriers comprising the smallest
fleet fee bracket. OOIDA is a national
trade association representing the
interests of small trucking companies
and drivers.
Each of the four current directors from
the chief administrative officers of the
State agencies responsible for
overseeing the administration of the
UCR Agreement are serving terms that
expire on May 31, 2013. These directors
may continue to serve until their
replacements are appointed; each of
them may be reappointed (49 U.S.C.
14504a(d)(1)(D)(iii) and (iv)). Today’s
publication serves as a notice requesting
nominations for and public comment on
possible appointment of the four
members of the UCR Plan’s Board of
PO 00000
Frm 00078
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
21507
Directors to be appointed from the chief
administrative officers of the
responsible State agencies in accordance
with 49 U.S.C. 14504a(d).
Board Member Nominations
FMCSA seeks either nominations of,
or expressions of interest from,
individuals to serve as members of the
board of directors for the UCR Plan from
the responsible State agencies.
Nominations or expressions of interest
should indicate that the person
nominated or recommended meets the
statutory requirements specified in 49
U.S.C. 14504a(d)(1)(B)(i).
Nominations or expressions of
interest must be transmitted by means of
the procedures for comments specified
earlier in this notice. FMCSA and the
Department will make the appointments
for the four members from the
responsible State agencies for three-year
terms, expiring on May 31, 2017.
Issued under the authority delegated in 49
CFR 1.87: March 18, 2014.
G. Kelly Leone,
Associate Administrator, Office of Research
and Information Technology and Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2014–08637 Filed 4–15–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA–2013–0047]
NHTSA Activities Under the United
Nations World Forum for the
Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations
1998 Global Agreement
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of activities under the
1998 Global Agreement and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
NHTSA is publishing this
notice to inform the public of the
upcoming scheduled meetings of the
World Forum for the Harmonization of
Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and its
Working Parties of Experts for calendar
year 2014. It also provides the most
recent status of activities under the
Program of Work of the 1998 Global
Agreement (to which the United States
is a signatory Contracting Party) and
requests comments on those activities.
Publication of this information is in
accordance with NHTSA’s Statement of
Policy regarding Agency Policy Goals
and Public Participation in the
Implementation of the 1998 Global
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM
16APN1
21508
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 2014 / Notices
Agreement on Global Technical
Regulations (GTR).
DATES: Comments to this notice must be
received on or before May 16, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
identified by Docket No. NHTSA–
XXXX–XXXX by any of the following
methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
online instructions for submitting
comments.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building
Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Fax: 202–493–2251.
Instructions:
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Public Participation
Comments must not exceed 15 pages
in length (49 CFR part 553.21).
Attachments may be appended to these
submissions without regard to the 15
page limit. This limitation is intended to
encourage commenters to detail their
primary arguments in a concise fashion.
If a commenter wishes to submit certain
information under a claim of
confidentiality, three copies of the
complete submission, including
purportedly confidential business
information, should be submitted to the
Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street
address given in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section, and two
copies from which the purportedly
confidential information has been
deleted should be submitted to the
docket. A request for confidentiality
should be accompanied by a cover letter
setting forth the information specified in
the agency’s confidential business
information regulation. 49 CFR part 512.
All comments received before the close
of business on the comment closing date
indicated above for this document will
be considered, and will be available for
examination in the docket at the above
address both before and after that date.
To the extent possible, comments filed
after the closing date will also be
considered. Comments on this
document will be available for
inspection in the docket. NHTSA will
continue to file relevant information as
it becomes available for inspection in
the docket after the closing date, and it
is recommended that interested persons
continue to examine the docket for new
material. Those persons desiring to be
notified upon receipt of their comments
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:20 Apr 15, 2014
Jkt 232001
in the rules docket should enclose a
self-addressed, stamped postcard in the
envelope with their comments. Upon
receiving the comments, the docket
supervisor will return the postcard by
mail. All submissions must include the
agency name and docket number for this
proposed collection of information.
Note that all comments received will be
posted without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please
see the Privacy Act heading below.
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 (65 FR
19477–78), or you may visit https://
DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received go to https://
www.regulations.gov or the street
address listed above. Follow the online
instructions for accessing the dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Ezana Wondimneh, Chief, International
Policy and Harmonization Division
(NVS–133), National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590;
Telephone: (202) 366–0846, fax (202)
493–2280.
Table of Contents
I. Background
WP.29 and Its Working Parties of Experts
1. WP.29
2. Working Parties of Experts
II. List of Provisional Meetings of WP.29 and
Its Working Parties of Experts
III. Status of Activities Under the Program of
Work of the 1998 Global Agreement
A. GTRs Established in CY 2013 Hydrogen
Fuel-Cell Vehicles
B. Status of GTRs Under Development
1. Pedestrian Safety
2. Head Restraints
3. Quiet Electric and Hybrid-Electric
Vehicles
4. Electric Vehicles
5. Light Vehicle Tires
6. Pole Side Impact Protection and
Harmonized Side Impact Dummies
C. Exchange of Information Item
Enforcement Working Group
D. Compendium of Candidate GTRs
IV. Request for Comments
I. Background
On August 23, 2000, NHTSA
published in the Federal Register (65
FR 51236) a statement of policy
regarding the Agency’s policy goals and
public participation in the
PO 00000
Frm 00079
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
implementation of the 1998 Global
Agreement, indicating that each
calendar year the Agency would provide
a list of scheduled meetings of the
World Forum for the Harmonization of
Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and the
Working Parties of Experts, as well as
meetings of the Executive Committee of
the 1998 Global Agreement (AC.3).1
Further, the Agency stated that it would
keep the public informed about the
Agreement’s Program of Work (i.e.,
subjects designated for Global Technical
Regulation (GTR) development) and
seek comment on those subjects on a
regular basis. In keeping with the
policy, NHTSA has notified the public
about the status of activities under the
1998 Global Agreement and sought
comments on various issues and
proposals through a series of Federal
Register notices published beginning
July 2000.2
This notice provides the latest and
current status of the Agency’s activities
at the World Forum for the
Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations
under the 1998 Global Agreement.
WP.29 and Its Working Parties of
Experts
1. WP.29
WP.29 was established on June 6,
1952 as the Working Party on the
Construction of Vehicles, a subsidiary
body of the Inland Transport Committee
(ITC) of the United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE). In
March 2000, WP.29 became the ‘‘World
Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle
Regulations (WP.29).’’ The objective of
the WP.29 is to initiate and pursue
actions aimed at the worldwide
harmonization or development of
technical regulations for vehicles.3
Providing uniform conditions for
periodical technical inspections and
strengthening economic relations
worldwide, these regulations are aimed
at:
—Improving vehicle safety;
—protecting the environment;
—promoting energy efficiency; and
—increasing anti-theft performance.
WP.29 currently administers three
UNECE Agreements:
1 This statement of policy is codified in Appendix
C of Part 553 of Title 49 of the CFR.
2 The relevant Federal Register notices include:
65 FR 44565, 66 FR 4893, 68 FR 5333, 69 FR 60460,
71 FR 59582, 73 FR 7803, 73 FR 8743, 73 FR 31914,
73 FR 5520, 77 FR 4618, and 78 FR 21191.
3 For general information about WP.29, see the
document, ‘‘World Forum for Harmonization of
Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)—How It Works, How
to Join It,’’ available at https://www.unece.org/
transport/resources/publications/publications.html.
(last accessed December 17, 2013).
E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM
16APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 2014 / Notices
1. UNECE 1958 Agreement
concerning the Adoption of Uniform
Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled
Vehicles, Equipment and Parts Which
Can Be Fitted and/or Be Used on
Wheeled Vehicles and the Conditions
for Reciprocal Recognition of Approvals
Granted on the Basis of These
Prescriptions;
2. UNECE 1998 Agreement
concerning the Establishing of Global
Technical Regulations for Wheeled
Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which
can be Fitted and/or be Used on
Wheeled Vehicles.
3. UNECE 1997 Agreement
concerning the Adoption of Uniform
Conditions for Periodical Technical
Inspections of Wheeled Vehicles and
the Reciprocal Recognition of such
Inspections.
Four committees coordinate the
activities of WP.29:
AC.1—Administrative Committee for
1958 Agreement
AC.2—Administrative Committee for
the Coordination of Work
AC.3—Executive Committee for 1998
Agreement
AC.4—Administrative Committee for
1997 Agreement
AC.1, AC.3 and AC.4 are the
Administrative/Executive Committees
for the Agreements administered by
WP.29, constituting all Contracting
Parties of the respective Agreements.
The coordination of work of the
World Forum is managed by a Steering
Committee (AC.2) comprising the
Chairperson and Secretariat of WP.29,
the Chairpersons of the Executive
Committees of the 1958, 1997, and 1998
Agreements administered by WP.29, the
representatives of the European
Community, Japan and the United
States of America, and the Chairpersons
of WP.29’s subsidiary bodies (GRs or
Working Parties). The duties of AC.2 are
to develop and recommend to WP.29 a
Program of Work, to review the reports
and recommendations of WP.29’s
subsidiary bodies, to identify items that
require action by WP.29 and the time
frame for their consideration, and to
provide recommendations to WP.29.
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
2. Working Parties of Experts
The permanent subsidiary bodies of
WP.29, also known as GRs (Groups of
Rapporteurs), assist the World Forum
for Harmonization of Vehicle
Regulations in researching, analyzing
and developing requirements for
technical regulations in the areas of
their expertise. There are six subsidiary
bodies:
Working Party on Lighting and LightSignaling (GRE)
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:20 Apr 15, 2014
Jkt 232001
Working Party on Brakes and Running
Gear (GRRF)
Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP)
Working Party on General Safety
Provisions (GRSG)
Working Party on Pollution and Energy
(GRPE)
Working Party on Noise (GRB)
Each subsidiary body consists of
persons whose expertise is relevant to
the area covered by the body. All
proposals for new regulations or
amendments to existing regulations are
referred by the World Forum to its
relevant subsidiary bodies for the
development of technical
recommendations. In view of the
significance of the role of these
subsidiary bodies, they have been given
permanent status under the UN and
have been designated as permanent and
formal ‘‘Working Parties.’’ More
specifically, the working parties and
their areas of expertise are outlined
below:
Active Safety of Vehicles and Their
Parts (Crash Avoidance)
Working Party on Lighting and LightSignaling (GRE)
Working Party on Brakes and Running
Gear (GRRF)
The regulations in this area seek to
improve the behavior, handling and
equipment of vehicles so as to decrease
the likelihood of a road crash. Some of
the regulations seek to increase the
ability of drivers to detect and avoid
hazardous circumstances. Others seek to
increase the ability of drivers to
maintain control of their vehicles.
