National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this document, we update our standard regulating motor vehicle controls, telltales and indicators. The standard specifies requirements for the location, identification, and illumination of these items. This rule extends the standard's telltale and indicator requirements to vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 4,536 kg (10,000 pounds) and greater, updates the standard's requirements for multi-function controls and multi-task displays to make the requirements appropriate for advanced systems, and reorganizes the standard to make it easier to read. The standard requires, among other things, that certain controls, telltales and indicators be identified by specified symbols or words. While we proposed to expand the list of items for which specified identification is required, we decided, for purposes of this rule, to include only the items and identification previously specified in this standard or in another of our standards.

Our safety standard on theft protection specifies vehicle performance requirements intended to reduce the incidence of crashes resulting from theft and accidental rollaway of motor vehicles. As a result of technological advances in the area of theft protection, the terminology used in the regulatory text of the Standard has become outdated and incompatible with key-locking systems that employ electronic codes to lock and unlock the vehicle, and to enable engine activation. This document proposes to amend and reorganize the regulatory text of the Standard so that it better correlates to modern theft protection technology and reflects the agency's interpretation of the existing requirements. The proposed requirements would not impose any new substantive requirements on vehicle manufacturers.

This document denies a petition for rulemaking to amend the definition of frontal air bag system in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 208, ``Occupant crash protection.'' NHTSA has addressed this issue in a recent final rule dated November 19, 2003, and in an interpretation letter dated July 19, 2004.

This document publishes the final data on thefts of model year (MY) 2003 passenger motor vehicles that occurred in calendar year (CY) 2003. The final 2003 theft data indicate a decrease in the vehicle theft rate experienced in CY/MY 2003. The final theft rate for MY 2003 passenger vehicles stolen in calendar year 2003 (1.84 thefts per thousand vehicles) decreased by 26.1 percent from the theft rate for CY/MY 2002 (2.49 thefts per thousand vehicles) when compared to the theft rate experienced in CY/MY 2002. Publication of these data fulfills NHTSA's statutory obligation to periodically obtain accurate and timely theft data and publish the information for review and comment.

This final rule amends NHTSA's regulation on service of process on foreign manufacturers and importers to clarify existing regulatory requirements by rephrasing the regulation in a plain language, question and answer format and inserting an appendix containing a suggested designation form for use by foreign manufacturers and their agents. It also will enhance communications between foreign manufacturers and the agency by spelling out existing requirements for providing notice to NHTSA of changes in company name, address and product names, and changing the office to which foreign manufacturers must submit designation and related documents to reflect organizational changes occurring since the regulation was adopted.

This document announces a decision by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that certain 1997 Land Rover Defender 90 multi-purpose passenger vehicles (MPVs) that were not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) are eligible for importation into the United States because they are substantially similar to vehicles originally manufactured for importation into and sale in the United States and that were certified by their manufacturer as complying with the safety standards (the U.S. certified version of the 1997 Land Rover Defender 90 MPV), and they are capable of being readily altered to conform to the standards.

This document announces receipt by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of a petition for a decision that 2005 Harley Davidson FX, FL, and XL motorcycles that were not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) are eligible for importation into the United States because (1) they are substantially similar to vehicles that were originally manufactured for sale in the United States and that were certified by their manufacturer as complying with the safety standards, and (2) they are capable of being readily altered to conform to the standards.

In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that an Information Collection Request (ICR) in support of the New Car Assessment Program has been forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of the information collections and their expected burden. The Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period was published on May 11, 2005 [70 FR 24859, or U.S. DOT Docket Number NHTSA-2005-21068].

This document announces decisions by NHTSA that certain motor vehicles not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards are eligible for importation into the United States because they are substantially similar to vehicles originally manufactured for importation into and/or sale in the United States and certified by their manufacturers as complying with the safety standards, and they are capable of being readily altered to conform to the standards or because they have safety features that comply with, or are capable of being altered to comply with, all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards.

This notice announces the availability of a research report on child restraint labels. The research was conducted in July of 2003. This notice also announces that NHTSA does not plan to conduct further rulemaking on child restraint labels at this time.

