[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 168 (Thursday, August 28, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 50730-50731]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-19837]
[[Page 50730]]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Parts 564 and 571
[Docket No. NHTSA-2007-28322; Notice 2]
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Lamps, Reflective
Devices, and Associated Equipment
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
ACTION: Final rule; delay of effective date.
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SUMMARY: This final rule delays the effective date of an amendment that
reorganizes and improves the structure and clarity of the Federal motor
vehicle safety standard on lamps, reflective devices, and associated
equipment, from September 1, 2008 to December 1, 2009. The final rule
reorganizing the lighting standard was published on December 4,
2007.\1\ The agency received fifteen petitions for reconsideration of
the final rule, including two that requested a delay in the effective
date of the rule, and others which raised concerns that the
reorganization of FMVSS No. 108 imposed new requirements. To allow for
more time for the agency to analyze the petitions prior to the rule
taking effect, the agency is delaying the effective date until December
1, 2009.
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\1\ See 72 FR 68234.
DATES: The effective date of the final rule amending 49 CFR parts 564
and 571 published at 72 FR 68234 is delayed until December 1, 2009. The
incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rules
is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of December 1,
2009. Optional early compliance continues to be permitted. Any
petitions for reconsideration of today's final rule must be received by
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NHTSA not later than October 14, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Any petitions for reconsideration should refer to the docket
number of this document and be submitted to: Administrator, National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.,
West Building, Ground Floor, Docket Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues, you may call Mr.
David Hines, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards (Phone: 202-493-0245;
FAX: 202-366-7002). For legal issues, you may call Mr. Ari Scott,
Office of the Chief Counsel (Phone: 202-366-2992; FAX: 202-366-3820).
You may send mail to these officials at: National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC
20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps
Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment, specifies requirements
for original and replacement lamps, reflective devices, and associated
equipment. The purpose of FMVSS No. 108 is to reduce traffic accidents
and deaths and injuries resulting from traffic accidents, by providing
adequate illumination of the roadway, and by enhancing the conspicuity
of motor vehicles on the public roads so that their presence is
perceived and their signals understood, both in daylight and in
darkness or other conditions of reduced visibility.
On December 4, 2007, NHTSA published a final rule amending FMVSS
No. 108 to reorganize the standard and provide a more straightforward
and logical presentation of the applicable regulatory requirements (see
72 FR 68234). Related amendments were made to 49 CFR part 564,
Replacement Light Source Information. While the final rule greatly
reduced the number of third-party standards incorporated by reference,
it did not impose any new substantive requirements on manufacturers.
Along with the changes made, the final rule specified an effective date
of September 1, 2008 for these amendments and permitted voluntary early
compliance immediately upon publication.
II. Petitions for Reconsideration
In response to the December 4 final rule, the agency received
fifteen petitions for reconsideration. Petitions for reconsideration
were submitted by Grote Industries, LLC, Alliance of Automobile
Manufacturers (Alliance), Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association
(MEMA) \2\, Nissan North America, Inc., Valeo Sylvania, Calcoast
Industrial Testing Laboratory, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Koito
Manufacturing Co, Ltd., Ford Motor Company, Toyota Motor North America,
Inc., GE Consumer & Industrial Automotive Lighting, SABIC Innovative
Plastics, Valeo Lighting Systems, Vehicle Services Consulting, Inc.,
and American Association for Justice. The petitions addressed a wide
range of FMVSS No. 108 subjects, including technical amendments to the
rule, concern that the reorganization imposed new requirements, and
requests to change the effective date of the final rule. Among the
latter, specifically, the Alliance requested that the final rule take
effect on September 1, 2009 and Harley-Davidson requested, unless the
agency granted all of the items contained in its petition, that the
effective date be delayed until September 1, 2010.
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\2\ MEMA submitted a petition for reconsideration collectively
with the Transportation Safety Equipment Institute and the Motor
Vehicle Lighting Council.
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III. Agency Response to Petitions
In the December 2007 final rule, the agency set a September 1, 2008
effective date. The fifteen petitions for reconsideration have asked
the agency to reconsider many aspects of that rulemaking. However,
NHTSA's consideration of the petitions has not yet concluded, and given
the imminence of the September 1, 2008 effective date, the agency has
determined that it is appropriate to first partially respond to
petitions concerning the effective date of the December 2007 final
rule. Accordingly, the agency is delaying the effective date of the
December 2007 final rule until December 1, 2009, when manufacturers
will be required to meet the new requirements of FMVSS No. 108. Other
issues raised in the petitions for reconsideration will be addressed by
the agency in a separate document.
NHTSA believes that a partial response to the petitions for
reconsideration is necessary based upon the number of issues raised in
the petitions for reconsideration, and the impact of the revised
requirements on compliance documentation. As such, the agency has
determined that delaying the effective date is appropriate. The agency
notes that the Alliance originally requested an effective date of
September 1, 2009, one full year after the final rule in its comments
to our Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.\3\
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\3\ See 70 FR 77454 (December 30, 2005) (Docket No. NHTSA-2006-
23634-3).
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NHTSA expects that all other issues raised in the petitions will be
fully addressed prior to the new December 1, 2009 effective date. In
the event, however, that these issues have not been resolved, all
affected manufacturers will be required to meet the new requirements.
Effective dates of agency final rules are not stayed due to outstanding
petitions for reconsideration of those rules.
IV. Effective Date of This Document
Because September 1, 2008 (the original effective date for the
FMVSS
[[Page 50731]]
No. 108 final rule) is fast approaching, NHTSA finds for good cause
that this action delaying the effective date should take effect
immediately. Today's final rule makes no substantive changes to FMVSS
No. 108, but delays the effective date of the December 4, 2007 final
rule until December 1, 2009 while the agency responds to the petitions
for reconsideration of the rule.
V. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices
A. Executive Order 12866 and DOT Regulatory Policies and Procedures
This action delays the effective date of an administrative rewrite
of FMVSS No. 108. It was not reviewed by the Office of Management and
Budget under E.O. 12866. The agency has considered the impact of this
action under the Department of Transportation's regulatory policies and
procedures (44 FR 11034; February 26, 1979), and has determined that it
is not ``significant'' under them.
This final rule delays the effective date of a December 4, 2007
final rule, from September 1, 2008, to December 1, 2009. Neither that
rule nor today's action will have any measurable effect on costs or
benefits since the rule merely reorganizes and clarifies existing
requirements.
B. 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 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit
http://docketsinfo.dot.gov/.
C. Other Rulemaking Analyses and Notices
In the December 2007 final rule, the agency discussed relevant
requirements related to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the National
Environmental Policy Act, Executive Order 13132 (Federalism), the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, Civil Justice Reform, the National
Technology Transfer and Advancement Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act,
and Executive Order 13045 (Protection of Children from Environmental
Health and Safety Risks). Since that final rule was an administrative
rewrite of existing requirements and since today's action simply delays
the effective date of that final rule, today's rule does not affect the
agency's analyses in those areas.
Authority: 49 U.S.C 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166;
delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8.
Issued: August 21, 2008.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. E8-19837 Filed 8-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P