[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 9, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21191-21197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08221]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2013-0047]


NHTSA Activities Under the United Nations World Forum for the 
Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations 1998 Global Agreement

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

ACTION: Notice of activities under the 1998 Global Agreement and 
request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NHTSA is publishing this notice to inform the public of the 
upcoming scheduled meetings of the World Forum for the Harmonization of 
Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and its Working Parties of Experts for 
calendar year 2013. It also provides the most recent status of 
activities under the Program of Work of the 1998 Global Agreement (to 
which the United States is a signatory Contracting Party) and requests 
comments on those activities. Publication of this information is in 
accordance with NHTSA's Statement of Policy regarding Agency Policy 
Goals and Public Participation in the Implementation of the 1998 Global 
Agreement on Global Technical Regulations (GTR).

DATES: Written comments may be submitted to this agency within 30 days 
of publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT Docket No. NHTSA-
2013-0010 by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West Building Ground Floor, 
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
     Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Telephone: 1-800-647-
5527.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number for this proposed collection of information. 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 below.
    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 the 
DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published 
on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit http://Docketlnfo.dot.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov or the street 
address listed above. Follow the online instructions for accessing the 
dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Ezana Wondimneh, Chief, 
International Policy and Harmonization Division (NVS-133), National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC, 20590; Telephone: (202) 366-0846, fax (202) 493-2280.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Background
    A. WP.29 and Its Working Parties of Experts
    1. WP.29
    2. Working Parties of Experts
II. List of Provisional Meetings of WP.29 and Its Working Parties of 
Experts
III. Status of Activities Under the Program of Work of the 1998 
Global Agreement
    A. Status of GTRs Under Development
    1. Pedestrian Safety
    2. Head Restraints
    3. Quiet Electric and Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
    4. Electric Vehicles
    5. Light Vehicle Tires
    B. Status of GTRs Nearing Completion and Establishment by Vote
    1. Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles
    2. Pole Side Impact Protection and Harmonized Side Impact 
Dummies
    C. Exchange of Information Item
    1. Enforcement Working Group
    D. Compendium of Candidate GTRs
IV. Request for Comments

I. Background

    On August 23, 2000, NHTSA published in the Federal Register (65 FR 
51236) a statement of policy regarding the Agency's policy goals and 
public participation in the implementation of the 1998 Global 
Agreement, indicating that each calendar year the Agency would provide 
a list of scheduled meetings of the World Forum for the Harmonization 
of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) and the Working Parties of Experts, as 
well as meetings of the Executive Committee of

[[Page 21192]]

the 1998 Global Agreement (AC.3).\1\ Further, the Agency stated that it 
would keep the public informed about the Agreement's Program of Work 
(i.e., subjects designated for Global Technical Regulation (GTR) 
development) and seek comment on those subjects on a regular basis. In 
keeping with the policy, NHTSA has notified the public about the status 
of activities under the 1998 Global Agreement and sought comments on 
various issues and proposals through a series of Federal Register 
notices published beginning July 2000.\2\
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    \1\ This statement of policy is codified in Appendix C of Part 
553 of Title 49 of the CFR.
    \2\ The relevant Federal Register notices include: 65 FR 44565, 
66 FR 4893, 68 FR 5333, 69 FR 60460, 71 FR 59582, 73 FR 7803, 73 FR 
8743, 73 FR 31914, 73 FR 5520, and 77FR 4618.
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    This notice provides the latest and current status of the Agency's 
activities at the World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle 
Regulations under the 1998 Global Agreement.

A. WP.29 and Its Working Parties of Experts

1. WP.29
    WP.29 was established on June 6, 1952 as the Working Party on the 
Construction of Vehicles, a subsidiary body of the Inland Transport 
Committee (ITC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 
(UNECE). In March 2000, WP.29 became the ``World Forum for 
Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29).'' The objective of the 
WP.29 is to initiate and pursue actions aimed at the worldwide 
harmonization or development of technical regulations for vehicles.\3\ 
Providing uniform conditions for periodical technical inspections and 
strengthening economic relations worldwide, these regulations are aimed 
at:

    \3\ For general information about WP.29, see the document, 
``World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)--How 
It Works, How to Join It,'' available at http://www.unece.org/transport/resources/publications/publications.html.
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--improving vehicle safety;
--protecting the environment;
--promoting energy efficiency; and
--increasing anti-theft performance.