Specific examples include regulations
applying to lighting and light-signaling
devices, braking, steering, tires and
rollover stability. This area of safety
technology is rapidly changing. The
advent of advanced technologies (e.g.,
electronic control systems, advanced
sensors and communication) is
providing opportunities for developing
new approaches for helping drivers
avoid crashes.
Passive Safety (Crashworthiness)
Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP)
The regulations in this area seek to
minimize the risk and severity of injury
for the occupants of a vehicle and/or
other road users in the event of a crash.
As is done in other working groups,
extensive use is made of crash statistics
to identify safety problems for which a
regulation or amendment to an existing
regulation is needed and define a proper
cost/benefit approach when improving
performance requirements in this area.
This is important, given the overall
impact of new requirements on vehicle
PO 00000
Frm 00080
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
21509
construction, design and cost. Specific
examples of current regulations include
ones addressing the ability of the
vehicle structure to manage crash
energy and resist intrusion into the
passenger compartment, occupant
restraint and protection systems for
children and adults, seat structure, door
latches and door retention, pedestrian
protection, and for motorcycles, the
quality of the protective helmet for the
rider. This area of technology also is
changing rapidly and becoming more
complex. Examples include advanced
protection devices that adjust their
performance in response to the
circumstances of individual crashes.
General Safety Considerations
Working Party on General Safety
Provisions (GRSG)
The regulations in this area address
vehicle and component features which
are not directly linked to the abovementioned subject areas. For example,
windshield wipers and washers,
controls and displays, and glazing are
grouped under this heading. Further,
theft prevention and the considerations
related to motorcoaches and other mass
public transport vehicles are covered
under this category.
Environmental Considerations
Working Party on Pollution and Energy
(GRPE)
Working Party on Noise (GRB)
In general, the regulations in this area
address questions of the pollution of the
environment, noise disturbances and
conservation of energy (fuel
consumption). However, the issue of
quiet vehicles’ unintended safety
consequence related to pedestrian safety
is currently being addressed by GRB
even though this group does not
normally address safety issues. This is
because the necessary acoustics experts
needed to develop a safety regulation to
address the issue are part of this group.
Special Technical Considerations
Informal Working Groups (IWGs)
In some cases, a specific problem
needs to be solved urgently or needs to
be addressed by persons having a
special expertise. There are also cases
where an issue cuts across multiple GRs
or is not specifically relevant to any of
them. In such situations, a special
informal working group may be
entrusted with the analysis of the
problem and invited to prepare a
proposal for a regulation. Although such
cases have traditionally been kept to a
minimum, the rapid development of
complex new technologies is increasing
the necessity for using this approach.
E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM
16APN1
21510
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 2014 / Notices
II. List of Provisional Meetings of
WP.29 and Its Working Parties of
Experts
The following list shows the
scheduled meetings of WP.29 and its
subsidiary Working Parties of Experts
for calendar year 2014. In addition to
these meetings, Working Parties of
Experts may schedule, if necessary, IWG
sessions outside their regular schedule
in order to address technical matters
specific to GTRs under consideration.
The formation and timing of these
groups are recommended by the
sponsoring Contracting Party and are
approved by WP.29 and AC.3. The
schedules and places of meetings are
made available to interested parties in
proposals and periodic reports which
are posted on the Web site of WP.29,
which can be found at: https://
www.unece.org/trans/main/
welcwp29.html (last accessed December
17, 2013).
2014 Provisional Schedule of Meetings
of WP.29 and Its Working Parties of
Experts
JANUARY
7–10 Working Party on Pollution
and Energy (GRPE) (68th session)
FEBRUARY
4–6 Working Party on Noise (GRB)
(59th session)
17–21 Working Party on Brakes and
Running Gear (GRRF) (76th session)
MARCH
10 Administrative Committee for the
Coordination of Work (WP.29/AC.2)
(114th session)
11–14 World Forum for
Harmonization of Vehicle
Regulations (WP.29) (162nd
session)
31–3 Working Party on Lighting and
Light-Signalling (GRE) (71st
session)
MAY
5–9 Working Party on General Safety
Provisions (GRSG) (106th session)
19–23 Working Party on Passive
Safety (GRSP) (55th session)
JUNE
3–6 Working Party on Pollution and
Energy (GRPE) (69th session)
23 Administrative Committee for the
Coordination of Work (WP.29/AC.2)
(115th session)
24–27 World Forum for
Harmonization of Vehicle
Regulations (WP.29) (163rd session)
SEPTEMBER
1–3 Working Party on Noise (GRB)
(60th session)
16–19 Working Party on Brakes and
Running Gear (GRRF) (77th session)
OCTOBER
7–10 Working Party on General
Safety Provisions (GRSG) (107th
session)
20–22 Working Party on Lighting
and Light-Signalling (GRE) (72nd
session)
NOVEMBER
10 Administrative Committee for the
Coordination of Work (WP.29/AC.2)
(116th session)
11–14 World Forum for
Harmonization of Vehicle
Regulations (WP.29) (164th session)
14 Working Party on Pollution and
Energy (GRPE) (70th session)
DECEMBER
9–12 Working Party on Passive
Safety (GRSP) (56th session)
III. Status of Activities Under the
Program of Work of the 1998 Global
Agreement
The current Program of Work of the
1998 Global Agreement is listed in the
table below. Note that the items listed
are for those related to vehicle safety
only.
Working party
of experts
Subject
Sponsoring contracting party
WP.29 ...........
Exchange of Information- ........................................
Enforcement Working Group ..................................
GTR on Tires for Light Vehicles .............................
Phase 2 of GTR No. 7 (Head Restraints) ..............
Phase 2 of GTR No. 9 (Pedestrian Safety) ............
GTR on Pole Side Impact .......................................
Exchange of Information on Harmonized Side Impact Dummies.
Electric Vehicles Safety GTR ..................................
United States ...........................................................
United States.
France .....................................................................
Japan .......................................................................
Japan/Germany .......................................................
Australia ..................................................................
United States ...........................................................
UK.
UK.
Germany/Japan.
Australia.
United States.
United States/Japan/European Commission (EC)/
China.
United States/Japan/EC ..........................................
United States/Japan.
GRRF ...........
GRSP ...........
GRB ..............
GTR on Quiet Road Transport Vehicles .................
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
A. GTRs Established in CY 2013
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles
GTR 13 for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell
Vehicles was established 4 on June 27,
2013, after a 6-year effort. Work on the
GTR was initiated when WP.29 adopted
an Action Plan prepared by the cosponsors (United States, Germany and
Japan) to develop a GTR for compressed
gaseous and liquefied hydrogen fuel
vehicles in June 2007.5 WP.29 formed
4 Under the 1998 Global Agreement, GTRs are
established by consensus vote of the Agreement’s
Contracting Parties present and voting.
5 The GTR Action Plan (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/
2007/4 I) and GTR proposal (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/
AC.3/I 7) can be found at https://www.unece.org/
trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29gen/gen2007.html
and https://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:20 Apr 15, 2014
Jkt 232001
an IWG to develop a GTR for these types
of vehicles with the aim of attaining
levels of safety equivalent to those for
conventional gasoline-powered
vehicles. In June 2013, the GTR for
hydrogen vehicles was established by a
unanimous vote in WP.29. It covers the
safety of automotive hydrogen fuel
containers, hydrogen fuel lines and their
related components, as well as the
safety of high-voltage components.
Consistent with the provisions set
forth under the 1998 Agreement,
NHTSA is currently evaluating the GTR
for adoption and will provide a regular
status report to WP.29.
wp29wgs/wp29gen/wp29glob proposal.html,
respectively.
PO 00000
Frm 00081
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Chair of informal
working group
United States/Japan.
For a possible second phase of work,
the co-sponsors of the hydrogen GTR are
discussing and developing a new work
plan and roadmap. Focus topics for this
Phase are expected to include:
(a) Potential harmonization of vehicle
crash tests
(b) Potential scope revision to address
additional vehicle classes
(c) Potential harmonization of crash test
specifications
(d) Requirements for material
compatibility and hydrogen
embrittlement
(e) Requirements for the fueling
receptacle
(f) Evaluation of performance-based test
for long-term stress rupture proposed
in Phase 1
E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM
16APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 2014 / Notices
(g) Consideration of research results
reported after completion of Phase 1—
specifically research related to
electrical safety, hydrogen storage
systems, and post-crash safety
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
B. Status of GTRs Under Development
1. Pedestrian Safety
As discussed in the 2013 notice, the
November 2008 session, WP.29 voted to
establish GTR 9 on Pedestrian Safety.6
The GTR contains two sets of
performance criteria applying to: (a) The
hood; and (b) the front bumper. Unique
test procedures address adult and child
head and adult leg impact protection for
each of the two crash scenarios. At the
time GTR 9 was adopted, a legform
impactor developed by TRL (Transport
Research Laboratory, UK) was used to
evaluate front bumper impact
performance. WP.29, however, agreed to
consider the future use of a newer
legform impactor called Flex-PLI
(Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor),
which may be more biofidelic. At the
May 2011 session of GRSP, NHTSA
reported research results that raised
concerns about the readiness of the
Flex-PLI device. As a result, at its June
2011 session, WP.29 agreed to form a
new IWG under the sponsorship and
chairmanship of Germany and Japan to
further refine the Flex-PLI device to
replace the existing leg form impacter in
GTR 9. A task force bumper test area
was established within the informal
group with the objective to improve the
Flex-PLI test procedure as the size of the
bumper test area is reduced due to new
bumper designs. The European
Commission is chairing this effort.
