[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 102 (Friday, May 25, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 28875-28876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13184]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2001-9600; Notice 1]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; FMVSS No. 121, Air Brake 
Systems

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

ACTION: Denial of petition for rulemaking, Motor & Equipment 
Manufacturers Association--Heavy Duty Brake Manufacturers Council

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SUMMARY: On January 16, 2001, the Heavy Duty Brake Manufacturers 
Council (HDBMC) of the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association 
petitioned NHTSA to delay the implementation date for transmittal of 
antilock braking system (ABS) malfunction signals from trailers to 
tractors and trucks that are equipped to tow trailers. These 
requirements are specified in S5.1.6.2(b) for trucks and tractors, and 
S5.2.3.2 for trailers, of FMVSS No. 121, Air Brake Systems. The 
petitioner cites difficulties of its member companies in obtaining 
suitable computer chips at a reasonable cost to perform the ABS 
malfunction signal communications. However, the agency believes that 
the member companies' failure to reach suitable business arrangements 
with their supplier and a holder of a patent on this technology has 
resulted in this situation. The agency notes that nearly five years of 
lead time was provided to meet these requirements. The current 
difficulties cited by the petitioner normal commercial problems, not a 
lack of available technology. This petition is denied.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jeff Woods, Office of Crash 
Avoidance Standards, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone (202) 366-
6206; fax (202) 366-4329.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA has been petitioned by the Heavy Duty 
Brake Manufacturers Council (HDBMC) to delay implementation of the in-
cab warning lamp requirements in FMVSS No. 121. These requirements 
became effective March 1, 2001. The HDBMC petition dated January 16, 
2001, asked for a one-year extension to March 1, 2002. The requirements 
apply to air-braked vehicles that tow or are towed by other air-braked 
vehicles, such as tractors, trucks, trailers, and converter dollies. 
The in-cab warning lamp provides the driver with an indication on the 
truck instrument panel that there is a malfunction in the ABS of a 
towed vehicle, so that the driver can identify such malfunctions and 
have them corrected. The requirements for ABS malfunction signaling 
between towed and towing vehicles were originally adopted in a final 
rule issued on March 10, 1995 (60 FR 13216). These requirements 
underwent slight revisions and were finalized in their present form in 
a final rule issued on May 31, 1996 (61 FR 27288).
    In 1997, the industry formed the PLC-4-TRUCKS consortium to develop 
a system to transmit the trailer ABS malfunction signals between towing 
and towed vehicles. The industry believed that the systems 
commercially-available at that time did not meet all of the industry's 
needs, which include the ability of the system to be incorporated into 
the ABS electronic control units installed on the subject vehicles; the 
availability of a system that is not proprietary and thus any 
manufacturer could produce the needed components; and the ability of 
the system to work within the existing wiring common among heavy-duty 
tractors and trailers.
    The PLC-4-TRUCKS system that was developed by the consortium uses 
computer chips manufactured by Intellon Corporation that provide 
spread-spectrum data communications capability over a power line, or 
power line carrier (PLC). These chips, which are used in other 
commercial applications, were adapted to heavy-duty truck use and 
through the PLC-4-TRUCKS consortium, a communications protocol was 
developed. As HDBMC states in their petition, Alan Lesesky of VES 
Corporation was granted a patent in October, 2000, which covers the use 
of spread-spectrum data communications on tractor-trailer applications, 
and subsequently VES filed a lawsuit against Intellon alleging patent 
infringement issues. Prior to filing the lawsuit, VES offered licensing 
agreements to the manufacturers of heavy-duty ABS systems to enable 
them to use this technology. As stated in the petition, the HDBMC 
believes that the licensing fees proposed by VES are commercially 
unreasonable and inconsistent with past licensing arrangements for 
products covered by Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) or NHTSA 
standards.
    NHTSA notes that as early as 1998, the agency was prepared to 
initiate rulemaking to mandate one of the commercially-available 
systems for the purpose of communicating trailer ABS warning lamp 
signals, to ensure that the industry would comply with the March 1, 
2001 compliance date. However, the agency was assured by the industry 
that the PLC-4-TRUCKS solution was indeed that way that the industry 
wanted to go and that such a mandate was unnecessary. The agency heeded 
the industry's recommendations and subsequently did not begin the 
rulemaking process for such a mandate.
    NHTSA contacted VES and Intellon attorneys for an update on the 
lawsuit by VES against Intellon. The attorney for VES indicated that 
one of the HDBMC member companies, Eaton Corporation, had negotiated 
and signed a licensing agreement with VES to use the spread-spectrum 
technology for trailer ABS warning lamp purposes. The VES attorney 
indicated that he believed other ABS manufacturers would follow suit. 
The agency believes that if suitable licensing agreements are made 
between the ABS manufacturers and VES, then the lawsuit would be 
terminated so that manufacturing the PLC-4-TRUCKS system with the 
Intellon computer chips could resume.
    The agency therefore denies the petition for a one-year extension 
of the March 1, 2001, compliance date for trailer ABS malfunction 
signals. The technology is available to transmit the trailer ABS 
malfunction signals. The agency believes that this issue is a business 
matter that the ABS suppliers need to work out with appropriate 
parties, including Intellon, VES, and the vehicle manufacturers to whom 
they sell their products. The agency notes that it was prepared to 
mandate one of the older, commercial systems on the market, but the 
agency was persuaded not to do so. Under these circumstances the fact 
that the vehicle manufacturers do not want to pay the amount proposed 
by VES is not an adequate basis to extend the effective date. Further, 
the agency notes that the cost of ABS in general has decreased 
significantly (i.e., a factor of two or three) compared to ABS costs 
prior to the tractor ABS mandate of March 1, 1997, and that the cost to 
incorporate the trailer ABS malfunction signaling would only amount to 
a small increase in the cost of current ABS equipment.


[[Page 28876]]


    Issued on May 21, 2001.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 01-13184 Filed 5-24-01; 8:45 am]
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