WP.29 currently administers three UNECE Agreements:
    1. UNECE 1958 Agreement concerning the Adoption of Uniform 
Technical Prescriptions for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which 
can be Fitted and/or be Used on Wheeled Vehicles and the Conditions for 
Reciprocal Recognition of Approvals Granted on the Basis of these 
Prescriptions;
    2. UNECE 1998 Agreement concerning the Establishing of Global 
Technical Regulations for Wheeled Vehicles, Equipment and Parts which 
can be Fitted and/or be Used on Wheeled Vehicles;
    3. UNECE 1997 Agreement concerning the Adoption of Uniform 
Conditions for Periodical Technical Inspections of Wheeled Vehicles and 
the Reciprocal Recognition of such Inspections.
    Four committees coordinate the activities of WP.29:

AC.1--Administrative Committee for 1958 Agreement
AC.2--Administrative Committee for the Coordination of Work
AC.3--Executive Committee for 1998 Agreement
AC.4--Administrative Committee for 1997 Agreement

    AC.1, AC.3 and AC.4 are the Administrative/Executive Committees for 
the Agreements administered by WP.29, constituting all Contracting 
Parties of the respective Agreements.
    The coordination of work of the World Forum is managed by a 
Steering Committee (AC.2) comprising the Chairperson and Secretariat of 
WP.29, the Chairpersons of the Executive Committees of the 1958, 1997 
and 1998 Agreements administered by WP.29, the representatives of the 
European Community, Japan and the United States of America, and the 
Chairpersons of WP.29's subsidiary bodies (GRs or Working Parties). The 
duties of AC.2 are to develop and recommend to WP.29 a Program of Work, 
to review the reports and recommendations of WP.29's subsidiary bodies, 
to identify items that require action by WP.29 and the time frame for 
their consideration, and to provide recommendations to WP.29.
2. Working Parties of Experts
    The permanent subsidiary bodies of WP.29, also known as GRs (Groups 
of Rapporteurs), assist the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle 
Regulations in researching, analyzing and developing requirements for 
technical regulations in the areas of their expertise. There are six 
subsidiary bodies:

Working Party on Lighting and Light-Signaling (GRE)
Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF)
Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP)

Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG)
Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE)
Working Party on Noise (GRB)

    Each subsidiary body consists of persons whose expertise is 
relevant to the area covered by the body. All proposals for new 
regulations or amendments to existing regulations are referred by the 
World Forum to its relevant subsidiary bodies for the development of 
technical recommendations. In view of the significance of the role of 
these subsidiary bodies, they have been given permanent status under 
the UN and have been designated as permanent and formal ``Working 
Parties.'' More specifically, the working parties and their areas of 
expertise are outlined below:

Active Safety of Vehicles and their Parts (Crash Avoidance)
    Working Party on Lighting and Light-Signaling (GRE)
    Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF)

    The regulations in this area seek to improve the behavior, handling 
and equipment of vehicles so as to decrease the likelihood of a road 
crash. Some of the regulations seek to increase the ability of drivers 
to detect and avoid hazardous circumstances. Others seek to increase 
the ability of drivers to maintain control of their vehicles. Specific 
examples include ones applying to lighting and light-signaling devices, 
braking, steering, tires and rollover stability. This area of safety 
technology is rapidly changing. The advent of advanced technologies 
(e.g., electronic control systems, advanced sensors and communication) 
is providing opportunities for developing new approaches for helping 
drivers avoid crashes.

Passive Safety (Crashworthiness)
    Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP)

    The regulations in this area seek to minimize the risk and severity 
of injury for the occupants of a vehicle and/or other road users in the 
event of a crash. Extensive use is made of crash statistics to identify 
safety problems for which a regulation or amendment to an existing 
regulation is needed and define a proper cost/benefit approach when 
improving performance requirements in this area. This is important, 
given the overall impact of new requirements on vehicle construction, 
design and cost. Specific examples of current regulations include ones 
addressing the ability of the vehicle structure to manage crash energy 
and resist intrusion into the passenger compartment, occupant restraint 
and protection systems for children and adults, seat structure, door 
latches and door retention, pedestrian protection, and for motorcycles, 
the quality of the protective helmet for the rider. This area of 
technology also is

[[Page 21193]]

changing rapidly and becoming more complex. Examples include advanced 
protection devices that adjust their performance in response to the 
circumstances of individual crashes.

