[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 2, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29616-29617]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13895]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-99-5737]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

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

ACTION: Denial of petition for rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: In this document, we deny a petition for rulemaking submitted 
by Marie E. Birnbaum, a private individual. The petitioner asked us to 
initiate rulemaking to require passenger cars and light trucks to be 
equipped with ``black boxes'' (data recorders) analogous to those found 
on commercial airliners. We agree with the petitioner that the 
recording of crash data can provide information that is very valuable 
in understanding crashes, and which can be used in a variety of ways to 
improve motor vehicle safety. However, we are denying the petition 
because the motor vehicle industry is already voluntarily moving in the 
direction recommended by the petitioner. Further, we believe this area 
presents some issues that are, at least for the present time, best 
addressed in a non-regulatory context.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    For non-legal issues: Mr. Clarke Harper, Chief, Light Duty Vehicle 
Division, NPS-11, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 
Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2264. 
Fax: (202) 366-4329.
    For legal issues: J. Edward Glancy, Office of Chief Counsel, NCC-
20, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW, Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2992. Fax: (202) 366-
3820.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We received a petition for rulemaking from 
Marie E. Birnbaum, a private individual, asking us to initiate 
rulemaking to require passenger cars and light trucks to be equipped 
with ``black boxes'' (data recorders) analogous to those found on 
commercial airliners. The petitioner stated that the purpose of the 
devices would be to record speed and possibly other data in order to 
(1) improve public safety by encouraging responsible driving, and (2) 
provide records of pre-crash speed and possibly other information. Ms. 
Birnbaum stated that this pre-crash information would work to improve 
driver accountability

[[Page 29617]]

through better crash investigation, enforcement and adjudication.
    We note that we received Ms. Birnbaum's petition just after we had 
denied another petition making essentially the same request. Price T. 
Bingham, a private individual, had asked us to initiate rulemaking to 
require air bag sensors to be designed so that similar information is 
recorded during a crash and can be read by crash investigators.
    In responding to Mr. Bingham's petition, we noted that the safety 
community in recent years has shown considerable interest in the 
concept of crash event recorders. Such recorders can, in conjunction 
with air bag and other sensors already provided on many vehicles, 
collect and record a variety of relevant crash data. These data include 
such things as vehicle speed, belt use, and crash pulse.
    While we agreed with Mr. Bingham that the recording of crash data 
can provide information that is very valuable in understanding crashes, 
and which can be used in a variety of ways to improve motor vehicle 
safety, we nonethless denied the petition. One reason for denying the 
petition was the fact that the motor vehicle industry is already 
voluntarily moving in the direction recommended by the petitioner. 
Another was our belief that this area presents some issues that are, at 
least for the present time, best addressed in a non-regulatory context.
    We issued our denial of Mr. Bingham's petition on November 3, 1998, 
and published it in the November 9, 1998 edition of the Federal 
Register (63 FR 60270). Ms. Birnbaum's petition was dated November 7, 
1998.
    After reviewing Ms. Birnbaum's petition, we conclude that our 
reasons for denying Mr. Bingham's petition are also applicable to her 
petition. A full explanation of those reasons is provided in our 
November 9, 1998 Federal Register notice, which we incorporate by 
reference.
    The November 1998 notice included a discussion of ongoing work in 
this area by NHTSA's Motor Vehicle Safety Research Advisory Committee 
(MVSRAC). The agency noted that MVSRAC had set up a working group on 
event data recorders under the Crashworthiness Subcommittee and that 
the first meeting of the working group had taken place in October 1998. 
Since publication of the November 1998 notice, another working group 
meeting has been held, and a third meeting is planned for this summer. 
The Event Data Recorder Working Group is considering a wide variety of 
subjects related to crash event recording devices and anticipates 
producing a report by the end of calendar year 2000.
    Minutes of the Event Data Recorder Working Group meetings are being 
placed in the public docket. The public may access these materials via 
the Web. The Docket Management Web site is at ``http://dms.dot.gov''. 
You should search for Docket number 5218.
    For the reasons discussed above, we are denying Ms. Birnbaum's 
petition for rulemaking.

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

    Issued on: May 27, 1999.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 99-13895 Filed 6-1-99; 8:45 am]
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