[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 62 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14044-14045]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7707]



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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
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 a petition from the Society of Automotive 
Engineers (SAE) for rulemaking to incorporate the latest version of SAE 
Standard J594--Reflex Reflectors, into Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard (FMVSS) No. 108. NHTSA's analysis of the petition concludes 
that there is minimal benefit to the public in updating the reference 
to this SAE standard. While incorporation would make reflex reflector 
requirements more readily available to lighting and vehicle design 
engineers as a current reference, it would require considerable 
expenditures of agency resources to implement it and all the other SAE 
standards whose references in FMVSS No. 108 are not the most recent. 
The agency's commitment of its resources to identify its safety 
priorities precludes

[[Page 14045]]
granting this petition. However, the agency will compile a reference 
document of materials incorporated into Standard No. 108 to improve 
availability of these materials.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jere Medlin, Office of Crash 
Avoidance Standards, NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590. Mr. Medlin's telephone number is: (202) 366-5276. His facsimile 
number is (202) 366-4329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By letter dated October 4, 1995, William A. 
McKinney, Chairman of the Lighting Coordinating Committee of the 
Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. (Petitioner) petitioned the 
agency to incorporate the latest version of SAE J594--Reflex 
Reflectors, into 49 CFR 571.108 (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
No. 108, Lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment). The 
petitioner claimed the changes in the latest version (J594 JUL95) 
provide significant improvements in format consistent with the current 
SAE practice, incorporate information on other SAE publications 
referenced in the document, include definitions of photometry 
observation and entrance angles, and provide additional explanations 
and guidelines for photometry and installation requirements. Petitioner 
further claimed that these revisions make this new version easier to 
apply, as well as easier to find because it is located in current SAE 
Handbooks. Petitioner also claimed that the changes would not adversely 
affect the costs of any lighting or vehicle manufacturer. No claims 
about safety or performance were made.
    The agency has reviewed what would be required to implement the 
Petitioner's desired solution. It has found that the tests and many 
requirements of the new J594 are from or referenced to SAE Recommended 
Practice J575 JUN92--Test Methods and Equipment for Lighting Devices 
and Components for Use on Vehicles Less than 2032 mm in Overall Width. 
However, the version of J575 to which FMVSS No. 108 refers is J575e 
August 1970. It is not found in the current SAE Handbook. The same 
issue occurs for SAE J578, Color Specification. The new SAE J594 refers 
to the ``current version(s)'', rather than the version required by 
FMVSS No. 108, which is SAE J578a October 1966.
    Therefore, the advantage claimed by Petitioner by referencing to a 
standard in current SAE handbooks appears to be very small because this 
action would update only J594, and none of the subreferenced documents. 
Additionally, because NHTSA reference to SAE standards is not always 
absolute, in that parts of standards are referenced or exceptions are 
made to specific requirements in SAE standards where different or more 
stringent performance is necessary for safety purposes, the value of 
having the latest version of an SAE document is lessened. Thus, without 
a careful reading of FMVSS No. 108, a reader of the newest J594 could 
continue to be misled as to the pertinent requirements, just as with 
the currently referenced version.
    An example of this issue is seen in the Installation Requirements 
paragraph of J594 JUL95. NHTSA is currently proposing in another 
rulemaking (60 FR 54833) to amend geometric visibility requirements of 
signal lamps (installed visibility requirements) that are substantially 
different from those in J594 JUL95. Should this geometric visibility 
proposal be adopted, the text of any referenced version of J594 will be 
superseded. It is unlikely that J594 JUL95, or any version of a 
referenced industry standard would be wholly usable for more than just 
a short period of time and probably would be out of print after just 
five years because of SAE's schedule of periodic updating of its 
standards. At that time, the value of the rulemaking efforts requested 
by this petition would be negated by another SAE update.
    Allocation of agency resources and agency priorities must be 
considered in processing what may be the first of many petitions from 
the SAE to update each of the SAE standards directly referenced in 
FMVSS No. 108, and potentially more petitions to update the additional 
SAE standards that are sub-referenced in those SAE standards. All of 
these mentioned standards have specific dated versions referenced in 
FMVSS No. 108. Because the SAE endeavors to update its standards on a 
regular five year schedule, the federal regulatory workload from such a 
course of updating would be continuous and drain resources from other 
activities. This is not a desirable course given the agency's shrinking 
resources. Nonetheless, NHTSA recognizes that the technical expertise 
found on SAE Committees is invaluable to NHTSA's mission, particularly 
when performance requirements must be developed to accommodate new 
technologies. Consequently, NHTSA plans to consider how best to 
cooperate with the SAE. NHTSA will still be favorably inclined to 
consider any future SAE request that has significant safety benefits or 
when such action would remove impediments to the use of new 
technologies.
    To respond to the need expressed by SAE, the agency will compile 
and provide on request to interested persons, a document containing the 
desired SAE and other organizations' standards which are referenced and 
subreferenced in FMVSS No. 108. The immediate effect is to make it 
easier for all interested persons, especially lighting and vehicle 
personnel, to have available in one document all the requirements in 
the Federal lighting standard. The agency recognizes the problem of 
finding older SAE Standards, and takes this action to solve that 
problem. It will be updated as required.
    In accordance with 49 CFR part 552, this completes the agency's 
review of the petition. The agency has concluded that there is no 
reasonable possibility that the specific action requested by the 
petitioner would be issued at the conclusion of a rulemaking 
proceeding. Accordingly, it denies the SAE's petition.

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

    Issued on March 25, 1996.
Barry Felrice,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 96-7707 Filed 3-28-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P