General Safety Considerations
    Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG)

    The regulations in this area address vehicle and component features 
which are not directly linked to the above-mentioned subject areas. For 
example, windshield wipers and washers, controls and displays, and 
glazing are grouped under this heading. Further, theft prevention and 
the considerations related to motor-coaches and other mass public 
transport vehicles are covered under this category.

Environmental Considerations
    Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE)
    Working Party on Noise (GRB)

    In general, the regulations in this area address questions of the 
pollution of the environment, noise disturbances and conservation of 
energy (fuel consumption). However, the issue of quiet vehicles' 
unintended safety consequence related to pedestrian safety is currently 
being addressed by the Working Party on Noise (GRB) even though this 
group does not normally address safety issues. This is because the 
necessary acoustics experts needed to develop a safety regulation to 
address the issue are part of this group.

Special Technical Considerations
    Informal Working Groups (IWGs)

    In some cases, a specific problem needs to be solved urgently or 
needs to be addressed by persons having a special expertise. There are 
also cases where an issue cuts across multiple GRs or is not 
specifically relevant to any of them. In such situations, a special 
informal working group may be entrusted with the analysis of the 
problem and invited to prepare a proposal for a regulation. Although 
such cases have traditionally been kept to a minimum, the rapid 
development of complex new technologies is increasing the necessity for 
using this approach.

II. List of Provisional Meetings of WP.29 and Its Working Parties of 
Experts

    The following list shows the scheduled meetings of WP.29 and its 
subsidiary Working Parties of Experts for calendar year 2013. In 
addition to these meetings, Working Parties of Experts may schedule, if 
necessary, IWG sessions outside their regular schedule in order to 
address technical matters specific to GTRs under consideration. The 
formation and timing of these groups are recommended by the sponsoring 
Contracting Party and are approved by WP.29 and AC.3. The schedules and 
places of meetings are made available to interested parties in 
proposals and periodic reports which are posted on the Web site of 
WP.29, which can be found at: http://www.unece.org/trans/main/welcwp29.html.

2013 Provisional Schedule of Meetings of WP.29 and Its Working Parties 
of Experts

January
    15-18 Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE) (65th session)
February
    5-7 Working Party on Noise (GRB) (57th session)
    19-22 Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF) (74th 
session)
March
    11 Administrative Committee for the Coordination of Work (WP.29/
AC.2) (111th session)
    12-15 World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) 
(159th session)
April
    8-11 Working Party on Lighting and Light-Signalling (GRE) (69th 
session)
    15-19 Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG) (104th 
session)
May
    13-17 Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP) (53rd session)
June
    4-7 Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE) (66th session)
    24 Administrative Committee for the Coordination of Work (WP.29/
AC.2) (112th session)
    25-28 World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) 
(160th session)
September
    2-4 Working Party on Noise (GRB) (58th session)
    17-19 Working Party on Brakes and Running Gear (GRRF) (75th 
session)
October
    8-11 Working Party on General Safety Provisions (GRSG) (105th 
session)
    21-23 Working Party on Lighting and Light-Signalling (GRE) (70th 
session)
November
    11 Administrative Committee for the Coordination of Work (WP.29/
AC.2) (113th session)
    12-15 World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) 
(161st session)
    14 Working Party on Pollution and Energy (GRPE) (67th session)
December
    17-20 Working Party on Passive Safety (GRSP) (54th session)

