[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 28 (Thursday, February 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7623-7625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-2985]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2010-0022]


Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Brakes; 
Application for Exemption From Innovative Electronics

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: FMCSA requests public comment on an application for exemption 
from Innovative Electronics regarding the use of trailer-mounted 
electric brake controllers, which monitor and actuate trailer brakes 
based on inertial forces developed in response to the braking action of 
the towing vehicle. While trailer-mounted electric brake controllers 
function like an electric surge brake, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Regulations (FMCSRs) define a surge brake as a ``self-contained, 
permanently closed hydraulic brake system'' [Emphasis added.] As such, 
the use of trailer-mounted electric brake controllers on commercial 
motor vehicles is currently prohibited. Innovative Electronics is 
requesting a temporary exemption in advance of petitioning FMCSA for 
rulemaking to

[[Page 7624]]

modify the current definition of a surge brake.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 14, 2011.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 
FMCSA-2010-0022 by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket 
site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 
DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery: Ground Floor, Room W12-140, DOT Building, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
e.t., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the Agency name and 
docket number for this notice. For detailed instructions on submitting 
comments and additional information on the exemption process, see the 
``Public Participation'' heading below. Note that all comments received 
will be posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including 
any personal information provided. Please see the ``Privacy Act'' 
heading for further information.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or to Room W12-140, 
DOT Building, New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. 
and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    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 (65 FR 19476) or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov.
    Public participation: The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 
generally available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can get 
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the 
``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov Web site and also at 
the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you want us to notify 
you that we received your comments, please include a self addressed, 
stamped envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgement page that 
appears after submitting comments online.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Luke W. Loy, Vehicle and Roadside 
Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations, 
MC-PSV, (202) 366-0676; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
(TEA- 21) [Pub. L. 105-178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 107, 401] amended 
49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions 
from many of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). On 
August 20, 2004, FMCSA published a final rule implementing section 4007 
(69 FR 51589). Under this rule, FMCSA must publish a notice of each 
exemption request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The 
Agency must provide the public with an opportunity to inspect the 
information relevant to the application, including any safety analyses 
that have been conducted. The Agency must also provide an opportunity 
for public comment on the request.
    The Agency reviews the safety analyses and the public comments and 
determines whether granting the exemption would likely achieve a level 
of safety equivalent to or greater than the level that would be 
achieved by the current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). The decision of 
the Agency must be published in the Federal Register (49 CFR 
381.315(b)). If the Agency denies the request, it must state the reason 
for doing so. If the decision is to grant the exemption, the notice 
must specify the person or class of persons receiving the exemption and 
the regulatory provision or provisions from which an exemption is 
granted. The notice must also specify the effective period of the 
exemption (up to 2 years) and explain the terms and conditions of the 
exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.315(c) and 
381.300(b)).

Background

    On October 7, 2005, in response to a petition for rulemaking 
submitted by the Surge Brake Coalition (``the Coalition''), FMCSA 
published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to allow the use of 
surge-braked trailers in interstate commerce (70 FR 58657). On March 6, 
2007, FMCSA published a final rule revising the FMCSRs to allow the use 
of automatic hydraulic inertia brake systems (surge brakes) on 
commercial trailers when the ratios of gross vehicle weight ratings 
(GVWR) for the towing vehicle and trailer are within certain limits (72 
FR 9855).
    A surge brake is defined in 49 CFR 393.5 as ``A self-contained, 
permanently closed hydraulic brake system for trailers that relies on 
inertial forces, developed in response to the braking action of the 
towing vehicle, applied to a hydraulic device mounted on or connected 
to the tongue of the trailer, to slow down or stop the towed vehicle.''
    The March 2007 final rule established the requirements for surge 
brakes as follows:

    393.48(d) Surge brakes. (1) Surge brakes are allowed on:
    (d)(1)(i) Any trailer with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) 
of 12,000 pounds or less, when its GVWR does not exceed 1.75 times 
the GVWR of the towing vehicle; and
    (d)(1)(ii) Any trailer with a GVWR greater than 12,000 pounds, 
but less than 20,001 pounds, when its GVWR does not exceed 1.25 
times the GVWR of the towing vehicle.
    (d)(2) The gross vehicle weight (GVW) of a trailer equipped with 
surge brakes may be used instead of its GVWR to calculate compliance 
with the weight ratios specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section 
when the trailer manufacturer's GVWR label is missing.
    (d)(3) The GVW of a trailer equipped with surge brakes must be 
used to calculate compliance with the weight ratios specified in 
paragraph (d)(1) of this section when the trailer's GVW exceeds its 
GVWR.
    (d)(4) The surge brakes must meet the requirements of Sec.  
393.40.
    393.49 Control valves for brakes.
    (c) Surge brake exception. This requirement is not applicable to 
trailers equipped with surge brakes that satisfy the conditions 
specified in 393.48(d).

Innovative Electronics' Application for Exemption

    On March 30, 2010, Innovative Electronics applied for an exemption 
from 49 CFR 393.48(a) and 49 CFR 393.49(a) to allow commercial motor 
vehicles to tow trailers equipped with trailer-mounted electric brake 
controllers. A copy of the application is included in the docket 
referenced at the beginning of this notice.
    In its application, Innovative Electronics states:

    Electric brakes have been used on commercial trailers for a long 
period of time; however each tow vehicle must currently be equipped 
with a brake controller in the towing vehicle which applies the 
trailer brakes when the driver applies the towing vehicle's brakes. 
Tow vehicle brake controllers are usually aftermarket devices which 
are manually adjustable to increase or decrease the amount of 
electric brake force applied to the trailer wheels to adjust for wet 
or dry road conditions and loaded or