To evaluate the Flex-PLI, the IWG
started an international vehicle roundrobin test program in September 2012,
and finalized it in March 2013. Testing
was conducted in Europe, Korea and the
United States. The results showed a
stable performance of the legform
impactor with good repeatability. No
problem with durability was found
during testing. The working group has
also developed certification procedures
and cost benefit assessments for the
Flex-PLI.
With regard to the injury criteria, the
IWG agreed on injury assessment
reference values (IARVs) that were
derived from two different approaches,
one proposed by Germany and another
proposed by Japan. NHTSA requested
information about the derivation of the
6 78 FR 21191. NHTSA received one comment
from the American Motorcycle Association on the
Pedestrian Safety GTR, offering to assist NHTSA in
evaluating how this GTR could also reduce injuries
to motorcyclists. The comment has been forwarded
to those at NHTSA working on a proposal to
introduce the GTR in the United States.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:20 Apr 15, 2014
Jkt 232001
injury risk functions using these two
approaches, as the information had not
been made available to the IWG. At this
point the United States is not prepared
to agree or disagree with the IAVRs in
the current draft proposal for this GTR
amendment until our own cost-benefit
analysis is completed. For this reason,
the United States recommended
including alternate language allowing
Contracting Parties to select different
IARVs using cost-benefit analysis in
their own country, provided they were
based on the same injury risk functions
used to select the IARVs in the GTR.
The United States also added language
to the draft preamble of this pending
GTR amendment to reflect our concerns
about the level of stringency of the
IARVs.
The formal proposal to amend GTR 9
by introducing the Flex-PLI impactor
was submitted to GRSP in December
2013. Delegates objected to the United
States proposal, and instead a footnote
was added allowing only contracting
parties without pre-existing pedestrian
protection regulations or standards to
adopt other IARVs, but without
included any criteria for those IARVs.
The international Organization of Motor
Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) objected
to this language also, therefore while
GRSP agreed to recommend the draft
GTR to WP.29 for a vote at the June
2014 session, it also agreed to ask for
WP.29’s advice regarding the injury
criteria issue at the March 2014 session.
The document would then be returned
to GRSP for the May 2014 session if
necessary.
2. Head Restraints
The GTR for head restraints (GTR 7)
was established by WP.29 at its March
2008 session. At that time, the GTR
incorporated a dynamic test option to
some of the static requirements using
the Hybrid III test dummy. It was
anticipated that a new dummy, the
Biofidelic Rear Impact Dummy (BioRID
II), might eventually allow for a full
system whiplash evaluation test that
incorporates the combined performance
of the seat and head restraint, but the
dummy was not then sufficiently
developed to incorporate, even as an
option, the way the Hybrid III dummy
was incorporated. Therefore, in
November 2009, WP.29 initiated a
second phase of development for the
GTR by forming a new IWG tasked with
the development of a fully developed
BioRID II test tool, including test
procedures, injury criteria and
associated corridors.
At the December 10–11, 2012 meeting
of the IWG, the chairman confirmed that
the development of a proposal for a
PO 00000
Frm 00082
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
21511
certification procedure of the BioRID II
was in progress and that the study,
which is funded by the EC, identified
areas of dummy performance,
(specifically, reproducibility) still
required further investigation. He also
reported that the group may have to
consider proposing it as an option to
Hybrid III rather than a replacement.
The goal of the IWG was to submit a
proposal for consideration at the
December 2013 session of GRSP.
At the June, 2013 session of WP.29
the chairman reported that the IWG had
agreed on draft proposals for: (i) An
effective head restraint height
measurement procedure and (ii) an
appropriate dynamic test, including the
test procedure and the associated
corridors for the BioRID II. However, he
added that the development of injury
criteria for the use of the BioRID II was
at a critical point, because medical
research in the United States was still
progressing, but not as rapidly as was
expected. As a result, WP.29 agreed to
extend the mandate of the IWG until the
end of 2015. Since that time, availability
of redesigned BioRID II dummies from
the manufacturer has caused some
additional changes, but the IWG is still
hopeful that it can submit a proposal for
consideration at the May 2014 session of
GRSP. If GRSP votes to recommend the
amendments at that session, WP.29
could vote on the amendments as early
as the November 2014 session, earlier
than this new deadline.
At the December 2013 session of
GRSP, a new proposal to amend the
GTR was submitted jointly by Germany,
the Netherlands, and the United
Kingdom. The proposal would require
front outboard designated seating
positions to have at least one position of
head restraint adjustment that was not
less than 830 mm, an increase of 30 mm
over the current requirement of 800 mm,
and to have no position of head restraint
adjustment that was less than 720 mm,
a decrease of 30 mm over the current
requirement of 750 mm.
Both OICA and the United States
submitted informal documents
responding to this proposal. OICA
indicated that the new measurement
method included in the draft proposal
from the IWG would lead to results on
average 30 mm lower than when using
the current measurement method and
that therefore, the effect of this proposal
combined with that change would be to
require an average 60 mm increase in
head restraint height. The United States
document requested data to support the
proposal, and also noted that feasibility
issues had previously been raised when
high head restraint heights had been
proposed in the past.
E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM
16APN1
21512
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 2014 / Notices
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
3. Quiet Electric and Hybrid-Electric
Vehicles
As discussed in the 2013 notice, in
2009, NHTSA published a report on the
incident rates of crashes involving
hybrid-electric vehicles and pedestrians
under different scenarios.7 The U.S.
study, using crash data collected from
several states, compared vehicle to
pedestrian crash rates for hybrid
electric-vehicles and vehicles with
internal combustion engines (ICE). In
the study, the agency concluded that
there was an increased rate of
pedestrian crashes for hybrid electric
vehicles versus similarly sized ICE
vehicles. In 2010, the agency published
a second report that found that the
overall sound levels for the hybridelectric vehicles tested were lower at
low speeds than for the peer ICE
vehicles tested.8
The Japanese Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
(MLIT), after studying the feasibility of
alert sounds for electric and hybridelectric vehicles, issued guidelines for
pedestrian alert sounds in 2010. MLIT
concluded that pedestrian alert sounds
should be required only on hybridelectric vehicles that can run
exclusively on an electric motor, electric
vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles. MLIT
guidelines require that electric and
hybrid-electric vehicles generate a
pedestrian alert sound whenever the
vehicle is moving forward at any speed
less than 20 km/h and when the vehicle
is operating in reverse. The guidelines
do not require vehicles to produce an
alert sound when the vehicle is
operating, but stopped, such as at a
traffic light. Also, manufacturers are
allowed to equip the vehicle with a
switch to deactivate the alert sound
temporarily.
WP.29 also determined that vehicles
propelled in whole or in part by electric
means, present a danger to pedestrians
and consequently adopted guidelines
covering alert sounds for electric and
hybrid vehicles that are closely based on
the Japanese guidelines at its March
2011 meeting. The guidelines were
7 ‘‘Research on Quieter Cars and the Safety of
Blind Pedestrians, A Report to Congress’’ prepared
by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
U.S. Department of Transportation, October 2009.
This report can be found at https://www.nhtsa.gov/
DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/
Technical%20Publications/2010/
RptToCongress091709.pdf.
8 Garay-Vega, Lisandra; Hastings, Aaron; Pollard,
John K.; Zuschlag, Michael; and Stearns, Mary D.,
Quieter Cars and the Safety of Blind Pedestrians:
Phase I, John A. Volpe National Transportation
Systems Center, DOT HS 811 304 April 2010,
available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/
NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/
Technical%20Publications/2010/811304rev.pdf.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:20 Apr 15, 2014
Jkt 232001
published as an annex to the UNECE
Consolidated Resolution on the
Construction of Vehicles (R.E.3).
Considering the international interest
and work in this new area of safety, the
United States, the European
Commission (EC) and Japan agreed to
work, as co-sponsors, on a new GTR to
develop harmonized pedestrian
minimum sound requirements for
electric and hybrid-electric vehicles
under the 1998 Global Agreement.9
WP.29 is currently working to
develop the GTR. In 2013, three
meetings of the IWG were held: (1)
Brussels, Belgium, in April, (2)
Washington DC, in July, and (3) Tokyo,
Japan in December.
At its November 2013 session, WP.29
decided to extend the timeline for
completing the GTR by one year—it is
now expected to be established
November 2015. The next meeting of the
IWG will take place in Washington DC
in May 2014. The meeting agendas,
reports and related documents can be
found on the UN Web site for this
IWG.10
4. Electric Vehicles
At the March 2012 session of WP.29,
the co-sponsors (the United States,
Japan, and the EC) submitted a joint
proposal (ECE/Trans/WP.29/2012/36.
and its Corr1) to establish two working
groups to address the safety and
environmental issues associated with
electric vehicles (EVs). The WP.29
Executive Committee adopted this
proposal as well as approved China, per
its request, as the fourth co-sponsor.
For the safety aspects, an electric
vehicle safety (EVS) IWG was formed to
begin development of the GTR, which
would apply to high voltage hybrid and
pure electric vehicles with a gross
vehicle mass of 4,536 kilograms or less,
their batteries, and other associated
high-risk components. The United
States chairs the IWG with China and
the EU as co-vice chairs, and Japan as
the secretary. To the extent possible, the
GTR will include performance-based
requirements and testing protocols
designed to allow for innovation, while
ensuring that the unique safety risks
posed by electric vehicles are mitigated.
The GTR will address the safety of high
voltage electrical components, including
lithium-ion and other types of batteries,
their performance during normal use,
9 Additionally, the agency is taking this action
because the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act
requires the agency to issue a standard specifying
minimum sound for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.
The agency announced its proposal on January 14,
2013 (78 FR 2797).
10 https://www2.unece.org/wiki/display/trans/
GTR+for+QRTV.
PO 00000
Frm 00083
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
after a crash event, and while recharging
at a residential or commercial station.
