[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 225 (Friday, November 21, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62398-62399]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-30675]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-97-3122; Notice 1]


Dan Hill & Associates, Inc.; Petition for Temporary Exemption 
From Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 224

    Dan Hill & Associates, Inc., of Norman, Oklahoma, has petitioned 
for a one-year temporary exemption from Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 
No. 224 Rear Impact Protection. The basis of the petition is that 
compliance would cause substantial economic hardship to a manufacturer 
that has tried in good faith to comply with the standard.
    This notice of receipt of the petition is published in accordance 
with agency regulations on the subject and does not represent any 
judgment by the agency about the merits of the petition.
    The applicant manufactures and sells a horizontal discharge trailer 
(``Flow Boy'') that is used in the road construction industry to 
deliver asphalt and other road building materials to the construction 
site. The Flow Boy is designed to connect with and latch onto various 
paving machines (``pavers''). The Flow Boy, with its hydraulically 
controlled horizontal discharge system, discharges hot mix asphalt at a 
controlled rate into a paver which overlays the road surface with 
asphalt material.
    Standard No. 224 requires, effective January 26, 1998, that all 
trailers with a GVWR of 4536 Kg or more, including Flow Boy trailers, 
be fitted with a rear impact guard that conforms to Standard No. 223 
Rear impact guards. Installation of the rear impact guard will prevent 
the Flow Boy from connecting to the paver. Thus, Flow Boy trailers will 
no longer be functional and contractors will be forced to use standard 
dump body trucks or trailers with their inherent limitations and safety 
risks.
    The applicant, which manufactured 81 Flow Boy trailers in 1996 
(plus 21 other trailers), has asked for a year's exemption in order to 
explore the feasibility of a rear impact guard that will allow the Flow 
Boy trailer to connect to a conventional paver. In the absence of an 
exemption, it believes that approximately 60 percent of its work force 
would have to be laid off. Its gross revenues would decrease by 
$6,000,000 (these have averaged $13,885,000 over its 1994, 1995, and 
1996 fiscal years). Present studies show that the placement of the 
retractable rear impact guard would likely catch excess asphalt as it 
was discharged into the pavement hopper. Further, the increased cost of 
the Flow Body would likely cause contractors to choose the cheaper 
alternative of dump trucks. Finally, the increased weight of the 
retractable rear impact guard would significantly decrease the payload 
of the Flow Boy.
    Applicant sent its Product Specialist to Germany in 1994 to view 
underride protection guards installed by a German customer on Flow Boy 
trailers but the technology proved inapplicable because of differences 
between German and American pavers. Manufacturers of paving machines 
are not interested in redesigning their equipment to accommodate a Flow 
Boy with a rear

[[Page 62399]]

impact guard. The applicant has contacted a British manufacturer of a 
retractable rear impact guard but the information received to date does 
not look encouraging. If an exemption is granted, the applicant will 
continue to explore the feasibility of a retractable rear guard that 
allows connection with a paver.
    The applicant believes that an exemption would be in the public 
interest and consistent with traffic safety objectives because the Flow 
Boy aids in the construction of the national road system. It spends 
very little of its operating life on the highway and the likelihood of 
its being involved in a rear-end collision is minimal. In addition, the 
design of the Flow Boy is such that the rear tires act as a buffer and 
reduce the likelihood of impact with the trailer.
    Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the petition 
described above. Comments should refer to the docket and notice number, 
and be submitted to: Docket Management, National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 
20590. It is requested but not required that 10 copies be submitted.
    All comments received before the close of business on the comment 
closing date below will be considered, and will be available for 
examination in the docket at the above address both before and after 
that date, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. To the extent 
possible, comments filed after the closing date will also be 
considered. Notice of final action on the petition will be published in 
the Federal Register pursuant to the authority indicated below.
    Comment closing date: December 11, 1997.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30113; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50 and 501.4.

    Issued on November 13, 1997.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 97-30675 Filed 11-20-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P