III. Status of Activities Under the Program of Work of the 1998 Global 
Agreement

    The current Program of Work of the 1998 Global Agreement is listed 
in the table below. Note that the items listed are for those related to 
vehicle safety only.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Sponsoring contracting    Chair of informal working
    Working party of experts             Subject                   party                       group
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WP.29..........................  Exchange of              USA....................  USA
                                  Information--.
                                 Enforcement Working
                                  Group.
GRRF...........................  GTR on Tires for Light   France.................  UK
                                  Vehicles.
GRSP...........................  Phase 2 of GTR No. 7     Japan..................  UK
                                  (Head Restraints).
                                 Phase 2 of GTR No. 9     Japan/Germany..........  Germany/Japan
                                  (Pedestrian Safety).
                                 GTR on Hydrogen          USA/Germany/Japan......  USA/Japan
                                  Vehicles--Safety Sub-
                                  Group.
                                 GTR on Pole Side Impact  Australia..............  Australia
                                 Exchange of Information  USA....................  USA
                                  on Harmonized Side
                                  Impact Dummies.
                                 Electric Vehicles        USA/Japan/European       USA/Japan
                                  Safety GTR.              Commission (EC)/China.
GRB............................  GTR on Quiet Road        USA/Japan/EC...........  USA/Japan
                                  Transport Vehicles.
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[[Page 21194]]