The third and fourth EVS IWG
meetings were held in 2013: (1) Tokyo,
Japan, in April and (2) Beijing, China, in
October. At these meetings, the IWG
exchanged current regulatory, technical
and research information and drafted an
outline for the GTR. The IWG also
discussed the OICA’s proposal which
was submitted for the IWG
consideration. This proposal contained
requirements based on the existing
UNECE regulation (R100) for electric
vehicle safety, which included safety
requirements for occupant protection
against high voltage and rechargeable
energy storage systems. At the Beijing
IWG meeting, the U.S. submitted a
battery research plan and approach to
rulemaking to the IWG for information
and consideration. As presented at the
IWG meetings, NHTSA believes that it
is important to select boundary
conditions and test methods that
appropriately and accurately capture the
nature of the vehicle working/or
operating environment. The research
tests include mechanical shock,
mechanical integrity, fire hazard,
vibration, thermal shock, cycling, and
others. Based on the approach of the
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicle GTR no. 13,
NHTSA is using similar vehicle
conditions to establish the rechargeable
energy storage system (REESS) research
test boundary conditions, such as
operating temperatures and test
temperature and exposure time for fire
test. For example, the vibration
schedule must be representative of the
general operating environment of a
vehicle. Each performance requirement
and test method must correlate to safety
risks of in-use and post-crash
automobiles. The abuse conditions that
NHTSA believes must be considered in
the process of developing performance
standards include mechanical
penetration, internal short circuit,
chemical compatibility, and the
liberation of stranded energy in the
post-crash or inoperative environment.
We believe that the results of the
anticipated research will play an
important role in better informing the
appropriate approach to evaluate battery
system safety.
NHTSA recognizes that the OICA
proposal addresses some of the general
topics that may be required by a
comprehensive REESS safety standard.
However, many of these requirements
were developed to evaluate criteria
under conditions unrelated to the
automotive applications during use and
post-crash. Some of these requirements
support general reliability criteria for
product development but do not
E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM
16APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 2014 / Notices
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
directly support safety performance
metrics. Rather they may only imply
safety by demonstrating the lack of a
safety failure during the tested
conditions, which are unacceptable
from a performance point of view. Other
requirements impose safety relevant
abuse conditions to a cell or module
then observe or measure the response to
that abuse. During REESS development,
these tests may describe some subcomponent safety limits that are useful
in designing protections from those
conditions. However, they generally do
not cascade to vehicle or pack level
performance, and boundary conditions
to these tests must be accurately defined
to the specific application requirements.
NHTSA believes that a system-level
evaluation is the most appropriate
method for determining safety
performance in this context. NHTSA
will continue to work with the IWG and
share technical data and analysis for
future IWG discussions and drafting the
GTR.
5. Light Vehicle Tires
The IWG for developing a GTR on
light vehicle tires began its work in
September 2006. The activity is
sponsored by France and chaired by the
UK. The GTR would apply to radial
passenger and light truck tires designed
for use on vehicles with a gross mass of
10,000 pounds or less. Its provisions
include five mandatory performance
and labeling requirements (tire sidewall
markings, tire dimensions, high speed
performance, low pressure and
endurance performance, and wet
traction performance).
In addition, there are two optional
modules, with one containing a tire
strength test and bead unseating
resistance test, and the second
containing a tire rolling sound emission
test. During the course of the
development of the GTR, it became
apparent that the requirements for light
truck tires would require more time to
develop. It was therefore decided by
WP.29 to split the work on the GTR into
two phases. The first phase covers
passenger car tires only, and the second
will address the light truck tires.
NHTSA received a comment from the
Rubber Manufacturers Association
(RMA) on this GTR in response to the
2013 Federal Register notice. The RMA
noted that the GTR should have been
included in the ‘‘GTRs Nearing
Completion and Establishment by Vote’’
section, rather than the ‘‘GTRs Under
Development’’ section, and urged the
agency to vote in support of the GTR at
the November 2013 session of WP.29.
The vote has yet to occur because of an
outstanding issue involving the
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:20 Apr 15, 2014
Jkt 232001
validation of a trailer-based method for
evaluating wet traction performance of
tires. The U.S. is currently conducting
research in this area which should
conclude by mid-2014. Subsequently, if
agreement is reached on the final text of
the GTR, a vote to establish it is
expected to take place at the November
2014 session of WP.29/AC.3.
6. Pole Side Impact Protection and
Harmonized Side Impact Dummies
In November 2009, an informal
meeting was held in Washington, DC
among interested experts to discuss
international cooperation in the
development of harmonized side impact
dummies. In June 2010, WP.29 formed
an IWG to develop a GTR for pole side
impact (PSI) protection under the
sponsorship and chairmanship of
Australia. At the same time, an IWG on
Harmonized Side Impact Dummies was
formed under the sponsorship and
chairmanship of the United States. The
second group was tasked with
supporting the PSI GTR by evaluating
and further developing the World Side
Impact Dummy (WorldSID) family of
dummies. The two groups have
generally met in conjunction. The side
impact dummy IWG held its first
meeting in November of 2009 and the
PSI group held its first meeting in
November 2010. The first tasks of the
PSI IWG included confirming the safety
need for the GTR and assessing
potential candidate crash test
procedures for the GTR. As originally
planned, the GTR would contain pole
side impact test procedures using side
impact test dummies representing a
WorldSID 50th percentile adult male
and a WorldSID 5th percentile adult
female.
At the November 2013 session, WP.29
adopted a Pole Side Impact GTR that
incorporates an oblique pole test similar
to that in the FMVSS No. 214, ‘‘Side
impact protection;’’ however, it uses the
50th percentile male WorldSID dummy
only. While WP.29 agreed to a change
of the terms of reference of the IWG to
allow a GTR with only one dummy
instead of both the World SID 50th
percentile adult male and World SID 5th
percentile adult female as originally
planned, it included a provision that no
Contracting Party would be required to
initiate the process to adopt the GTR
until both phases were complete, even
if it were to vote in favor of the first
phase of the GTR. However, the United
States was not in a position to vote yes
on the IARVs for the 50th percentile
adjult male at the time the vote was
taken and was concerned about its
future position since it could not predict
the outcome of a second phase.
PO 00000
Frm 00084
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
21513
Therefore, the United States abstained
from the vote for the pole side impact
GTR.
At the November 2012 session, WP.29
established Mutual Resolution (M.R.1)
of the 1958 and 1998 Agreements
concerning the description and
performance of test tools and devices
necessary for the assessment of
compliance of wheeled vehicles,
equipment and parts according to the
technical prescriptions specified in
Regulations and global technical
regulations. It is intended that test tools
and devices necessary for compliance
assessment will be comprehensively
defined in terms of their essential
characteristics and performance in an
addenda to M.R.1. In conformity with
this a parallel proposal to the Pole Side
Impact GTR for Addendum 2 to M.R.1
introducing drawings and specifications
for the WorldSID 50th percentile male
will be submitted at a later stage to
GRSP and to WP.29 for adoption. The
Secretariat of the UN is currently
negotiating with the International
Organization for Standardization (150)
which holds the copywrite on many of
the documents on how to incorporate
them into M.R.I.
Concerning the 5th percentile female
WorldSID dummy, as previously
reported, issues will significantly
increase development time for this
dummy. Currently, the effort on the 5th
percentile female is expected to be
completed by December 2015. Because
of this, the PSI IWG has suspended its
meetings until the 5th percentile female
WorldSID dummy development is
complete. At that time it will resume its
meetings to complete work on the GTR
to incorporate the second dummy.
C. Exchange of Information Item
Enforcement Working Group
At the June 2011 session of WP.29,
NHTSA proposed that WP.29 consider
forming a new working group that
would meet to facilitate the regular
exchange of non-proprietary or
otherwise non-privileged information
on enforcement-related activities from
around the world to help governments
identify and manage incidences of
automotive non-compliance or defects
more quickly. The participants of WP.29
welcomed and accepted the proposal.
To date, four meetings of the IWG have
been held, each during the November
2011, June 2012, November 2012, and
June 2013 sessions of WP.29. The IWG
is open to all the delegates to WP.29
including the Contracting Parties, NonGovernmental Organizations and
industry associations and is expected to
meet twice a year going forward (each
E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM
16APN1
21514
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 73 / Wednesday, April 16, 2014 / Notices
June and November sessions of WP.29)
subject to the agreement of WP.29.
pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
D. Compendium of Candidate GTRs
Article 5 of the 1998 Global
Agreement provides for the creation of
a compendium of candidate technical
regulations submitted by the
Contracting Parties. To date, NHTSA
has submitted several FMVSSs for
inclusion in this Compendium. These
FMVSSs have all been listed in the
Compendium after an affirmative vote of
the Executive Committee of the 1998
Global Agreement.
The FMVSS currently listed in the
Compendium include:
• FMVSS No. 108: Lamps, Reflective
Devices, and Associated Equipment
• FMVSS No. 135: Passenger Car Brake
Systems
• FMVSS No. 139: New Pneumatic
Radial Tires for Light Vehicles
• FMVSS No. 202a: Head Restraints
• FMVSS No. 205: Glazing Materials
• FMVSS No. 213: Child Restraint
Systems
• EPA and DOT programs for Light-duty
Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Standards and Fuel Efficiency
Standards for Medium and HeavyDuty Engines and Vehicles
• EPA and NHTSA Programs for
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards
and Fuel Efficiency Standards for
Medium and Heavy-Duty Engines and
Vehicles
• EPA and NHTSA Programs for
Revisions and Additions to the Motor
Vehicle Fuel Economy Label: New
Fuel Economy and Environment
Labels for a New Generation of
Vehicles
No additional candidate technical
regulations have been added as of the
publication of this notice.
