[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 135 (Friday, July 15, 2005)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 40974]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13959]



[[Page 40974]]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2002-13957]
RIN 2127-AI97


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

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

ACTION: Notice of withdrawal of rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: On February 12, 2003 NHTSA published a request for comments in 
the Federal Register (68 FR 7101) regarding Adaptive Frontal-lighting 
Systems (AFS). The agency noted the automotive industry was introducing 
Adaptive Frontal-lighting Systems that could actively change the 
intensity and direction of headlamp illumination in response to changes 
in vehicle speed or roadway geometry, such as providing more light to 
the left in a left-hand curve. The agency expressed concern that such 
headlighting systems may cause additional glare to oncoming drivers, 
change the easily recognizable and consistent appearance of oncoming 
vehicles, and have failure modes that may cause glare for long periods 
of time. The agency stated it was also interested in learning whether 
these adaptive systems can provide any demonstrated reduction in crash 
risk during nighttime driving. For reasons discussed in this document, 
the agency is withdrawing this rulemaking.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues: Mr. David M. 
Hines, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, Telephone number (202) 493-
0245, FAX number (202) 366-7002. For legal issues: Mr. Eric Stas, 
Office of Chief Counsel, Telephone number (202) 366-2992, FAX number 
(202) 366-3820. You may send mail to either of these officials at 
NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The development of AFS has been ongoing for approximately a decade, 
although much earlier versions of such situation-adaptive headlighting 
were previously incorporated in vehicles sold to the public including 
the Tucker automobile in the United States and Citroen automobiles in 
Europe. The goal of current AFS is to actively control headlamp beam 
pattern performance to meet the dynamic illumination needs of changing 
roadway geometries and visibility conditions. One initial application, 
commonly referred to as ``bending light,'' automatically re-aims the 
lower beam headlamps to the left or right depending on the steering 
angle of the vehicle, with the intent to better illuminate curves in 
the roadway.
    Motor vehicles equipped with AFS are currently being advertised and 
sold in the United States. This is not prohibited at the Federal level 
because Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 108, Lamps, 
reflective devices, and associated equipment, does not specifically 
address the initial or subsequent aim of a headlamp in a headlighting 
system. The Standard addresses only aimability requirements. Further 
details regarding this issue are discussed in the letter from the Chief 
Counsel, NHTSA, to Mr. Mark Cronmiller, VDO North America, dated July 
21, 1999 (available at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/interps/files/20061.ztv.html).
    The agency notes that S5.3.2 of Standard No. 108 also requires that 
lamps and reflective devices must be installed such that their 
photometric requirements are met on motor vehicles and that no other 
part of the vehicle shall prevent that. As such, the additional 
hardware added to achieve AFS must not prevent headlamps, or any other 
required lamps, from meeting the required performance in any manner 
whether AFS is operating or not. Additionally, for the bending light 
mechanization where some of the light in the nominal beam pattern is 
actively redirected, the photometric requirements of the headlamp must 
be met regardless of active changes in the light distribution within 
the beam.
    Comments to our published request regarding AFS were received from 
individuals, groups, and corporations; these responses generally 
addressed many of the questions the agency asked. These comments may be 
viewed at: http://dms.dot.gov/search/searchFormSimple.cfm (docket 
number 13957). Several of the comments either provided insight on or 
referenced studies regarding AFS. The agency also contracted with the 
Lighting Research Center (LRC), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, to 
study the available literature and to assess aspects of AFS technology. 
Results of that research will be posted on our Web site: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov as they become available.

II. Reason for Withdrawal

    After careful consideration, NHTSA has decided to withdraw this 
rulemaking. The agency believes further research on AFS is needed and 
is currently conducting research on AFS-related topics. If this 
research indicates a need for future rulemaking, the agency will act 
accordingly.
    The agency arrived at this decision after reviewing the comments 
received and giving consideration to the findings of the LRC survey. 
LRC found that although a significant number of studies on AFS had been 
done, due to inconsistency in the metrics used and lack of information 
on experimental procedures and scenarios, further research is needed to 
quantify the effectiveness of AFS as it relates to vision improvement, 
as well as its contributions to glare. LRC stated that because existing 
reports on AFS did not supply sufficient information and did not use 
common performance metrics related to traffic safety, it is difficult 
to reproduce or validate the studies and their results. Nevertheless, 
the agency still considers AFS to be a potentially important technology 
and will continue its efforts to understand the relevant safety issues 
associated with its use.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166; 
delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50, and 501.8.

    Issued on: July 11, 2005.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 05-13959 Filed 7-14-05; 8:45 am]
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