[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 166 (Wednesday, August 27, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51635-51636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21840]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 03-15651; Notice 2]


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Lamps, Reflective 
Devices, and Associated Equipment

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

ACTION: Extension of comment period for a notice of draft 
interpretations.

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SUMMARY: This document extends the comment period on a notice setting 
forth two draft interpretations concerning how our standard on lamps, 
reflective devices, and associated equipment applies to replacement 
equipment. In response to a petition from the Specialty Equipment 
Market Association (SEMA), the agency is granting the petition and 
extending the comment period 30 days, from September 2, 2003, to 
October 2, 2003. The reason for the extension is to give SEMA 
sufficient time to ``craft coordinated responses on behalf of the many 
SEMA members that produce aftermarket lighting equipment.'' SEMA 
requested that the comment period be extended by 30 days.

DATES: You should submit comments early enough to ensure that Docket 
Management receives them not later than October 2, 2003.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by the docket number set 
forth above) by any of the following methods:
    [sbull] Web Site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site. Please note, if 
you are submitting petitions electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file, we 
ask that the documents submitted be scanned using Optical Character 
Recognition (OCR) process, thus allowing the agency to search and copy 
certain portions of your submissions.\1\
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    \1\ Optical character recognition (OCR) is the process of 
converting an image of text, such as a scanned paper document or 
electronic fax file, into computer-editable text.
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    [sbull] Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
    [sbull] Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-001.
    [sbull] Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number. For detailed instructions on submitting comments, see 
the Submission of Comments heading of the Supplementary Information 
section of this document. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://dms.dot.gov, including any personal 
information provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading under 
Regulatory Notices.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Taylor Vinson, Office of Chief 
Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590, Telephone: (202) 366-5263, Fax: 
(202) 366-3820.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 17, 2003, the agency published a 
notice requesting comments on two draft interpretations in response to 
questions whether replacement lamps for the rear of a vehicle may have 
the reflex reflectors in a location that is inboard from that in the 
original lamps, and whether light source modifications are permissible 
for aftermarket lamps (68 FR 42454). The draft letters would be 
interpretations of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, 
Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. We provided a 
comment period of 45 days, until the close of business on September 2, 
2003.

[[Page 51636]]

    On August 15, 2003, the Specialty Equipment Market Association 
(SEMA) petitioned the agency to extend the comment period for an 
additional 30 days. SEMA explained that it had been ``attempting to 
craft coordinated responses on behalf of the many AEMA members that 
produce aftermarket lighting equipment.'' This undertaking ``has been 
complicated by the fact that most of the comment period falls in 
August, a time when many of these SEMA members are away from their 
businesses.'' In addition, the comment deadline ``falls on September 
2nd, the day after Labor Day.'' SEMA considers the interpretations to 
be of great importance ``to the ability of SEMA members to manufacture, 
market and sell replacement lighting equipment in the U.S.''
    After considering the arguments raised by SEMA, we have decided 
that it is in the public interest to extend the comment period for 30 
days, to October 2, 2003, pursuant to the petitioner's request.

Privacy Act

    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments 
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual 
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf 
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's 
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on 
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30111; 49 CFR 501.8(d)(5).

    Issued on August 21, 2003.
Jacqueline Glassman,
Chief Counsel.
[FR Doc. 03-21840 Filed 8-26-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P