IV. Request for Comments
NHTSA invites public comments on
the various activities outlined in this
notice. As discussed in Appendix C of
49 CFR part 553, if NHTSA votes ‘‘yes’’
on a GTR, the agency will publish a
notice requesting public comment on
adopting the regulation as a U.S.
standard. Any decision by NHTSA
whether to issue a final rule adopting
the regulation or to issue a notice
terminating consideration of that
regulation will be made in accordance
with applicable U.S. law and only after
careful consideration and analysis of
public comments. In the event that
NHTSA issues a final rule based on a
GTR and, due to the public comments
and/or new information and data, the
final rule significantly differs from the
GTR, NHTSA will consider seeking
amendments to the GTR in an effort to
VerDate Mar<15>2010
15:20 Apr 15, 2014
Jkt 232001
achieve consistency. The agency plans
to issue individual notices based on
each GTR as it is established by WP.29
and will consider additional detailed
comments at that time.
Claude H. Harris,
Acting Associate Administrator for
Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2014–08532 Filed 4–15–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–59–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Internal Revenue Service
Credit for Renewable Electricity
Production, Refined Coal Production,
and Indian Coal Production, and
Publication of Inflation Adjustment
Factors and Reference Prices for
Calendar Year 2014
Internal Revenue Service (IRS),
Treasury.
ACTION: Publication of inflation
adjustment factors and reference prices
for calendar year 2014 as required by
section 45(e)(2)(A) of the Internal
Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 45(e)(2)(A)),
section 45(e)(8)(C) (26 U.S.C.
45(e)(8)(C)), and section 45(e)(10)(C) (26
U.S.C. 45(e)(10)(C)).
AGENCY:
The 2014 inflation adjustment
factors and reference prices are used in
determining the availability of the credit
for renewable electricity production,
refined coal production, and Indian coal
production under section 45.
DATES: The 2014 inflation adjustment
factors and reference prices apply to
calendar year 2014 sales of kilowatt
hours of electricity produced in the
United States or a possession thereof
from qualified energy resources, and to
2014 sales of refined coal and Indian
coal produced in the United States or a
possession thereof.
Inflation Adjustment Factors: The
inflation adjustment factor for calendar
year 2014 for qualified energy resources
and refined coal is 1.5088. The inflation
adjustment factor for Indian coal is
1.1587.
Reference Prices: The reference price
for calendar year 2014 for facilities
producing electricity from wind is 4.85
cents per kilowatt hour. The reference
prices for fuel used as feedstock within
the meaning of section 45(c)(7)(A)
(relating to refined coal production) are
$31.90 per ton for calendar year 2002
and $56.88 per ton for calendar year
2014. The reference prices for facilities
producing electricity from closed-loop
biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal
energy, solar energy, small irrigation
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00085
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
power, municipal solid waste, qualified
hydropower production, and marine
and hydrokinetic renewable energy have
not been determined for calendar year
2014.
Because the 2014 reference price for
electricity produced from wind does not
exceed 8 cents multiplied by the
inflation adjustment factor, the phaseout
of the credit provided in section 45(b)(1)
does not apply to such electricity sold
during calendar year 2014. Because the
2014 reference price of fuel used as
feedstock for refined coal ($56.88) does
not exceed $81.82 (which is the $31.90
reference price of such fuel in 2002
multiplied by the inflation adjustment
factor (1.5088) and 1.7), the phaseout of
credit provided in section 45(e)(8)(B)
does not apply to refined coal sold
during calendar year 2014. Further, for
electricity produced from closed-loop
biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal
energy, solar energy, small irrigation
power, municipal solid waste, qualified
hydropower production, and marine
and hydrokinetic renewable energy, the
phaseout of credit provided in section
45(b)(1) does not apply to such
electricity sold during calendar year
2014.
Credit Amount by Qualified Energy
Resource and Facility, Refined Coal,
and Indian Coal: As required by section
45(b)(2), the 1.5-cent amount in section
45(a)(1), the 8-cent amount in section
45(b)(1), the $4.375 amount in section
45(e)(8)(A), the $2.00 amount in section
45(e)(8)(D), and the $2.00 amount in
section 45(e)(8)(10)(B) are each adjusted
by multiplying such amount by the
inflation adjustment factor for the
calendar year in which the sale occurs.
If any amount as increased under the
preceding sentence is not a multiple of
0.1 cent, such amount is rounded to the
nearest multiple of 0.1 cent. In the case
of electricity produced in open-loop
biomass facilities, small irrigation
power facilities, landfill gas facilities,
trash combustion facilities, qualified
hydropower facilities, and marine and
hydrokinetic renewable energy
facilities, section 45(b)(4)(A) requires
the amount in effect under section
45(a)(1) (before rounding to the nearest
0.1 cent) to be reduced by one-half.
Under the calculation required by
section 45(b)(2), the credit for renewable
electricity production for calendar year
2014 under section 45(a) is 2.3 cents per
kilowatt hour on the sale of electricity
produced from the qualified energy
resources of wind, closed-loop biomass,
geothermal energy, and solar energy,
and 1.1 cents per kilowatt hour on the
sale of electricity produced in open-loop
biomass facilities, small irrigation
power facilities, landfill gas facilities,
E:\FR\FM\16APN1.SGM
16APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 73 (Wednesday, April 16, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21507-21514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-08532]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2013-0047]
NHTSA Activities Under the United Nations World Forum for the
Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations 1998 Global Agreement
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice of activities under the 1998 Global Agreement and
request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: NHTSA is publishing this notice to inform the public of the
upcoming scheduled meetings of the World Forum for the Harmonization of
Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and its Working Parties of Experts for
calendar year 2014. It also provides the most recent status of
activities under the Program of Work of the 1998 Global Agreement (to
which the United States is a signatory Contracting Party) and requests
comments on those activities. Publication of this information is in
accordance with NHTSA's Statement of Policy regarding Agency Policy
Goals and Public Participation in the Implementation of the 1998 Global
[[Page 21508]]
Agreement on Global Technical Regulations (GTR).
DATES: Comments to this notice must be received on or before May 16,
2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by Docket No. NHTSA-XXXX-
XXXX by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Instructions:
Public Participation
Comments must not exceed 15 pages in length (49 CFR part 553.21).
Attachments may be appended to these submissions without regard to the
15 page limit. This limitation is intended to encourage commenters to
detail their primary arguments in a concise fashion. If a commenter
wishes to submit certain information under a claim of confidentiality,
three copies of the complete submission, including purportedly
confidential business information, should be submitted to the Chief
Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address given in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section, and two copies from which the purportedly
confidential information has been deleted should be submitted to the
docket. A request for confidentiality should be accompanied by a cover
letter setting forth the information specified in the agency's
confidential business information regulation. 49 CFR part 512. All
comments received before the close of business on the comment closing
date indicated above for this document will be considered, and will be
available for examination in the docket at the above address both
before and after that date. To the extent possible, comments filed
after the closing date will also be considered. Comments on this
document will be available for inspection in the docket. NHTSA will
continue to file relevant information as it becomes available for
inspection in the docket after the closing date, and it is recommended
that interested persons continue to examine the docket for new
material. Those persons desiring to be notified upon receipt of their
comments in the rules docket should enclose a self-addressed, stamped
postcard in the envelope with their comments. Upon receiving the
comments, the docket supervisor will return the postcard by mail. All
submissions must include the agency name and docket number for this
proposed collection of information. Note that all comments received
will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading
below.
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 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit https://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received go to https://www.regulations.gov or the street
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ezana Wondimneh, Chief,
International Policy and Harmonization Division (NVS-133), National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC 20590; Telephone: (202) 366-0846, fax (202) 493-2280.
Table of Contents
I. Background
WP.29 and Its Working Parties of Experts
1. WP.29
2. Working Parties of Experts
II. List of Provisional Meetings of WP.29 and Its Working Parties of
Experts
III. Status of Activities Under the Program of Work of the 1998
Global Agreement
A. GTRs Established in CY 2013 Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles
B. Status of GTRs Under Development
1. Pedestrian Safety
2. Head Restraints
3. Quiet Electric and Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
4. Electric Vehicles
5. Light Vehicle Tires
6. Pole Side Impact Protection and Harmonized Side Impact
Dummies
C. Exchange of Information Item Enforcement Working Group
D. Compendium of Candidate GTRs
IV. Request for Comments
I. Background
On August 23, 2000, NHTSA published in the Federal Register (65 FR
51236) a statement of policy regarding the Agency's policy goals and
public participation in the implementation of the 1998 Global
Agreement, indicating that each calendar year the Agency would provide
a list of scheduled meetings of the World Forum for the Harmonization
of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and the Working Parties of Experts, as
well as meetings of the Executive Committee of the 1998 Global
Agreement (AC.3).\1\ Further, the Agency stated that it would keep the
public informed about the Agreement's Program of Work (i.e., subjects
designated for Global Technical Regulation (GTR) development) and seek
comment on those subjects on a regular basis. In keeping with the
policy, NHTSA has notified the public about the status of activities
under the 1998 Global Agreement and sought comments on various issues
and proposals through a series of Federal Register notices published
beginning July 2000.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This statement of policy is codified in Appendix C of Part
553 of Title 49 of the CFR.
\2\ The relevant Federal Register notices include: 65 FR 44565,
66 FR 4893, 68 FR 5333, 69 FR 60460, 71 FR 59582, 73 FR 7803, 73 FR
8743, 73 FR 31914, 73 FR 5520, 77 FR 4618, and 78 FR 21191.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This notice provides the latest and current status of the Agency's
activities at the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle
Regulations under the 1998 Global Agreement.
WP.29 and Its Working Parties of Experts
1. WP.29
WP.29 was established on June 6, 1952 as the Working Party on the
Construction of Vehicles, a subsidiary body of the Inland Transport
Committee (ITC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE). In March 2000, WP.29 became the ``World Forum for
Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29).'' The objective of the
WP.29 is to initiate and pursue actions aimed at the worldwide
harmonization or development of technical regulations for vehicles.\3\
Providing uniform conditions for periodical technical inspections and
strengthening economic relations worldwide, these regulations are aimed
at:
\3\ For general information about WP.29, see the document,
``World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)--How
It Works, How to Join It,'' available at https://www.unece.org/transport/resources/publications/publications.html. (last accessed
December 17, 2013).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
--Improving vehicle safety;
--protecting the environment;
--promoting energy efficiency; and
--increasing anti-theft performance.