[[Page 7625]]

unloaded trailer condition. Electric brakes on commercial trailers 
will not operate unless the tow vehicle has a brake controller.
    Technology developments in electronics have allowed the 
development of a self contained electric brake control device that 
is mounted directly to the trailer enabling it to monitor and 
actuate the brakes based on inertial forces developed in response to 
the braking action of the towing vehicle. The device is essentially 
an electric surge brake controller, with the electric power for the 
brakes provided by the tow vehicle, but the braking action of the 
trailer is controlled by the electronic controller mounted on the 
trailer. A trailer using this trailer mounted electronic brake 
controller does not meet the ``operative at all times'' requirement 
of 49 CFR 393.48 and the brakes do not meet the ``apply by a single 
application valve'' requirement of 49 CFR 393.49. Innovative 
Electronics and other electric surge brake controller manufactures 
have identified potential significant market penetration in 
commercial trailers equipped with electric brakes. Consequently, 
Innovative Electronics is requesting this exemption for all 
commercial motor vehicles as defined in Sec.  390.5, for a period of 
2 years.

    Innovative Electronics requests that the standards for hydraulic 
surge brakes in 393.48(d) and 393.49(c) be applied to the temporary 
exemption, i.e., substituting ``trailer mounted electric brake 
controller'' for ``surge brake'' as follows:

    (1) Trailer-mounted electric brake controllers are allowed on:
    (i) Any trailer with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 
12,000 pounds or less, when its GVWR does not exceed 1.75 times the 
GVWR of the towing vehicle; and
    (ii) Any trailer with a GVWR greater than 12,000 pounds, but 
less than 20,001 pounds, when its GVWR does not exceed 1.25 times 
the GVWR of the towing vehicle.
    (2) The gross vehicle weight (GVW) of a trailer equipped with a 
trailer-mounted electric brake controller may be used instead of its 
GVWR to calculate compliance with the weight ratios specified in 
paragraph (d)(1) of this section when the trailer manufacturer's 
GVWR label is missing.
    (3) The GVW of a trailer equipped with a trailer-mounted 
electric brake controller must be used to calculate compliance with 
the weight ratios specified in paragraph (d)(1) of this section when 
the trailer's GVW exceeds its GVWR.
    (4) The trailer equipped with a trailer-mounted electric brake 
controller must meet the requirements of Sec.  393.40.
    Control valves for brakes.
    (1) Trailer-mounted electric brake controller exception. This 
requirement is not applicable to trailers equipped with trailer-
mounted electric brake controllers that satisfy the conditions 
specified in 393.48(d).

    Without this exemption, commercial vehicle operators who tow 
trailers equipped with electric brakes must continue to purchase and 
install aftermarket trailer brake controls in each tow vehicle which 
may be used to tow a commercial trailer equipped with electric brakes. 
Similarly, rental companies will be prevented from renting trailers 
equipped with electric brakes to commercial customers whose tow 
vehicles are not equipped with electric brake controllers, although 
they can rent such trailers to a customer for non-commercial use.
    Innovative Electronics has provided limited test data showing that 
the trailer-mounted electronic brake controller appears to meet the 
braking performance requirements of 49 CFR 393.52(d). These test data 
have been included in the docket referenced at the beginning of this 
notice. Innovative Electronics' trailer-mounted electric brake 
controllers are currently available for non-commercial use trailers. 
The use of trailers equipped with electric brakes is currently allowed, 
and the brake performance of trailers equipped with the trailer-mounted 
controller appears to be at least as good as the performance of a tow 
vehicle equipped with a trailer brake controller. Trailer-mounted 
electric brake controllers offer the advantage of continuous electronic 
sensing of the braking forces acting on the trailer by the tow vehicle, 
thus eliminating the over-application of the trailer brakes in wet or 
icy conditions and continuously adjusting the application of the 
trailer brakes to variations in trailer weight; this is not possible 
when relying on the crude manual adjustments available on most in-cab 
tow vehicle brake controllers.
    For the reasons stated above, Innovative Electronics requests that 
motor carriers be permitted to use trailer-mounted electronic brake 
controllers, which would eliminate the requirement for each individual 
tow vehicle to be equipped with an electronic brake controller. 
Innovative Electronics is making this request because it believes the 
use of trailer-mounted electronic brake controllers will maintain a 
level of safety that is equivalent to the level of safety achieved 
without the exemption.
    FMCSA notes that, in comments submitted to the 2005 NPRM, the 
Coalition stated that surge brake technology had evolved since its 
petition was originally submitted, and suggested that the definition of 
surge brakes may someday require modification. For example, the 
Coalition noted that non-hydraulic surge brake systems had been 
developed and were entering the marketplace in Europe. The Coalition 
proposed that FMCSA consider deleting ``permanently closed hydraulic'' 
and the adjective `hydraulic' from the definition of surge brakes as 
proposed in the NPRM to eliminate any future design restrictions or the 
need for further rulemaking petitions.
    FMCSA responded in the March 2007 final rule, stating that ``No 
data are available to the Agency regarding the performance of other 
surge brake technologies to support the Coalition's request to remove 
the word `hydraulic' from the definition of surge brake. If the 
Coalition wishes to make such data available to FMCSA, a modification 
of this definition may be evaluated.''

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests 
public comment from all interested persons on Innovative Electronics' 
application for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.48(a) and 49 CFR 
393.49(a). All comments received before the close of business on the 
comment closing date indicated at the beginning of this notice will be 
considered and will be available for examination in the docket at the 
location listed under the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Comments 
received after the comment closing date will be filed in the public 
docket and will be considered to the extent practicable. In addition to 
late comments, FMCSA will also continue to file, in the public docket, 
relevant information that becomes available after the comment closing 
date. Interested persons should continue to examine the public docket 
for new material.

    Issued on: February 4, 2011.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2011-2985 Filed 2-9-11; 8:45 am]
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