[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 19, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 37042-37043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-17772]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571


Denial of Petition for Rulemaking; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standards

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Denial of petition for rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document denies Mr. John Chevedden's petition for 
rulemaking to specify the rear license plate mounting location of 
certain trucks. NHTSA's analysis of the petition concludes that this 
action would have a negligible effect on reducing crashes or fatalities 
and that to conduct any more than a cursory technical review would use 
public resources inappropriately.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Richard Van Iderstine, Office of 
Rulemaking, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. Mr. 
Van Iderstine's telephone number is: (202) 366-5275. His facsimile 
number is (202) 366-4329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter dated May 31, 1995, Mr. John 
Chevedden petitioned the agency to issue a rule applicable to new 
trucks with off-center rear license plates. Mr. Chevedden asked NHTSA 
to mandate that those license plates be positioned on the driver's 
side. Mr. Chevedden stated that the rulemaking was needed because it is 
a safety enhancement that will prevent death, injury and property 
damage. Mr. Chevedden speculates that a reflectorized license plate 
mounted on the driver's side, instead of the passenger side, will serve 
as a back-up reflector and safety warning in many cases where the 
vehicle's rear lights are not operating. He stated that the driver's 
side mounting would be more useful than the passenger side location in 

[[Page 37043]]
marking the edge of the vehicle closest to the roadway.
    In a recent denial of a petition from Mr. Chevedden requesting a 
similar requirement for front license plates (60 FR 19716) the agency 
estimated that if it were to specify that those vehicles with off-
center front license plates have their front plates located on the 
driver's side, the number of lives saved would not exceed one life for 
every 588 years.
    This petition applies only to light trucks which are about half of 
the new vehicle population, making the possibility of benefit about 
half that of the previous petition. Additionally, while all vehicles 
have rear license plates and not all have front plates, all vehicles 
also have two rear red reflex reflectors. Thus, any benefit associated 
with the possibility of having more vehicles with driver-side plates, 
would be overshadowed because the effectiveness of such a treatment is 
dwarfed by the effectiveness of the reflectors already present on the 
vehicles.
    Based on that recent analysis and these facts, the agency believes 
that the benefit from Mr. Chevedden's new petition would be smaller 
than his previous petition.
    In accordance with 49 CFR part 552, this completes the agency's 
technical review of the petition. The agency has concluded that there 
is no reasonable possibility that the amendment requested by the 
petitioner would be issued at the conclusion of a rulemaking 
proceeding. The agency notes that the petition is basically repetitive 
of an earlier petition. After considering all relevant factors, 
including the need to allocate and prioritize limited agency resources 
to best accomplish the agency's safety mission, the agency has decided 
to deny the petition.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30103, 30162; delegation of authority at 49 
CFR 1.50 and 501.8.

    Issued on: July 13, 1995.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 95-17772 Filed 7-18-95; 8:45 am]
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