Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application for an Exemption From TowMate, LLC., 47031-47032 [2015-19333]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 151 / Thursday, August 6, 2015 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA–2015–0238]
Parts and Accessories Necessary for
Safe Operation; Application for an
Exemption From TowMate, LLC.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for
exemption; request for comments.
AGENCY:
The Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration (FMCSA)
requests public comment on an
application for exemption from
TowMate, LLC (TowMate) to allow
motor carriers to operate rechargeable
wireless temporary stop, turn, and tail
lighting systems during temporary
emergency towing operations in lieu of
hard-wired temporary stop, tail, and
turn signal lighting systems.
Rechargeable wireless temporary
emergency stop, turn, and tail lighting
systems do not meet the power supply
requirements for lamps in the Federal
Motor Carrier Safety Regulations
(FMCSR) which require all required
lamps, with the exception of batterypowered lamps used on projecting
loads, to be powered by the electrical
system of the motor vehicle. Based on
improvements in light-emitting diode
(LED) technology, coupled with
advancements in battery technologies,
TowMate believes that rechargeable
wireless tow lighting systems will
maintain a level of safety that is
equivalent to, or greater than, the level
of safety achieved without the
exemption. TowMate is requesting the
temporary exemption in advance of
petitioning FMCSA to conduct a
rulemaking to amend 49 CFR 393.23.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before September 8, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
bearing the Federal Docket Management
System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA–
2015–0238 using any of the following
methods:
• Web site: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments
on the Federal electronic docket site.
• Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
• Mail: Docket Management Facility,
U.S. Department of Transportation,
Room W12–140, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590–
0001.
• Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, DOT Building, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC,
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:50 Aug 05, 2015
Jkt 235001
47031
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. e.t., MondayFriday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must
include the Agency name and docket
number for this notice. For detailed
instructions on submitting comments
and additional information on the
exemption process, see the ‘‘Public
Participation’’ heading below. Note that
all comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. Please
see the ‘‘Privacy Act’’ heading for
further information.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov or to Room W12–
140, DOT Building, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5
U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments
from the public to better inform its
rulemaking process. DOT posts these
comments, without edit, including any
personal information the commenter
provides, to www.regulations.gov, as
described in the system of records
notice (DOT/ALL–14 FDMS), which can
be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.
Public participation: The https://
www.regulations.gov Web site is
generally available 24 hours each day,
365 days each year. You may find
electronic submission and retrieval help
and guidelines under the ‘‘help’’ section
of the https://www.regulations.gov Web
site as well as the DOT’s https://
docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you
would like notification that we received
your comments, please include a selfaddressed, stamped envelope or
postcard or print the acknowledgment
page that appears after submitting
comments online.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Luke Loy, Vehicle and Roadside
Operations Division, Office of Carrier,
Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC–PSV,
(202) 366–0676, Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590–
0001.
section 4007. Under this rule, FMCSA
must publish a notice of each exemption
request in the Federal Register (49 CFR
381.315(a)). The Agency must provide
the public with an opportunity to
inspect the information relevant to the
application, including any safety
analyses that have been conducted. The
Agency must also provide an
opportunity for public comment on the
request.
The Agency reviews the safety
analyses and the public comments and
determines whether granting the
exemption would likely achieve a level
of safety equivalent to or greater than
the level that would be achieved by the
current regulation (49 CFR 381.305).
The decision of the Agency must be
published in the Federal Register (49
CFR 381.315(b)). If the Agency denies
the request, it must state the reason for
doing so. If the decision is to grant the
exemption, the notice must specify the
person or class of persons receiving the
exemption and the regulatory provision
or provisions from which an exemption
is granted. The notice must specify the
effective period of the exemption (up to
2 years) and explain the terms and
conditions of the exemption. The
exemption may be renewed (49 CFR
381.315(c) and 49 CFR 381.300(b)).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
TowMate is making this request because
the use of conventional hard wired
temporary stop, turn, and tail lights has many
drawbacks that wireless tow lights solve.
These include broken connections, frayed
wires, burnt out incandescent bulbs, and the
potential to be snagged or pulled from the
tow light receptacle due to improper running
of wires, and road hazards, along with the
safety hazard of increasing the amount of
time spent on the roadside or the scene of an
accident by stringing wired lighting systems
between vehicles and securing the wires.