A. Status of GTRs Under Development

1. Pedestrian Safety
    At the November 2008 session, WP.29 voted to establish \4\ GTR 9 
\5\ on Pedestrian Safety. Implementation of the GTR by the contracting 
parties would improve pedestrian safety by requiring vehicle hoods and 
bumpers to absorb energy more efficiently in a 40 kilometer per hour 
(km/h) vehicle-to-pedestrian crash. Crashes at speeds up to that 
threshold account for more than 75 percent of crashes in which 
pedestrians are injured.
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    \4\ Under the 1998 Global Agreement, GTRs are established by 
consensus vote of the Agreement's contracting parties present and 
voting.
    \5\ While the 1998 Global Agreement obligates contracting 
parties that vote in favor of establishing a GTR to begin their 
domestic rulemaking process, it leaves the ultimate decision of 
whether they adopt the GTR to the parties themselves.
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    The GTR contains two sets of performance criteria applying to: (a) 
the hood; and (b) the front bumper. Unique test procedures address 
adult and child head and adult leg impact protection for each of the 
two crash scenarios. At the time GTR 9 was adopted, a legform impactor 
developed by TRL (Transport Research Laboratory, UK) was used to 
evaluate front bumper impact performance. WP.29, however, agreed to 
consider the future use of a newer legform impactor called Flex-PLI 
(Flexible Pedestrian Legform Impactor), which may be more biofidelic. 
At the May 2011 session of GRSP, NHTSA reported research results that 
raised concerns about the readiness of the Flex-PLI device. As a 
result, at its June 2011 session, WP.29 agreed to form a new IWG under 
the sponsorship and chairmanship of Germany and Japan to further refine 
the Flex-PLI device.
    The IWG has updated its terms of references (TOR) and operating 
principles for the IWG and a first draft UN GTR for information 
purposes only. The IWG is conducting a series of round robin testing on 
the Flex-PLI device to further validate its performance. The IWG is 
also working on the cost and benefit analysis.
    Due to this GTR-9 phase II activity, NHTSA is reevaluating how it 
will proceed with rulemaking on the original GTR.
2. Head Restraints
    The GTR for head restraints (GTR 7) was established by WP.29 at its 
March 2008 session. At that time, the GTR incorporated a dynamic test 
option to some of the static requirements using the Hybrid III test 
dummy. It was anticipated that a new dummy, BioRID II, might eventually 
allow for a full system whiplash evaluation test that incorporates the 
combined performance of the seat and head restraint, but the dummy was 
not then sufficiently developed to incorporate even as an option, the 
way the Hybrid III dummy was incorporated.
    Therefore, in November 2009, WP.29 initiated a second phase of 
development for the GTR by forming a new IWG tasked with the 
development of a fully developed BioRID II test tool, including test 
procedures, injury criteria and associated corridors. At the last 
meeting of the IWG, December 10-11, 2012, the chairman confirmed that 
the development of a proposal for a certification procedure of the 
BioRID II was in progress and that the study, which is funded by the 
EC, identified areas of dummy performance, specifically, 
reproducibility, still required further investigation. He also reported 
that the group may have to consider proposing it as an option to Hybrid 
III rather than a replacement. The goal of the IWG is to submit a 
proposal for consideration at the December 2013 session of GRSP. If 
GRSP votes to recommend the amendments at that session, WP.29 could 
vote on the amendments as early as the May 2014 session.
3. Quiet Electric and Hybrid-Electric Vehicles
    In 2009, NHTSA published a report on the incident rates of crashes 
involving hybrid-electric vehicles and pedestrians under different 
scenarios.\6\ The U.S. study, using crash data collected from several 
states, compared vehicle to pedestrian crash rates for hybrid electric-
vehicles and vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE). In the 
study, the agency concluded that there was an increased rate of 
pedestrian crashes for hybrid electric vehicles versus similarly sized 
ICE vehicles. In 2010, the agency published a second report that found 
that the overall sound levels for the hybrid-electric vehicles tested 
were lower at low speeds than for the peer ICE vehicles tested.\7\
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    \6\ ``Research on Quieter Cars and the Safety of Blind 
Pedestrians, A Report to Congress'' prepared by National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, 
October 2009. This report can be found at http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2010/RptToCongress091709.pdf.
    \7\ Garay-Vega, Lisandra; Hastings, Aaron; Pollard, John K.; 
Zuschlag, Michael; and Stearns, Mary D., Quieter Cars and the Safety 
of Blind Pedestrians: Phase I, John A. Volpe National Transportation 
Systems Center, DOT HS 811 304 April 2010, available at http://www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/NVS/Crash%20Avoidance/Technical%20Publications/2010/811304rev.pdf.
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    The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and 
Tourism (MLIT), after studying the feasibility of alert sounds for 
electric and hybrid-electric vehicles, issued guidelines for pedestrian 
alert sounds in 2010. MLIT concluded that pedestrian alert sounds 
should be required only on hybrid-electric vehicles that can run 
exclusively on an electric motor, electric vehicles and fuel-cell 
vehicles. MLIT guidelines require that electric and hybrid-electric 
vehicles generate a pedestrian alert sound whenever the vehicle is 
moving forward at any speed less than 20 km/h and when the vehicle is 
operating in reverse. The guidelines do not require vehicles to produce 
an alert sound when the vehicle is operating, but stopped, such as at a 
traffic light. Also, manufacturers are allowed to equip the vehicle 
with a switch to deactivate the alert sound temporarily.
    WP.29 also determined that vehicles propelled in whole or in part 
by electric means, present a danger to pedestrians and consequently 
adopted guidelines covering alert sounds for electric and hybrid 
vehicles that are closely based on the Japanese guidelines at its March 
2011 meeting. The guidelines were published as an annex to the UNECE 
Consolidated Resolution on the Construction of Vehicles (R.E.3).
    Considering the international interest and work in this new area of 
safety, the United States, the European Commission (EC) and Japan 
agreed to work, as co-sponsors, on a new GTR to develop harmonized 
pedestrian minimum sound requirements for electric and hybrid-electric 
vehicles under the 1998 Global Agreement.\8\ WP.29 is now working to 
develop a GTR that will consider international safety concerns and 
leverage expertise and research from around the world. Meetings of the 
IWG are expected to take place regularly with periodic reporting to 
WP.29 until the expected establishment date for the new GTR in November 
2014. Two meetings of the IWG were held in 2012: (1) Washington DC, in 
July and (2) Berlin, Germany, in December. The meeting agendas, reports 
and related documents can be found on the UN Web site for this IWG.\9\
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    \8\ Additionally, the agency is taking this action because the 
Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act requires the agency to issue a 
standard specifying minimum sound for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. 
The agency announced its proposal on January 7, 2013.
    \9\ https://www2.unece.org/wiki/display/trans/GTR+for+QRTV.

