[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 155 (Monday, August 12, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52516-52517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-20369]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2001-10623]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Denial of Petition for 
Rulemaking

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

ACTION: Denial of Petition for Rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: This document denies a petition for rulemaking submitted by 
Costa Technologies requesting that NHTSA initiate rulemaking to amend 
the Federal motor vehicle safety standard on glazing materials to 
include

[[Page 52517]]

the words ``to reduce or minimize the likelihood of personal injury 
from flying glazing material when the glazing material is broken,'' and 
to require the fracture test to use specimens that would represent the 
glazing as it would be installed in the vehicle.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues: John Lee, Office 
of Crashworthiness Standards, 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: Nancy Bell, Office of Chief Counsel, NCC-20, 
National Highway Traffic Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2992, Fax: (202) 366-3820.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 14, 2001, NHTSA received a 
petition from Costa Technologies (Costa) to initiate rulemaking to 
amend paragraph S2 of Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS) No. 
205, ``Glazing materials,'' to (1) include the words ``to reduce or 
minimize the likelihood of personal injury from flying glazing material 
when the glazing material is broken,'' and to (2) include a requirement 
to use specimens representing the glazing as it would be installed in 
the vehicle for the fracture test. Costa did not identify any 
documented safety benefits that would result from making the requested 
amendments. NHTSA denies these two requests for the reasons discussed 
below.
    Costa's first request stems from the concern that the stated 
purpose of FMVSS No. 205 does not expressly address injuries from 
flying glazing material. It is true that paragraph S2 of FMVSS No. 205 
does not expressly mention such injuries: ``[t]he purpose of this 
standard is to reduce injuries resulting from impact to glazing 
surfaces, to ensure a necessary degree of transparency in motor vehicle 
windows for driver visibility, and to minimize the possibility of 
occupants being thrown through the vehicle windows in collisions.'' 
However, the Standard's requirements do address the issue. Currently, 
paragraph S5 of FMVSS No. 205 incorporates by reference the commercial 
standard American National Standard Safety Code for Safety Glazing 
Materials for Glazing Motor Vehicles Operating on Land Highways--
Standard ANSI Z26.1-1977 (ANSI Z26.1-1977) as supplemented by Z26.1a-
1980 (hereinafter referred to as ``ANS Z26''). In ANS Z26, Section 5.7 
``Fracture, Test No. 7'' limits the size of individual glass fragments 
that form as a result of impact to a glazing surface. Requiring 
automotive glazing materials to meet this requirement has the effect of 
minimizing the size of individual glazing fragments that can form in a 
real world impact event. Consequently, the risk of two types of 
injuries is reduced: (1) Contact injuries with sharp shards remaining 
in the window casing as a result of glazing fracture, and (2) risk of 
lacerative or puncture type injuries that may result from flying 
glazing fragments. Both of these types of injuries are injuries that 
could result from ``impacts to glazing surfaces'', as specified in the 
purpose of FMVSS No. 205. Therefore, the current purpose of FMVSS No. 
205, ``* * * to reduce injuries resulting from impact to glazing 
surfaces* * *'' addresses the reduction of an occupant's risk of 
injuries from flying glazing and does not require clarification or 
modification.
    Second, Costa requested that FMVSS No. 205 be amended to specify 
that the specimens to be used for Fracture Test No. 7 of ANS Z26 
``represent the glazing as it would be installed in the vehicle.'' 
FMVSS No. 205 does not require the fracture test to be conducted with 
the electrical terminals attached to the glazing material's conductors 
and soldered by processes that represent the manufacturer's production 
and rework processes. Costa was concerned that the heating and cooling 
due to the soldering process would cause localized annealing of the 
safety tempered glass, causing the individual glass fragments to be 
larger than 4.25 g (0.15 oz.). NHTSA agrees that temperature effects 
from heating and cooling can cause localized annealing and is 
addressing this issue in a current rulemaking.
    NHTSA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on August 4, 
1999 (64 FR 42330), to amend FMVSS No. 205 so that it incorporates by 
reference the October 1996 version of ANS Z26, the industry standard on 
motor vehicle glazing. Currently, the Federal standard incorporates the 
1977 version. Section 5.7 ``Fracture, Test 7'' of the October 1996 
version requires that no individual glass fragment weigh more than 4.25 
g (0.15 oz.) as in the current ANS Z26. However, it further requires 
that specimens: (1) Be selected from a range of glazing that a 
manufacturer produces or plans to produce; and (2) be of the most 
difficult part or pattern designation within the model number. Further, 
in selecting the specimens, thickness, color and conductors must be 
considered. Therefore, manufacturers would still be required to certify 
that glazing materials with conductors that may have localized 
annealing from a heating/cooling process would not produce any 
individual glass fragment weighing more than 4.25 g (0.15 oz.) in a 
fracture test. A final decision on that rulemaking is expected soon.
    For the reasons discussed above, we are denying Costa's petition 
for rulemaking.

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

    Issued on: August 2, 2002.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 02-20369 Filed 8-9-02; 8:45 am]
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