Background
Section 4007 of the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA–
21) [Pub. L. 105–178, June 9, 1998, 112
Stat. 401] amended 49 U.S.C. 31315 and
31136(e) to provide authority to grant
exemptions from the Federal Motor
Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs).
On August 20, 2004, FMCSA published
a final rule (69 FR 51589) implementing
PO 00000
Frm 00085
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
TowMate’s Application for Exemption
TowMate has applied for an
exemption from 49 CFR 393.23 to allow
motor carriers to operate rechargeable
wireless temporary stop, turn, and tail
lighting systems during temporary
emergency towing operations. Such
systems do not comply with the
requirement that all required lamps,
with the exception of battery powered
lamps used on projecting loads, must be
powered by the electrical system of the
motor vehicle. A copy of the application
is included in the docket referenced at
the beginning of this notice.
Section 393.23 of the FMCSRs,
‘‘Power Supply for lamps,’’ provides
‘‘All required lamps must be powered
by the electrical system of the motor
vehicle with the exception of battery
powered lamps used on projecting
loads.’’
In its application, TowMate states:
E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM
06AUN1
47032
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 151 / Thursday, August 6, 2015 / Notices
With the advent of LED technology coupled
with advancements in battery technologies,
wireless tow lights are more reliable and
better equipped for the rigors of daily
temporary use.
Temporary wireless stop, turn, tail lighting
systems can operate for 10+ hours of
continuous use on a full charge, and in-cab
wire-less monitoring systems give the driver
constant information on the functioning of
the system, displaying state of charge of the
battery inside the unit, displaying the
functioning of the system during operation,
and warning the driver if the unit is no
longer functioning. In this sense, wireless
tow lights provide a level of safety and
redundancy that is not currently required on
wired temporary lighting systems. In an
emergency situation with a drained battery,
power can be directly connected to the
temporary wireless stop, turn, and tail
lighting system from a standard 4 pin or 7
pin electrical connection.
Without the proposed temporary
exemption, tow and haul away operators will
be forced to continue to use cumbersome
wired temporary towing light systems,
placing an unnecessary burden on their daily
operations. The current temporary lighting
requirements for stop, tail, and turn lamps
require that the lamps receive their power
from a direct wired connection to the towing
vehicle with no ascertainable benefit from
doing such. Wireless tow lights afford
benefits that wired systems are unable to,
such as redundancies like monitoring the
status of the unit in real time, thus assuring
their proper operation at all times.
The exemption would apply to all
motor carriers using rechargeable
wireless temporary stop, turn, and tail
lighting systems. TowMate believes that
use of rechargeable wireless tow lighting
systems will maintain a level of safety
that is equivalent to, or greater than, the
level of safety achieved without the
exemption.
tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315
and 31136(e), FMCSA requests public
comment from all interested persons on
TowMate’s application for an exemption
from 49 CFR 393.23. All comments
received before the close of business on
the comment closing date indicated at
the beginning of this notice will be
considered and will be available for
examination in the docket at the
location listed under the ADDRESSES
section of this notice. Comments
received after the comment closing date
will be filed in the public docket and
will be considered to the extent
practicable. In addition to late
comments, FMCSA will also continue to
file, in the public docket, relevant
information that becomes available after
the comment closing date. Interested
persons should continue to examine the
public docket for new material.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:50 Aug 05, 2015
Jkt 235001
Issued on: July 24, 2015.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015–19333 Filed 8–5–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
[Docket No. PHMSA–2015–0173]
Pipeline Safety: Meeting of the Gas
Pipeline Safety Advisory Committee
and the Liquid Pipeline Safety
Advisory Committee
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration
(PHMSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of advisory committee
meeting.
AGENCY:
This notice announces a
public meeting of the Gas Pipeline
Advisory Committee (GPAC), also
known as the Technical Pipeline Safety
Standards Committee, and the Liquid
Pipeline Advisory Committee (LPAC),
also known as the Technical Hazardous
Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards
Committee.
SUMMARY:
The committees will meet in
joint sessions on Tuesday, August 25,
2015, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and
on Wednesday, August 26, 2015, from
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST.