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[[Page 21195]]

4. Electric Vehicles
    At the March 2012 session of WP.29, the co-sponsors (the United 
States, Japan, and the EC) submitted a joint proposal (ECE/Trans/WP.29/
2012/36. and its Corr1) to establish two working groups to address the 
safety and environmental issues associated with electric vehicles 
(EVs). The WP.29 Executive Committee adopted this proposal as well as 
approved China, per its request, as the fourth co-sponsor.
    The objective of the two working groups is to seek regulatory 
convergence on the global scale via the work in the framework of the 
1998 Agreement. For the safety aspects, an electric vehicle safety 
(EVS) IWG was formed to begin development of the GTR, which would apply 
to all types of hybrid and pure electric vehicles, their batteries, and 
other associated high risk components. The United States chairs the IWG 
with China and the EU as co-vice chairs, and Japan as the secretary. To 
the extent possible, the GTR will include performance-based 
requirements and testing protocols designed to allow for innovation, 
while ensuring that the unique safety risks posed by electric vehicles 
are mitigated. The GTR will address the safety of high voltage 
electrical components, including lithium-ion and other types of 
batteries, their performance during normal use, after a crash event, 
and while recharging at a residential or commercial station.
    Two EVS IWG meetings were held in 2012: (1) Washington DC, in April 
and (2) Bonn, Germany, in October. At these meetings, the IWG 
established the Terms of Reference (TOR), exchanged current regulatory, 
technical and research information and drafted an outline for the GTR. 
At the second IWG meeting, the International Organization of Motor 
Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) submitted a proposal for the IWG 
consideration, which included safety requirements for occupant 
protection against high voltage and rechargeable energy storage 
systems. It was presented in detail, generating substantial discussion, 
however, there were also a significant number of questions raised 
regarding the basis for the requirements and test protocols. As 
appropriate, the IWG will consider the OICA proposal as well as other 
existing international standards and regulations and results and 
recommendations from ongoing research activities as the basis for 
future discussions and drafting the GTR.
5. Light Vehicle Tires
    The IWG for developing a GTR on light vehicle tires began its work 
in September 2006. The activity is sponsored by France and chaired by 
the UK. The GTR would apply to radial passenger and light truck tires 
designed to be used on vehicles with a gross mass of 10,000 pounds or 
less. Its provisions include five mandatory performance and labeling 
requirements (tire sidewall markings, tire dimensions, high speed 
performance, low pressure and endurance performance, and wet grip 
performance).
    In addition, there are two optional modules, with one containing a 
tire strength test and bead unseating resistance test, and the second 
containing a tire rolling sound emission test. During the course of the 
development of the GTR, it became apparent that the requirements for 
light truck tires would require more time to develop. It was therefore 
decided by WP.29 to split the work on the GTR into two phases. The 
first phase covers passenger car tires only, and the second will 
address the light truck tires.
    The IWG expects to continue its work in 2013 (and meet on the 
margins of upcoming sessions of the GRRF).

B. Status of GTRs Nearing Completion and Establishment by Vote

1. Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Vehicles
    In June 2007, WP.29 adopted an Action Plan prepared by the co-
sponsors (United States, Germany and Japan) to develop a GTR for 
compressed gaseous and liquefied hydrogen fuel vehicles.\10\ WP.29 
formed an IWG to develop a GTR for these types of vehicles with the aim 
of attaining levels of safety equivalent to those for conventional 
gasoline-powered vehicles. The GTR will cover the safety of hydrogen 
fuel containers, hydrogen fuel lines and their related components, as 
well as the safety of high-voltage components.
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    \10\ The GTR Action Plan (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/2007/4 I) and GTR 
proposal (ECE/TRANS/WP.29/AC.3/I 7) can be found at http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29gen/gen2007.html and 
http://www.unece.org/trans/main/wp29/wp29wgs/wp29gen/wp29globproposal.html, respectively.
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    The work of the IWG is nearing completion. The draft GTR was 
recommended by the experts of GRSP at the December 2012 session, and is 
expected to be submitted for a vote at June 2013 session of WP.29. The 
last outstanding items were addressed as follows:
    (1) Electrical Barrier for High Voltage: This requirement provides 
the protection from direct contact with high voltage components by the 
use of a physical barrier i.e., enclosure or insulation. This was 
proposed as a stand-alone option in addition to the two current options 
that are widely accepted and have been established in Federal Motor 
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 305: absence of high voltage and 
electrical isolation. While this option provides sufficient protection 
for in-use application, there are still remaining questions regarding 
its effectiveness as a stand-alone option for certain post-crash 
scenarios. Consequently, the IWG decided to establish this as an 
optional safety requirement that contracting parties may or may not 
elect to adopt.
    (2) Duration of the Localized Fire Test: This requirement in the 
GTR specifies the duration of a localized fire test, which is a part of 
the fire protection requirement for fuel containers. The localized fire 
is followed by an engulfing fire, during which the hydrogen container 
must not rupture or explode. The IWG agreed to set the duration of the 
localized fire to nine (9) minutes based on test data from Japan and 
the United States.
    (3) Hydrogen Container Material Compatibility: The research for 
this critical item has not yet been completed and is expected to 
continue. Therefore, the IWG has agreed to recommend that the 
contracting parties continue to use their current regulations and 
standards, if any, until suitable harmonized provisions can be 
developed in the second phase of the GTR.
2. Pole Side Impact Protection and Harmonized Side Impact Dummies
    In November 2009, an informal meeting was held in Washington, DC 
among interested experts to discuss international cooperation in the 
development of harmonized side impact dummies. In June 2010, WP.29 
formed an IWG to develop a GTR for pole side impact (PSI) protection 
under the sponsorship and chairmanship of Australia. At the same time, 
an IWG on Harmonized Side Impact Dummies was formed under the 
sponsorship and chairmanship of the United States. As the second group 
was tasked with supporting the PSI GTR by evaluating and further 
developing the WorldSID family of dummies, the two groups have 
generally met in conjunction. The side impact dummy IWG held its first 
meeting in November of 2009 and the PSI group held its first meeting in 
November 2010. The first tasks of the PSI IWG included confirming the 
safety need for the GTR and assessing potential candidate crash test 
procedures for the GTR. The planned GTR would contain pole side impact 
test procedures using side impact test dummies representing a 50th 
percentile adult male and a 5th percentile adult female.