WP.29 currently administers three UNECE Agreements:
[[Page 21509]]
1. UNECE 1958 Agreement concerning the Adoption of Uniform
Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts Which
Can Be Fitted and/or Be Used on Wheeled Vehicles and the Conditions for
Reciprocal Recognition of Approvals Granted on the Basis of These
Prescriptions;
2. UNECE 1998 Agreement concerning the Establishing of Global
Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which
can be Fitted and/or be Used on Wheeled Vehicles.
3. UNECE 1997 Agreement concerning the Adoption of Uniform
Conditions for Periodical Technical Inspections of Wheeled Vehicles and
the Reciprocal Recognition of such Inspections.
Four committees coordinate the activities of WP.29:
AC.1--Administrative Committee for 1958 Agreement
AC.2--Administrative Committee for the Coordination of Work
AC.3--Executive Committee for 1998 Agreement
AC.4--Administrative Committee for 1997 Agreement
AC.1, AC.3 and AC.4 are the Administrative/Executive Committees for
the Agreements administered by WP.29, constituting all Contracting
Parties of the respective Agreements.
The coordination of work of the World Forum is managed by a
Steering Committee (AC.2) comprising the Chairperson and Secretariat of
WP.29, the Chairpersons of the Executive Committees of the 1958, 1997,
and 1998 Agreements administered by WP.29, the representatives of the
European Community, Japan and the United States of America, and the
Chairpersons of WP.29's subsidiary bodies (GRs or Working Parties). The
duties of AC.2 are to develop and recommend to WP.29 a Program of Work,
to review the reports and recommendations of WP.29's subsidiary bodies,
to identify items that require action by WP.29 and the time frame for
their consideration, and to provide recommendations to WP.29.
2. Working Parties of Experts
The permanent subsidiary bodies of WP.29, also known as GRs (Groups
of Rapporteurs), assist the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle
Regulations in researching, analyzing and developing requirements for
technical regulations in the areas of their expertise. There are six
subsidiary bodies:
Working Party on Lighting and Light-Signaling (GRE)
Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF)
Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP)
Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG)
Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE)
Working Party on Noise (GRB)
Each subsidiary body consists of persons whose expertise is
relevant to the area covered by the body. All proposals for new
regulations or amendments to existing regulations are referred by the
World Forum to its relevant subsidiary bodies for the development of
technical recommendations. In view of the significance of the role of
these subsidiary bodies, they have been given permanent status under
the UN and have been designated as permanent and formal ``Working
Parties.'' More specifically, the working parties and their areas of
expertise are outlined below:
Active Safety of Vehicles and Their Parts (Crash Avoidance)
Working Party on Lighting and Light-Signaling (GRE)
Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF)
The regulations in this area seek to improve the behavior, handling
and equipment of vehicles so as to decrease the likelihood of a road
crash. Some of the regulations seek to increase the ability of drivers
to detect and avoid hazardous circumstances. Others seek to increase
the ability of drivers to maintain control of their vehicles. Specific
examples include regulations applying to lighting and light-signaling
devices, braking, steering, tires and rollover stability. This area of
safety technology is rapidly changing. The advent of advanced
technologies (e.g., electronic control systems, advanced sensors and
communication) is providing opportunities for developing new approaches
for helping drivers avoid crashes.
Passive Safety (Crashworthiness)
Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP)
The regulations in this area seek to minimize the risk and severity
of injury for the occupants of a vehicle and/or other road users in the
event of a crash. As is done in other working groups, extensive use is
made of crash statistics to identify safety problems for which a
regulation or amendment to an existing regulation is needed and define
a proper cost/benefit approach when improving performance requirements
in this area. This is important, given the overall impact of new
requirements on vehicle construction, design and cost. Specific
examples of current regulations include ones addressing the ability of
the vehicle structure to manage crash energy and resist intrusion into
the passenger compartment, occupant restraint and protection systems
for children and adults, seat structure, door latches and door
retention, pedestrian protection, and for motorcycles, the quality of
the protective helmet for the rider. This area of technology also is
changing rapidly and becoming more complex. Examples include advanced
protection devices that adjust their performance in response to the
circumstances of individual crashes.
General Safety Considerations
Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG)
The regulations in this area address vehicle and component features
which are not directly linked to the above-mentioned subject areas. For
example, windshield wipers and washers, controls and displays, and
glazing are grouped under this heading. Further, theft prevention and
the considerations related to motorcoaches and other mass public
transport vehicles are covered under this category.
Environmental Considerations
Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE)
Working Party on Noise (GRB)
In general, the regulations in this area address questions of the
pollution of the environment, noise disturbances and conservation of
energy (fuel consumption). However, the issue of quiet vehicles'
unintended safety consequence related to pedestrian safety is currently
being addressed by GRB even though this group does not normally address
safety issues. This is because the necessary acoustics experts needed
to develop a safety regulation to address the issue are part of this
group.
Special Technical Considerations
Informal Working Groups (IWGs)
In some cases, a specific problem needs to be solved urgently or
needs to be addressed by persons having a special expertise. There are
also cases where an issue cuts across multiple GRs or is not
specifically relevant to any of them. In such situations, a special
informal working group may be entrusted with the analysis of the
problem and invited to prepare a proposal for a regulation. Although
such cases have traditionally been kept to a minimum, the rapid
development of complex new technologies is increasing the necessity for
using this approach.
[[Page 21510]]
II. List of Provisional Meetings of WP.29 and Its Working Parties of
Experts
The following list shows the scheduled meetings of WP.29 and its
subsidiary Working Parties of Experts for calendar year 2014. In
addition to these meetings, Working Parties of Experts may schedule, if
necessary, IWG sessions outside their regular schedule in order to
address technical matters specific to GTRs under consideration. The
formation and timing of these groups are recommended by the sponsoring
Contracting Party and are approved by WP.29 and AC.3. The schedules and
places of meetings are made available to interested parties in
proposals and periodic reports which are posted on the Web site of
WP.29, which can be found at: https://www.unece.org/trans/main/welcwp29.html (last accessed December 17, 2013).
2014 Provisional Schedule of Meetings of WP.29 and Its Working Parties
of Experts
JANUARY
7-10 Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE) (68th session)
FEBRUARY
4-6 Working Party on Noise (GRB) (59th session)
17-21 Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF) (76th
session)
MARCH
10 Administrative Committee for the Coordination of Work (WP.29/
AC.2) (114th session)
11-14 World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)
(162nd session)
31-3 Working Party on Lighting and Light-Signalling (GRE) (71st
session)
MAY
5-9 Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG) (106th
session)
19-23 Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP) (55th session)
JUNE
3-6 Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE) (69th session)
23 Administrative Committee for the Coordination of Work (WP.29/
AC.2) (115th session)
24-27 World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)
(163rd session)
SEPTEMBER
1-3 Working Party on Noise (GRB) (60th session)
16-19 Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF) (77th
session)
OCTOBER
7-10 Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG) (107th
session)
20-22 Working Party on Lighting and Light-Signalling (GRE) (72nd
session)
NOVEMBER
10 Administrative Committee for the Coordination of Work (WP.29/
AC.2) (116th session)
11-14 World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)
(164th session)
14 Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE) (70th session)
DECEMBER
9-12 Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP) (56th session)
III. Status of Activities Under the Program of Work of the 1998 Global
Agreement
The current Program of Work of the 1998 Global Agreement is listed
in the table below. Note that the items listed are for those related to
vehicle safety only.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring contracting
Working party of experts Subject party Chair of informal working group
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WP.29.................... Exchange of Information- United States.......... United States.
Enforcement Working
Group.
GRRF..................... GTR on Tires for Light France................. UK.
Vehicles.
Phase 2 of GTR No. 7 Japan.................. UK.
(Head Restraints).
Phase 2 of GTR No. 9 Japan/Germany.......... Germany/Japan.
(Pedestrian Safety).
GRSP..................... GTR on Pole Side Impact. Australia.............. Australia.
Exchange of Information United States.......... United States.
on Harmonized Side
Impact Dummies.
Electric Vehicles Safety United States/Japan/ United States/Japan.
GTR. European Commission
(EC)/China.
GRB...................... GTR on Quiet Road United States/Japan/EC. United States/Japan.
Transport Vehicles.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. GTRs Established in CY 2013
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles
GTR 13 for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicles was established \4\ on
June 27, 2013, after a 6-year effort. Work on the GTR was initiated
when WP.29 adopted an Action Plan prepared by the co-sponsors (United
States, Germany and Japan) to develop a GTR for compressed gaseous and
liquefied hydrogen fuel vehicles in June 2007.\5\ WP.29 formed an IWG
to develop a GTR for these types of vehicles with the aim of attaining
levels of safety equivalent to those for conventional gasoline-powered
vehicles. In June 2013, the GTR for hydrogen vehicles was established
by a unanimous vote in WP.29. It covers the safety of automotive
hydrogen fuel containers, hydrogen fuel lines and their related
components, as well as the safety of high-voltage components.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Under the 1998 Global Agreement, GTRs are established by
consensus vote of the Agreement's Contracting Parties present and
voting.
\5\ The GTR Action Plan (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2007/4 I) and GTR
proposal (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/AC.3/I 7) can be found at https://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29gen/gen2007.html and
https://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29gen/wp29glob
proposal.html, respectively.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consistent with the provisions set forth under the 1998 Agreement,
NHTSA is currently evaluating the GTR for adoption and will provide a
regular status report to WP.29.
For a possible second phase of work, the co-sponsors of the
hydrogen GTR are discussing and developing a new work plan and roadmap.