The meetings will not be web cast;
however, presentations will be available
on the meeting Web site and posted on
the E-Gov Web site: https://
www.regulations.gov under docket
number PHMSA–2015–0173 within 30
days following the meeting.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at
the Crystal City Marriott at Reagan
National Airport, 1999 Jefferson Davis
Highway, Arlington, VA 22202. A
limited block of rooms is available at the
government rate of $162 per night. The
deadline to book a room in the block is
August 6, 2015, or when the block is
filled, whichever comes first. However,
the advisory committee members have
priority for the room block. More
information and a link to reserve a room
is available on the meeting Web site.
You can also call the hotel directly at 1–
703–413–5500 and ask for the ‘‘U.S.
Department of Transportation Meeting’’
block.
The agenda and any additional
information will be published on the
following pipeline advisory committee
meeting and registration page at https://
primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/
MtgHome.mtg?mtg=105.
DATES:
PO 00000
Frm 00086
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Comments: Comments on the meeting
may be submitted to the docket in the
following ways:
E-Gov Web site: https://
www.regulations.gov. This site allows
the public to enter comments on any
Federal Register notice issued by any
agency.
Fax: 1–202–493–2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility;
U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
West Building, Room W12–140,
Washington, DC 20590–001.
Hand Delivery: Room W12–140 on the
ground level of the DOT West Building,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE.,
Washington, DC, between 9:00 a.m. and
5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday,
except on Federal holidays.
Instructions: Identify the docket
number PHMSA–2015–0173 at the
beginning of your comments. Note that
all comments received will be posted
without change to https://
www.regulations.gov, including any
personal information provided. You
should know that 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.).
Therefore, you may want to review
DOT’s complete Privacy Act Statement
in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477), or view
the Privacy Notice at https://
www.regulations.gov before submitting
any such comments.
Docket: For access to the docket or to
read background documents or
comments, go to https://
www.regulations.gov at any time or to
Room W12–140 on the ground level of
the DOT West Building, 1200 New
Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC,
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal
holidays.
If you wish to receive confirmation of
receipt of your written comments,
please include a self-addressed,
stamped postcard with the following
statement: ‘‘Comments on PHMSA–
2015–0173.’’ The Docket Clerk will date
stamp the postcard prior to returning it
to you via the U.S. mail. Please note that
due to delays in the delivery of U.S.
mail to Federal offices in Washington,
DC, we recommend that persons
consider an alternative method
(Internet, fax, or professional delivery
service) of submitting comments to the
docket and ensuring their timely receipt
at DOT.
E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM
06AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 151 (Thursday, August 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47031-47032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19333]
[[Page 47031]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
[Docket No. FMCSA-2015-0238]
Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application
for an Exemption From TowMate, LLC.
AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
requests public comment on an application for exemption from TowMate,
LLC (TowMate) to allow motor carriers to operate rechargeable wireless
temporary stop, turn, and tail lighting systems during temporary
emergency towing operations in lieu of hard-wired temporary stop, tail,
and turn signal lighting systems. Rechargeable wireless temporary
emergency stop, turn, and tail lighting systems do not meet the power
supply requirements for lamps in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations (FMCSR) which require all required lamps, with the
exception of battery-powered lamps used on projecting loads, to be
powered by the electrical system of the motor vehicle. Based on
improvements in light-emitting diode (LED) technology, coupled with
advancements in battery technologies, TowMate believes that
rechargeable wireless tow lighting systems will maintain a level of
safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety
achieved without the exemption. TowMate is requesting the temporary
exemption in advance of petitioning FMCSA to conduct a rulemaking to
amend 49 CFR 393.23.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 8, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2015-0238 using any of the
following methods:
Web site: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket
site.
Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room W12-140, DOT Building,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
e.t., Monday-Friday, except Federal holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and
docket number for this notice. For detailed instructions on submitting
comments and additional information on the exemption process, see the
``Public Participation'' heading below. Note that all comments received
will be posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including
any personal information provided. Please see the ``Privacy Act''
heading for further information.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov or to Room W12-140,
DOT Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at
www.dot.gov/privacy.
