[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 57 (Wednesday, March 24, 2004)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13805-13806]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-6587]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA 2004-17365]
RIN 2127-AG87


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

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

ACTION: Notice of withdrawal of proposed rulemaking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document withdraws a 1998 notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM) that would have amended the Federal motor vehicle safety 
standard on lighting to reorganize the sections related to 
headlighting. The intention of the rulemaking was to remove 
inconsistencies and to facilitate easy reference to the standard, in an 
effort to improve its comprehensibility. We have decided to terminate 
the rulemaking for the administrative rewrite of headlighting 
requirements, due to other regulatory priorities and limited agency 
resources.

[[Page 13806]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The following persons at the NHTSA, 
400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.
    For non-legal issues, you may call Mr. Richard VanIderstine, Office 
of Crash Avoidance Standards (Telephone: 202-366-2720) (Fax: 202-366-
7002).
    For legal issues, you may call Mr. Eric Stas, Office of Chief 
Counsel (Telephone: 202-366-2992) (Fax: 202-366-3820).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, 
Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment, establishes performance 
requirements for lighting-related equipment on new motor vehicles, as 
well as their location. The standard also covers replacement lighting 
equipment. The present version of FMVSS No. 108 represents over 30 
years of accumulated amendments to the standard and the incorporation 
of numerous industry consensus standards. Consequently, the standard is 
lengthy, and requirements concerning a particular lighting device are 
sometimes found at different places within the standard, with the 
result being a heavy demand for interpretation of the standard by 
vehicle and equipment manufacturers, inventors, vehicle owners, and 
State agencies.
    In order to simplify FMVSS No. 108 for users, NHTSA published an 
NPRM on November 12, 1998 proposing to reorganize the headlighting 
requirements under the standard (see 63 FR 63258; see also 64 FR 6021 
(February 8, 1999) (notice extending comment period)). The proposed 
amendments were not intended to change the requirements of the 
standard, except in a few minor instances that were clearly identified 
and discussed. The NPRM included a set of ``Drafting Guidelines'' which 
discussed the rubric for the proposed administrative simplification, 
including inclusion of relevant lighting requirements in the text of 
the standard (i.e., minimizing incorporation by reference to outside 
standards), updating references to the most current version of the 
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard (whenever appropriate), 
elimination of past effective dates, and use of a single, consistent 
numbering scheme. A similar administrative rewrite for the non-
headlighting provisions of FMVSS No. 108 was contemplated at a future 
point.
    NHTSA received 13 comments on the 1998 NPRM. Most commenters were 
supportive of the agency's efforts to conduct an administrative rewrite 
of FMVSS No. 108's headlighting provisions, and numerous technical 
recommendations were provided.

II. Reason for Withdrawal

    Our review of the public comments on the NPRM revealed that 
unexpected issues, substantive in character, would have to be addressed 
prior to publication of a final rule, and, as a result, significant 
additional analyses would be required. Consequently, completion of a 
final rule to simplify the headlighting provisions of FMVSS No. 108 
would be more complicated and resource-intensive than previously 
anticipated. Although NHTSA continues to believe that an administrative 
rewrite of FMVSS No. 108 would be beneficial, we have concluded that, 
after a careful review of regulatory priorities, limited agency 
resources should be expended on other projects likely to produce a 
greater safety benefit.
    The agency receives numerous congressional mandates and petitions 
for rulemaking from outside parties each year, so it is not possible to 
undertake all of the discretionary rulemaking activities that we 
identify. Accordingly, for the reasons discussed above, we are 
terminating this rulemaking activity at the present time and 
withdrawing the associated NPRM for a reorganization of the 
headlighting provisions of FMVSS No. 108.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

    Issued: March 19, 2004.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 04-6587 Filed 3-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P