Focus topics for this Phase are expected to include:
(a) Potential harmonization of vehicle crash tests
(b) Potential scope revision to address additional vehicle classes
(c) Potential harmonization of crash test specifications
(d) Requirements for material compatibility and hydrogen embrittlement
(e) Requirements for the fueling receptacle
(f) Evaluation of performance-based test for long-term stress rupture
proposed in Phase 1
[[Page 21511]]
(g) Consideration of research results reported after completion of
Phase 1--specifically research related to electrical safety, hydrogen
storage systems, and post-crash safety
B. Status of GTRs Under Development
1. Pedestrian Safety
As discussed in the 2013 notice, the November 2008 session, WP.29
voted to establish GTR 9 on Pedestrian Safety.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ 78 FR 21191. NHTSA received one comment from the American
Motorcycle Association on the Pedestrian Safety GTR, offering to
assist NHTSA in evaluating how this GTR could also reduce injuries
to motorcyclists. The comment has been forwarded to those at NHTSA
working on a proposal to introduce the GTR in the United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The GTR contains two sets of performance criteria applying to: (a)
The hood; and (b) the front bumper. Unique test procedures address
adult and child head and adult leg impact protection for each of the
two crash scenarios. At the time GTR 9 was adopted, a legform impactor
developed by TRL (Transport Research Laboratory, UK) was used to
evaluate front bumper impact performance. WP.29, however, agreed to
consider the future use of a newer legform impactor called Flex-PLI
(Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor), which may be more biofidelic.
At the May 2011 session of GRSP, NHTSA reported research results that
raised concerns about the readiness of the Flex-PLI device. As a
result, at its June 2011 session, WP.29 agreed to form a new IWG under
the sponsorship and chairmanship of Germany and Japan to further refine
the Flex-PLI device to replace the existing leg form impacter in GTR 9.
A task force bumper test area was established within the informal group
with the objective to improve the Flex-PLI test procedure as the size
of the bumper test area is reduced due to new bumper designs. The
European Commission is chairing this effort.
To evaluate the Flex-PLI, the IWG started an international vehicle
round-robin test program in September 2012, and finalized it in March
2013. Testing was conducted in Europe, Korea and the United States. The
results showed a stable performance of the legform impactor with good
repeatability. No problem with durability was found during testing. The
working group has also developed certification procedures and cost
benefit assessments for the Flex-PLI.
With regard to the injury criteria, the IWG agreed on injury
assessment reference values (IARVs) that were derived from two
different approaches, one proposed by Germany and another proposed by
Japan. NHTSA requested information about the derivation of the injury
risk functions using these two approaches, as the information had not
been made available to the IWG. At this point the United States is not
prepared to agree or disagree with the IAVRs in the current draft
proposal for this GTR amendment until our own cost-benefit analysis is
completed. For this reason, the United States recommended including
alternate language allowing Contracting Parties to select different
IARVs using cost-benefit analysis in their own country, provided they
were based on the same injury risk functions used to select the IARVs
in the GTR. The United States also added language to the draft preamble
of this pending GTR amendment to reflect our concerns about the level
of stringency of the IARVs.
The formal proposal to amend GTR 9 by introducing the Flex-PLI
impactor was submitted to GRSP in December 2013. Delegates objected to
the United States proposal, and instead a footnote was added allowing
only contracting parties without pre-existing pedestrian protection
regulations or standards to adopt other IARVs, but without included any
criteria for those IARVs. The international Organization of Motor
Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) objected to this language also, therefore
while GRSP agreed to recommend the draft GTR to WP.29 for a vote at the
June 2014 session, it also agreed to ask for WP.29's advice regarding
the injury criteria issue at the March 2014 session. The document would
then be returned to GRSP for the May 2014 session if necessary.
2. Head Restraints
The GTR for head restraints (GTR 7) was established by WP.29 at its
March 2008 session. At that time, the GTR incorporated a dynamic test
option to some of the static requirements using the Hybrid III test
dummy. It was anticipated that a new dummy, the Biofidelic Rear Impact
Dummy (BioRID II), might eventually allow for a full system whiplash
evaluation test that incorporates the combined performance of the seat
and head restraint, but the dummy was not then sufficiently developed
to incorporate, even as an option, the way the Hybrid III dummy was
incorporated. Therefore, in November 2009, WP.29 initiated a second
phase of development for the GTR by forming a new IWG tasked with the
development of a fully developed BioRID II test tool, including test
procedures, injury criteria and associated corridors.
At the December 10-11, 2012 meeting of the IWG, the chairman
confirmed that the development of a proposal for a certification
procedure of the BioRID II was in progress and that the study, which is
funded by the EC, identified areas of dummy performance, (specifically,
reproducibility) still required further investigation. He also reported
that the group may have to consider proposing it as an option to Hybrid
III rather than a replacement. The goal of the IWG was to submit a
proposal for consideration at the December 2013 session of GRSP.
At the June, 2013 session of WP.29 the chairman reported that the
IWG had agreed on draft proposals for: (i) An effective head restraint
height measurement procedure and (ii) an appropriate dynamic test,
including the test procedure and the associated corridors for the
BioRID II. However, he added that the development of injury criteria
for the use of the BioRID II was at a critical point, because medical
research in the United States was still progressing, but not as rapidly
as was expected. As a result, WP.29 agreed to extend the mandate of the
IWG until the end of 2015. Since that time, availability of redesigned
BioRID II dummies from the manufacturer has caused some additional
changes, but the IWG is still hopeful that it can submit a proposal for
consideration at the May 2014 session of GRSP. If GRSP votes to
recommend the amendments at that session, WP.29 could vote on the
amendments as early as the November 2014 session, earlier than this new
deadline.
At the December 2013 session of GRSP, a new proposal to amend the
GTR was submitted jointly by Germany, the Netherlands, and the United
Kingdom. The proposal would require front outboard designated seating
positions to have at least one position of head restraint adjustment
that was not less than 830 mm, an increase of 30 mm over the current
requirement of 800 mm, and to have no position of head restraint
adjustment that was less than 720 mm, a decrease of 30 mm over the
current requirement of 750 mm.
Both OICA and the United States submitted informal documents
responding to this proposal. OICA indicated that the new measurement
method included in the draft proposal from the IWG would lead to
results on average 30 mm lower than when using the current measurement
method and that therefore, the effect of this proposal combined with
that change would be to require an average 60 mm increase in head
restraint height. The United States document requested data to support
the proposal, and also noted that feasibility issues had previously
been raised when high head restraint heights had been proposed in the
past.
[[Page 21512]]
3. Quiet Electric and Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
As discussed in the 2013 notice, in 2009, NHTSA published a report
on the incident rates of crashes involving hybrid-electric vehicles and
pedestrians under different scenarios.\7\ The U.S. study, using crash
data collected from several states, compared vehicle to pedestrian
crash rates for hybrid electric-vehicles and vehicles with internal
combustion engines (ICE). In the study, the agency concluded that there
was an increased rate of pedestrian crashes for hybrid electric
vehicles versus similarly sized ICE vehicles. In 2010, the agency
published a second report that found that the overall sound levels for
the hybrid-electric vehicles tested were lower at low speeds than for
the peer ICE vehicles tested.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ ``Research on Quieter Cars and the Safety of Blind
Pedestrians, A Report to Congress'' prepared by National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation,
October 2009. This report can be found at https://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2010/RptToCongress091709.pdf.
\8\ Garay-Vega, Lisandra; Hastings, Aaron; Pollard, John K.;
Zuschlag, Michael; and Stearns, Mary D., Quieter Cars and the Safety
of Blind Pedestrians: Phase I, John A. Volpe National Transportation
Systems Center, DOT HS 811 304 April 2010, available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2010/811304rev.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and
Tourism (MLIT), after studying the feasibility of alert sounds for
electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, issued guidelines for pedestrian
alert sounds in 2010. MLIT concluded that pedestrian alert sounds
should be required only on hybrid-electric vehicles that can run
exclusively on an electric motor, electric vehicles and fuel-cell
vehicles. MLIT guidelines require that electric and hybrid-electric
vehicles generate a pedestrian alert sound whenever the vehicle is
moving forward at any speed less than 20 km/h and when the vehicle is
operating in reverse. The guidelines do not require vehicles to produce
an alert sound when the vehicle is operating, but stopped, such as at a
traffic light. Also, manufacturers are allowed to equip the vehicle
with a switch to deactivate the alert sound temporarily.
WP.29 also determined that vehicles propelled in whole or in part
by electric means, present a danger to pedestrians and consequently
adopted guidelines covering alert sounds for electric and hybrid
vehicles that are closely based on the Japanese guidelines at its March
2011 meeting. The guidelines were published as an annex to the UNECE
Consolidated Resolution on the Construction of Vehicles (R.E.3).
Considering the international interest and work in this new area of
safety, the United States, the European Commission (EC) and Japan
agreed to work, as co-sponsors, on a new GTR to develop harmonized
pedestrian minimum sound requirements for electric and hybrid-electric
vehicles under the 1998 Global Agreement.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ Additionally, the agency is taking this action because the
Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act requires the agency to issue a
standard specifying minimum sound for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.
The agency announced its proposal on January 14, 2013 (78 FR 2797).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
WP.29 is currently working to develop the GTR. In 2013, three
meetings of the IWG were held: (1) Brussels, Belgium, in April, (2)
Washington DC, in July, and (3) Tokyo, Japan in December.
At its November 2013 session, WP.29 decided to extend the timeline
for completing the GTR by one year--it is now expected to be
established November 2015. The next meeting of the IWG will take place
in Washington DC in May 2014. The meeting agendas, reports and related
documents can be found on the UN Web site for this IWG.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ https://www2.unece.org/wiki/display/trans/GTR+for+QRTV.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Electric Vehicles
At the March 2012 session of WP.29, the co-sponsors (the United
States, Japan, and the EC) submitted a joint proposal (ECE/Trans/WP.29/
2012/36. and its Corr1) to establish two working groups to address the
safety and environmental issues associated with electric vehicles
(EVs). The WP.29 Executive Committee adopted this proposal as well as
approved China, per its request, as the fourth co-sponsor.
For the safety aspects, an electric vehicle safety (EVS) IWG was
formed to begin development of the GTR, which would apply to high
voltage hybrid and pure electric vehicles with a gross vehicle mass of
4,536 kilograms or less, their batteries, and other associated high-
risk components. The United States chairs the IWG with China and the EU
as co-vice chairs, and Japan as the secretary. To the extent possible,
the GTR will include performance-based requirements and testing
protocols designed to allow for innovation, while ensuring that the
unique safety risks posed by electric vehicles are mitigated. The GTR
will address the safety of high voltage electrical components,
including lithium-ion and other types of batteries, their performance
during normal use, after a crash event, and while recharging at a
residential or commercial station.