Our requirements for advanced air bags are being phased in during two stages, the first of which extends over a three-year period from September 1, 2003 to August 31, 2006. The phase-in provides special requirements for limited line manufacturers. These manufacturers are excluded from the first two years of the phase-in but must achieve 100 percent compliance for the third year, i.e., the production year beginning September 1, 2005. To address problems faced by Porsche, we are issuing this interim final rule revising the phase- in for limited line manufacturers so that 95 percent of a manufacturer's vehicles must comply with the advanced air bag requirements during this one-year period instead of 100 percent.

This document responds to petitions for reconsideration of the October 1, 2004 final rule (69 FR 58843), which was in response to the initial petitions for reconsideration of the December 27, 2002 final rule (67 FR 79416) that established two new Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs); FMVSS No. 403, Platform lift systems for motor vehicles, and FMVSS No. 404, Platform lift installations in motor vehicles. The purpose of these standards is to prevent injuries and fatalities during lift operation. In the October 2004 final rule the agency clarified the applicability of the standards as well as amended the definitions of certain operational functions, the requirements for lift lighting on public lifts, the interlock requirements, compliance procedures for lifts that manually deploy/stow, the environmental resistance requirements, the edge guard requirements, the wheelchair test device specifications, and the location requirements for public lift controls. The agency received petitions for reconsideration of the October 2004 final rule from a school bus manufacturer, a lift interlock/control manufacturer, a vehicle association, a school bus technical council and a dealer's association. The agency is denying the petitioners' request to require interlocks be designed to prevent ``malicious'' release and to place responsibility for lighting requirements under FMVSS No. 403. The request to amend the lighting intensity requirements under FMVSS No. 404 will be addressed in a separate notice as a petition for rulemaking.

NHTSA received a letter asking us to extend the comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) for occupant crash protection. The agency has proposed to amend FMVSS No. 208, Occupant crash protection, by establishing a test procedure applicable to vehicles equipped with a child restraint anchorage system, commonly referred to as a ``LATCH'' system, in a front passenger seating position and that comply with advanced air bag requirements through the use of a suppression system. The proposed procedures specify a repeatable, reproducible, and realistic method of attaching child restraints to the LATCH system for the suppression test. To provide interested persons additional time to prepare comments, we are extending the end of the comment period from July 18, 2005, to August 17, 2005. This 30-day extension will allow vehicle manufacturers the appropriate opportunity to review a technical report cited in the NPRM in support of the agency's proposal, and provide more meaningful comments.

Today's NPRM proposes specifications and qualification requirements for the new test dummy that is representative of a 10- year-old child. NHTSA plans to use the new 10-year-old child test dummy to test child restraints under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 213 and in other applications. The dummy has the capability to be placed in a slouched posture, which allows the evaluation of vehicle belt systems under real world occupant conditions.

This document grants in full the petition of General Motors Corporation (GM) for an exemption of a high-theft line, the Chevrolet Cobalt, from the parts-marking requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard. This petition is granted because the agency has determined that the antitheft device to be placed on the line as standard equipment is likely to be as effective in reducing and deterring motor vehicle theft as compliance with the parts-marking requirements of the Theft Prevention Standard.

On July 12, 1996, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a final rule that rescinded Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 126, Truck-camper loading, and combined its provisions with 49 CFR 575.103, Truck-camper loading. When combining these two regulations, NHTSA inadvertently changed a cross reference so that it refers to only one of five information requirements, instead of all five as it had previously. This document corrects that error.

Before a Federal agency can collect certain information from the public, it must receive approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Under procedures established by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, before seeking OMB approval, Federal agencies must solicit public comment on proposed collections of information, including extensions and reinstatements of previously approved collections. This document describes one collection of information for which NHTSA intends to seek OMB approval.

This document responds to petitions for reconsideration of the June 23, 2004 dealer notification rule that amended several provisions of agency regulations on notifications by manufacturers of motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment to dealers and distributors when they or NHTSA decide that vehicles or equipment contain a defect related to motor vehicle safety or do not comply with a Federal motor vehicle safety standard.