National Highway Traffic Safety Administration October 31, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the procedures in 49 CFR Part 555, NHTSA is partially granting a petition from Aston Martin Lagonda Limited (Aston Martin), a small volume manufacturer, for a temporary exemption from new side impact protection requirements of FMVSS No. 214. The agency is granting the petitioner's request for a temporary exemption from the standard's new pole test requirements, limited to 670 vehicles. The basis for the grant is that compliance would cause substantial economic hardship to a low volume manufacturer that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard. In accordance with NHTSA's regulations, prominent labels must be affixed to each exempted vehicle to warn prospective purchasers that the vehicle has been exempted from the pole test requirements. However, NHTSA is denying the petitioner's separate request for a temporary exemption from FMVSS No. 214's moving deformable barrier (MDB) test requirement. The agency does not believe that the petitioner has shown a need for such an exemption.