The third and fourth EVS IWG meetings were held in 2013: (1) Tokyo,
Japan, in April and (2) Beijing, China, in October. At these meetings,
the IWG exchanged current regulatory, technical and research
information and drafted an outline for the GTR. The IWG also discussed
the OICA's proposal which was submitted for the IWG consideration. This
proposal contained requirements based on the existing UNECE regulation
(R100) for electric vehicle safety, which included safety requirements
for occupant protection against high voltage and rechargeable energy
storage systems. At the Beijing IWG meeting, the U.S. submitted a
battery research plan and approach to rulemaking to the IWG for
information and consideration. As presented at the IWG meetings, NHTSA
believes that it is important to select boundary conditions and test
methods that appropriately and accurately capture the nature of the
vehicle working/or operating environment. The research tests include
mechanical shock, mechanical integrity, fire hazard, vibration, thermal
shock, cycling, and others. Based on the approach of the Hydrogen Fuel-
Cell Vehicle GTR no. 13, NHTSA is using similar vehicle conditions to
establish the rechargeable energy storage system (REESS) research test
boundary conditions, such as operating temperatures and test
temperature and exposure time for fire test. For example, the vibration
schedule must be representative of the general operating environment of
a vehicle. Each performance requirement and test method must correlate
to safety risks of in-use and post-crash automobiles. The abuse
conditions that NHTSA believes must be considered in the process of
developing performance standards include mechanical penetration,
internal short circuit, chemical compatibility, and the liberation of
stranded energy in the post-crash or inoperative environment. We
believe that the results of the anticipated research will play an
important role in better informing the appropriate approach to evaluate
battery system safety.
NHTSA recognizes that the OICA proposal addresses some of the
general topics that may be required by a comprehensive REESS safety
standard. However, many of these requirements were developed to
evaluate criteria under conditions unrelated to the automotive
applications during use and post-crash. Some of these requirements
support general reliability criteria for product development but do not
[[Page 21513]]
directly support safety performance metrics. Rather they may only imply
safety by demonstrating the lack of a safety failure during the tested
conditions, which are unacceptable from a performance point of view.
Other requirements impose safety relevant abuse conditions to a cell or
module then observe or measure the response to that abuse. During REESS
development, these tests may describe some sub-component safety limits
that are useful in designing protections from those conditions.
However, they generally do not cascade to vehicle or pack level
performance, and boundary conditions to these tests must be accurately
defined to the specific application requirements.
NHTSA believes that a system-level evaluation is the most
appropriate method for determining safety performance in this context.
NHTSA will continue to work with the IWG and share technical data and
analysis for future IWG discussions and drafting the GTR.
5. Light Vehicle Tires
The IWG for developing a GTR on light vehicle tires began its work
in September 2006. The activity is sponsored by France and chaired by
the UK. The GTR would apply to radial passenger and light truck tires
designed for use on vehicles with a gross mass of 10,000 pounds or
less. Its provisions include five mandatory performance and labeling
requirements (tire sidewall markings, tire dimensions, high speed
performance, low pressure and endurance performance, and wet traction
performance).
In addition, there are two optional modules, with one containing a
tire strength test and bead unseating resistance test, and the second
containing a tire rolling sound emission test. During the course of the
development of the GTR, it became apparent that the requirements for
light truck tires would require more time to develop. It was therefore
decided by WP.29 to split the work on the GTR into two phases. The
first phase covers passenger car tires only, and the second will
address the light truck tires.
NHTSA received a comment from the Rubber Manufacturers Association
(RMA) on this GTR in response to the 2013 Federal Register notice. The
RMA noted that the GTR should have been included in the ``GTRs Nearing
Completion and Establishment by Vote'' section, rather than the ``GTRs
Under Development'' section, and urged the agency to vote in support of
the GTR at the November 2013 session of WP.29. The vote has yet to
occur because of an outstanding issue involving the validation of a
trailer-based method for evaluating wet traction performance of tires.
The U.S. is currently conducting research in this area which should
conclude by mid-2014. Subsequently, if agreement is reached on the
final text of the GTR, a vote to establish it is expected to take place
at the November 2014 session of WP.29/AC.3.
6. Pole Side Impact Protection and Harmonized Side Impact Dummies
In November 2009, an informal meeting was held in Washington, DC
among interested experts to discuss international cooperation in the
development of harmonized side impact dummies. In June 2010, WP.29
formed an IWG to develop a GTR for pole side impact (PSI) protection
under the sponsorship and chairmanship of Australia. At the same time,
an IWG on Harmonized Side Impact Dummies was formed under the
sponsorship and chairmanship of the United States. The second group was
tasked with supporting the PSI GTR by evaluating and further developing
the World Side Impact Dummy (WorldSID) family of dummies. The two
groups have generally met in conjunction. The side impact dummy IWG
held its first meeting in November of 2009 and the PSI group held its
first meeting in November 2010. The first tasks of the PSI IWG included
confirming the safety need for the GTR and assessing potential
candidate crash test procedures for the GTR. As originally planned, the
GTR would contain pole side impact test procedures using side impact
test dummies representing a WorldSID 50th percentile adult male and a
WorldSID 5th percentile adult female.
At the November 2013 session, WP.29 adopted a Pole Side Impact GTR
that incorporates an oblique pole test similar to that in the FMVSS No.
214, ``Side impact protection;'' however, it uses the 50th percentile
male WorldSID dummy only. While WP.29 agreed to a change of the terms
of reference of the IWG to allow a GTR with only one dummy instead of
both the World SID 50th percentile adult male and World SID 5th
percentile adult female as originally planned, it included a provision
that no Contracting Party would be required to initiate the process to
adopt the GTR until both phases were complete, even if it were to vote
in favor of the first phase of the GTR. However, the United States was
not in a position to vote yes on the IARVs for the 50th percentile
adjult male at the time the vote was taken and was concerned about its
future position since it could not predict the outcome of a second
phase. Therefore, the United States abstained from the vote for the
pole side impact GTR.
At the November 2012 session, WP.29 established Mutual Resolution
(M.R.1) of the 1958 and 1998 Agreements concerning the description and
performance of test tools and devices necessary for the assessment of
compliance of wheeled vehicles, equipment and parts according to the
technical prescriptions specified in Regulations and global technical
regulations. It is intended that test tools and devices necessary for
compliance assessment will be comprehensively defined in terms of their
essential characteristics and performance in an addenda to M.R.1. In
conformity with this a parallel proposal to the Pole Side Impact GTR
for Addendum 2 to M.R.1 introducing drawings and specifications for the
WorldSID 50th percentile male will be submitted at a later stage to
GRSP and to WP.29 for adoption. The Secretariat of the UN is currently
negotiating with the International Organization for Standardization
(150) which holds the copywrite on many of the documents on how to
incorporate them into M.R.I.
Concerning the 5th percentile female WorldSID dummy, as previously
reported, issues will significantly increase development time for this
dummy. Currently, the effort on the 5th percentile female is expected
to be completed by December 2015. Because of this, the PSI IWG has
suspended its meetings until the 5th percentile female WorldSID dummy
development is complete. At that time it will resume its meetings to
complete work on the GTR to incorporate the second dummy.
C. Exchange of Information Item
Enforcement Working Group
At the June 2011 session of WP.29, NHTSA proposed that WP.29
consider forming a new working group that would meet to facilitate the
regular exchange of non-proprietary or otherwise non-privileged
information on enforcement-related activities from around the world to
help governments identify and manage incidences of automotive non-
compliance or defects more quickly. The participants of WP.29 welcomed
and accepted the proposal. To date, four meetings of the IWG have been
held, each during the November 2011, June 2012, November 2012, and June
2013 sessions of WP.29. The IWG is open to all the delegates to WP.29
including the Contracting Parties, Non-Governmental Organizations and
industry associations and is expected to meet twice a year going
forward (each
[[Page 21514]]
June and November sessions of WP.29) subject to the agreement of WP.29.
D. Compendium of Candidate GTRs
Article 5 of the 1998 Global Agreement provides for the creation of
a compendium of candidate technical regulations submitted by the
Contracting Parties. To date, NHTSA has submitted several FMVSSs for
inclusion in this Compendium. These FMVSSs have all been listed in the
Compendium after an affirmative vote of the Executive Committee of the
1998 Global Agreement.
The FMVSS currently listed in the Compendium include:
FMVSS No. 108: Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated
Equipment
FMVSS No. 135: Passenger Car Brake Systems
FMVSS No. 139: New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light Vehicles
FMVSS No. 202a: Head Restraints
FMVSS No. 205: Glazing Materials
FMVSS No. 213: Child Restraint Systems
EPA and DOT programs for Light-duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium and Heavy-
Duty Engines and Vehicles
EPA and NHTSA Programs for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards
and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium and Heavy-Duty Engines and
Vehicles
EPA and NHTSA Programs for Revisions and Additions to the
Motor Vehicle Fuel Economy Label: New Fuel Economy and Environment
Labels for a New Generation of Vehicles
No additional candidate technical regulations have been added as of
the publication of this notice.
IV. Request for Comments
NHTSA invites public comments on the various activities outlined in
this notice. As discussed in Appendix C of 49 CFR part 553, if NHTSA
votes ``yes'' on a GTR, the agency will publish a notice requesting
public comment on adopting the regulation as a U.S. standard. Any
decision by NHTSA whether to issue a final rule adopting the regulation
or to issue a notice terminating consideration of that regulation will
be made in accordance with applicable U.S. law and only after careful
consideration and analysis of public comments. In the event that NHTSA
issues a final rule based on a GTR and, due to the public comments and/
or new information and data, the final rule significantly differs from
the GTR, NHTSA will consider seeking amendments to the GTR in an effort
to achieve consistency. The agency plans to issue individual notices
based on each GTR as it is established by WP.29 and will consider
additional detailed comments at that time.
Claude H. Harris,
Acting Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2014-08532 Filed 4-15-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