Public participation: The https://www.regulations.gov Web site is
generally available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You may find
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the
``help'' section of the https://www.regulations.gov Web site as well as
the DOT's https://docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you would like
notification that we received your comments, please include a self-
addressed, stamped envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgment
page that appears after submitting comments online.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Luke Loy, Vehicle and Roadside
Operations Division, Office of Carrier, Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC-
PSV, (202) 366-0676, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
(TEA- 21) [Pub. L. 105-178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 401] amended 49
U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). On August 20,
2004, FMCSA published a final rule (69 FR 51589) implementing section
4007. Under this rule, FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption
request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The Agency must
provide the public with an opportunity to inspect the information
relevant to the application, including any safety analyses that have
been conducted. The Agency must also provide an opportunity for public
comment on the request.
The Agency reviews the safety analyses and the public comments and
determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a level
of safety equivalent to or greater than the level that would be
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305).
The decision of the Agency must be published in the Federal
Register (49 CFR 381.315(b)). If the Agency denies the request, it must
state the reason for doing so. If the decision is to grant the
exemption, the notice must specify the person or class of persons
receiving the exemption and the regulatory provision or provisions from
which an exemption is granted. The notice must specify the effective
period of the exemption (up to 2 years) and explain the terms and
conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR
381.315(c) and 49 CFR 381.300(b)).
TowMate's Application for Exemption
TowMate has applied for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.23 to allow
motor carriers to operate rechargeable wireless temporary stop, turn,
and tail lighting systems during temporary emergency towing operations.
Such systems do not comply with the requirement that all required
lamps, with the exception of battery powered lamps used on projecting
loads, must be powered by the electrical system of the motor vehicle. A
copy of the application is included in the docket referenced at the
beginning of this notice.
Section 393.23 of the FMCSRs, ``Power Supply for lamps,'' provides
``All required lamps must be powered by the electrical system of the
motor vehicle with the exception of battery powered lamps used on
projecting loads.''
In its application, TowMate states:
TowMate is making this request because the use of conventional
hard wired temporary stop, turn, and tail lights has many drawbacks
that wireless tow lights solve. These include broken connections,
frayed wires, burnt out incandescent bulbs, and the potential to be
snagged or pulled from the tow light receptacle due to improper
running of wires, and road hazards, along with the safety hazard of
increasing the amount of time spent on the roadside or the scene of
an accident by stringing wired lighting systems between vehicles and
securing the wires.
[[Page 47032]]
With the advent of LED technology coupled with advancements in
battery technologies, wireless tow lights are more reliable and
better equipped for the rigors of daily temporary use.
Temporary wireless stop, turn, tail lighting systems can operate
for 10+ hours of continuous use on a full charge, and in-cab wire-
less monitoring systems give the driver constant information on the
functioning of the system, displaying state of charge of the battery
inside the unit, displaying the functioning of the system during
operation, and warning the driver if the unit is no longer
functioning. In this sense, wireless tow lights provide a level of
safety and redundancy that is not currently required on wired
temporary lighting systems. In an emergency situation with a drained
battery, power can be directly connected to the temporary wireless
stop, turn, and tail lighting system from a standard 4 pin or 7 pin
electrical connection.
Without the proposed temporary exemption, tow and haul away
operators will be forced to continue to use cumbersome wired
temporary towing light systems, placing an unnecessary burden on
their daily operations. The current temporary lighting requirements
for stop, tail, and turn lamps require that the lamps receive their
power from a direct wired connection to the towing vehicle with no
ascertainable benefit from doing such. Wireless tow lights afford
benefits that wired systems are unable to, such as redundancies like
monitoring the status of the unit in real time, thus assuring their
proper operation at all times.
The exemption would apply to all motor carriers using rechargeable
wireless temporary stop, turn, and tail lighting systems. TowMate
believes that use of rechargeable wireless tow lighting systems will
maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the
level of safety achieved without the exemption.
Request for Comments
In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests
public comment from all interested persons on TowMate's application for
an exemption from 49 CFR 393.23. All comments received before the close
of business on the comment closing date indicated at the beginning of
this notice will be considered and will be available for examination in
the docket at the location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this
notice. Comments received after the comment closing date will be filed
in the public docket and will be considered to the extent practicable.
In addition to late comments, FMCSA will also continue to file, in the
public docket, relevant information that becomes available after the
comment closing date. Interested persons should continue to examine the
public docket for new material.
Issued on: July 24, 2015.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-19333 Filed 8-5-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P