[[Page 21196]]

    Australia has since proposed that the GTR be drafted with a 50th 
percentile adult male dummy requirement only, and a placeholder for the 
5th percentile adult female dummy in a first phase, since the WorldSID 
dummies will be finalized on different timelines, with the 50th 
percentile adult male dummy development expected to be completed well 
ahead of the 5th percentile adult female dummy. This would allow 
contracting parties to obtain benefits of the 50th percentile adult 
male without having to wait for the 5th percentile adult female to be 
finalized. WP.29 agreed to a change of the terms of reference of the 
IWG to allow this, with the provision that no contracting party would 
be required to initiate the process to adopt the GTR until both phases 
were complete, even if it were to vote in favor of the first phase of 
the GTR.
    The IWG is finalizing the evaluation of the 50th percentile male 
version of WorldSID to allow its incorporation in the Pole Side Impact 
GTR. While the Pole Side Impact IWG has agreed on injury risk curves 
for the 50th percentile male dummy and has proposed provisional injury 
criteria, however, NHTSA has not evaluated how the criteria selected 
compare to our existing regulation. NHTSA is in a unique situation, 
compared to other countries, as it has an existing pole side impact 
regulation which incorporates other side impact dummies. While we would 
not want to deter other countries from adopting a pole side impact 
regulation, we believe that the United States needs to evaluate both 
WorldSID dummies together before we can make a decision about amending 
our existing regulation. In addition, there are some additional injury 
criteria the IWG is considering to add to phase 2 of the GTR for the 
50th male dummy.
    NHTSA is concerned that a GTR, which included requirements for a 
WorldSID 50th percentile adult but not a smaller adult dummy, such as 
the SID-IIs, would not provide protection to smaller adults or 
children. This is because the agency has found that including the 
smaller 5th percentile dummy is not only important to protect smaller 
adults, but is also effective in ensuring that air bags and sensors 
designed for side impact protection work effectively for impacts 
occurring at any point across vehicle full door widths.
    At the GRSP session in December 2012, the expert from Australia, on 
behalf of the Chairman of the IWG submitted a progress report and a 
draft UN GTR. The draft GTR incorporates an oblique pole test similar 
to that in the FMVSS No. 214, ``Side impact protection;'' however, it 
uses the 50th percentile male WorldSID dummy. The chairman requested 
comments from GRSP experts in time to allow the draft to be submitted 
as an official document for the May 2013 session of GRSP, particularly 
on Annex 2 of Part II of the draft UN GTR. The Annex 2 provides the 
seating procedure for the test dummy. The seating procedure is adopted 
from an ISO document which was undergoing balloting in December and 
which ISO agreed at that time could be incorporated in the GTR. When 
NHTSA first began evaluating the WorldSID dummies itself, it had to 
modify the existing FMVSS No. 214 seating procedure to fit the dummy in 
vehicles, due to its differences from the existing dummy. However, 
NHTSA tried to keep the modifications as close as possible to our own 
existing procedure. NHTSA has not yet fully evaluated the differences 
between our existing seating procedure and the ISO seating procedure 
and we would particularly request comments on the ISO procedure from 
those with experience with it.
    The third issue which has been controversial within the IWG is the 
scope of vehicle types. Some contracting parties have wanted to limit 
the scope because they did not see a safety need relative to some 
vehicle types in their country. However, the current draft covers all 
vehicles that would be covered by NHTSA's existing FMVSS No. 214.
    It is expected that the draft GTR will be recommended to WP.29 at 
the May 2013 session, in which case, it could be voted on by WP.29 as 
early as the November 2013 session.
    Concerning the 5th percentile female WorldSID dummy, it appears 
that issues will significantly increase development time for this 
dummy. Currently, the effort on the 5th percentile female is expected 
to be completed by December 2015. Because of this, once Phase 1 of the 
PSI GTR is complete, the PSI IWG expects to suspend its meetings until 
the 5th percentile female WorldSID dummy development is complete. At 
that time it would resume its meetings to complete work on the GTR to 
incorporate the second dummy.

