[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 27 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7814-7815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-3224]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. 95-007; Notice 1]


Antilock Brake Systems; Technical Report; Preliminary Evaluation 
of the Effectiveness of Antilock Brake Systems for Passenger Cars

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the publication by NHTSA of a Technical 
Report on its Preliminary Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Antilock 
Brake Systems for Passenger Cars. The principal goals of ABS are to 
prevent skidding and loss-of-control due to locked-wheel braking, and 
to allow a driver to steer the vehicle during hard braking. NHTSA's 
report evaluates the accident rates of the ABS-equipped cars currently 
on the road, and compares them to the accident rates of similar cars 
without ABS.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than May 10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Report: Interested people may obtain a copy of the report 
free of charge by sending a self-addressed mailing label to Ms. 
Glorious Harris (NAD-51), National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590.
    Comments: All comments should refer to the docket and notice number 
of this notice and be submitted to: Docket Section, Room 5109, Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington DC 20590. [Docket hours, 
9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Charles J. Kahane, Acting Chief, Evaluation Division, Office of 
Strategic Planning and Evaluation, Plans and Policy, National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Room 5208, 400 Seventh Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20590 (202-366-2560).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 2507 of the NHTSA Authorization Act 
of 1991 directed NHTSA to publish an advance notice of proposed 
rulemaking (ANPRM) to consider the need for any additional brake 
performance standards for passenger cars, including antilock brake 
standards. On January 2, 1994, NHTSA published an ANPRM in which the 
agency announced its plans to consider various regulatory actions to 
improve the brake performance of light vehicles, particularly the 
benefits and costs related to requiring antilock brake systems (ABS). 
(59 FR 281). ABS serves to prevent skidding and loss-of-control due to 
locked-wheel braking, particularly on wet surfaces, and to allow a 
driver to steer the vehicle during hard braking.
    Along with that rulemaking notice, NHTSA has studied the 
effectiveness of ABS on passenger cars. NHTSA compared the accident 
involvement rates of passenger cars equipped with Antilock Brake 
Systems (ABS) to the rates of counterpart cars without ABS, based on 
1990-92 Florida, Pennsylvania and Missouri data, and the 1989-93 Fatal 
Accident Reporting System. In general, the statistical analyses 
compared the accident involvements of passenger cars of the first 2 
model years with ABS to cars of the same makes, models and subseries, 
but from the last 2 model years before ABS became standard equipment. 
The principal findings and conclusions from the statistical analyses of 
accident experience of cars currently equipped with ABS were the 
following:
     ABS significantly reduced the involvements of passenger 
cars in multivehicle crashes on wet roads. ABS reduced police-reported 
crash involvements by an estimated 14 percent, and fatal involvement by 
24 percent. The finding is consistent with the outstanding performance 
of ABS in stopping tests on wet roads.
     ABS had little effect on multivehicle crashes on dry 
roads.
     The risk of fatal collisions with pedestrians and 
bicyclists was reduced by a statistically significant 27 percent in 
passenger cars with ABS. Unlike the effects for multivehicle crashes, 
this reduction was about equally large on wet and dry roads.
     All types of run-off-road crashes--rollovers, side impacts 
with fixed objects and frontal impacts with fixed objects--increased 
significantly with ABS. Nonfatal run-off-road crashes increased by an 
estimated 19 percent, and fatal run-off-road crashes by 28 percent. The 
increase in run-off-road crashes was about the same under wet and dry 
road conditions.
     The overall, net effect of ABS on fatal as well as 
nonfatal crashes was close to zero.
    It is unknown to what extent the increase in run-off-road crashes 
is a consequence of ABS, or is due to other causes. In particular, it 
is unknown to what extent, if any, the increase is due to incorrect 
responses by drivers to their ABS systems, and, if so, whether the 
effect is likely to persist in the future. The increase may involve all 
types of ABS run-off-road ABS or only certain ABS designs.
    NHTSA welcomes public review of the technical report and invites 
the reviewers to submit comments about the data and the statistical 
methods used in the report. The agency is interested in learning of any 
additional data that could be used to expand or improve the analyses, 
especially any information about run-off-road crashes involving ABS-
equipped cars or about factors that could be making current ABS-
equipped cars more prone to running off the road. It is requested but 
not required that 10 copies of comments be submitted.
    All comments must not exceed 15 pages in length. (49 CFR 553.21). 
Necessary 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 business information, should be submitted to the 
Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the street address [[Page 7815]] given above, 
and 7 copies from which the purportedly confidential information has 
been deleted should be submitted to the Docket Section. 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 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. The NHTSA will continue to file relevant information as it 
becomes available in the docket after the closing date, and it is 
recommended that interested people continue to examine the docket for 
new material.
    People 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.

    Issued on February 6, 1995.
Donald C. Bischoff,
Associate Administrator for Plans and Policy.
[FR Doc. 95-3224 Filed 2-8-95; 8:45 am]
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