C. Exchange of Information Item

1. Enforcement Working Group
    At the June 2011 session of WP.29, NHTSA proposed that WP.29 
consider forming a new working group that would meet to facilitate the 
regular exchange of non-proprietary or otherwise non-privileged 
information on enforcement-related activities from around the world to 
help governments identify and manage incidences of automotive non-
compliance or defects more quickly. The participants of WP.29 welcomed 
and accepted the proposal. To date, three meetings of the IWG have been 
held, each during the November 2011, June 2012, and November 2012 
sessions of WP.29. The IWG is open to all the delegates to WP.29 
including the Contracting Parties, Non-Governmental Organizations and 
industry associations and is expected to meet twice a year going 
forward (each June and November session of WP.29) subject to the 
agreement of WP.29.

D. Compendium of Candidate GTRs

    Article 5 of the 1998 Global Agreement provides for the creation of 
a compendium of candidate technical regulations submitted by the 
Contracting Parties. To date, NHTSA has submitted several FMVSSs for 
inclusion in this Compendium. These FMVSSs have all been listed in the 
Compendium after an affirmative vote of the Executive Committee of the 
1998 Global Agreement.
    The FMVSS listed in the Compendium include:
     FMVSS No. 108: Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated 
Equipment
     FMVSS No. 135: Passenger Car Brake Systems
     FMVSS No. 139: New Pneumatic Radial Tires for Light 
Vehicles
     FMVSS No. 202a: Head Restraints
     FMVSS No. 205: Glazing Materials
     FMVSS No. 213: Child Restraint Systems
     EPA and DOT programs for Light-duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas
     EPA and NHTSA Programs for Greenhouse Gas Emissions 
Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium and Heavy-Duty 
Engines and Vehicles
     EPA and NHTSA Programs for Revisions and Additions to the 
Motor Vehicle Fuel Economy Label: New Fuel Economy and Environment 
Labels for a New Generation of Vehicles Emission Standards and 
Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards
    Additionally, the Compendium contains Japan's submission for its 
technical standard for fuel leakage entitled ``Regulations for road 
vehicles in Japan regarding hydrogen and fuel-cell vehicles.''

IV. Request for Comments

    NHTSA invites public comments on the various activities outlined in 
this notice. The agency plans to issue individual Notices of Proposed 
Rulemaking based on each GTR as it is established by WP.29 and will 
consider

[[Page 21197]]

additional detailed comments at that time. In the event that the public 
comments provide new information and data that will lead the agency to 
adopt Final Rules that significantly differ from the GTRs upon which 
they were initially proposed, NHTSA will consider seeking amendments to 
those GTRs in an effort to maintain harmonization.

    Issued on: April 4, 2013.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2013-08221 Filed 4-8-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P