[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 112 (Friday, June 10, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37662-37664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13774]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA--2016-0167


Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation, Lamps and 
Reflective Devices; Application for an Exemption From STEMCO LP

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 STEMCO LP (STEMCO) to allow motor carriers to operate commercial 
motor vehicles (CMVs) that are equipped with STEMCO's 
TrailerTail[supreg] aerodynamic device with rear identification lamps 
and rear clearance lamps that are mounted lower than currently 
permitted by the Agency's regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Regulations (FMCSRs) require rear identification lamps and rear 
clearance lamps to be located ``as close as practicable to the top of 
the vehicle.'' While the TrailerTail[supreg] aerodynamic device is 
currently mounted slightly below the roof of the vehicle, STEMCO states 
that this offset prevents the device from delivering the maximum 
available fuel economy benefit as opposed to mounting it flush with the 
top of the vehicle which may block the visibility of the rear 
identification lamps and rear clearance lamps. STEMCO believes that 
locating the rear identification lamps and rear clearance lamps lower 
on the vehicle, on a horizontal plane with other required lamps (stop, 
turn, and tail lamps) as is done on a flatbed trailer or an intermodal 
chassis, will maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or 
greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption. 
STEMCO is requesting the temporary exemption in advance of petitioning 
FMCSA to conduct a rulemaking to amend 49 CFR 393.11.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before July 11, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2016-0167 using 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-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, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits 
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT 
posts these comments, without edit, including any personal information 
the commenter provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the 
system of records notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 
www.dot.gov/privacy.
    Public participation: The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 
generally available 24 hours each day,

[[Page 37663]]

365 days each year. You may find electronic submission and retrieval 
help and guidelines under the ``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov Web site as well as the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you would like notification that we 
received your comments, please include a self-addressed, stamped 
envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgment page that appears 
after submitting comments online.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Jose Cestero, Vehicle and Roadside 
Operations Division, Office of Bus and Truck Standards and Operations, 
MC-PSV, (202) 366-5541; 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. 401] amended 49 
U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from 
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). On August 20, 
2004, FMCSA published a final rule (69 FR 51589) implementing section 
4007. 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 specify the effective 
period of the exemption (up to 5 years) and explain the terms and 
conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 
381.315(c) and 49 CFR 381.300(b)).

STEMCO Application for Exemption

    STEMCO, on behalf of motor carriers utilizing its 
TrailerTail[supreg] aerodynamic devices, applied for an exemption from 
49 CFR 393.11 to allow rear identification lamps and rear clearance 
lamps to be mounted lower than currently permitted by the Agency's 
regulations. A copy of the application is included in the docket 
referenced at the beginning of this notice.
    Table 1 of Sec.  393.11, ``Required lamps and reflectors on 
commercial motor vehicles,'' specifies the requirements for lamps, 
reflective devices and associated equipment by the type of CMV. All 
CMVs manufactured on or after December 25, 1968, must, at a minimum, 
meet the applicable requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, ``Lamps, reflective devices, and associated 
equipment,'' in effect at the time of manufacture of the vehicle. Rear 
identification lamps must be mounted as close as practicable to the top 
of the vehicle. One lamp must be as close as practicable to the 
vertical centerline and one on each side of the center lamp with the 
lamp centers spaced not less than 6 inches or more than 12 inches 
apart, and all on the same level. One rear clearance lamp must be 
located on each side of the vertical centerline of the vehicle to 
indicate overall width, both of which must be on the same level and as 
high as practicable.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department 
of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
(NHTSA) have jointly proposed a national program that would establish 
the next phase of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel efficiency 
standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. This ``Phase 2 program'' 
would significantly reduce carbon emissions and improve the fuel 
efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles, helping to address the challenges of 
global climate change and energy security. In February 2015, STEMCO 
purchased ATDynamics and its TrailerTail[supreg] product line, a 
collapsible boat tail technology that improves the rear aerodynamic 
shape of CMVs. STEMCO states that motor carriers are evaluating the 
TrailerTail[supreg] rear aerodynamic device to help meet (1) the 
proposed Phase 2 program standards, and (2) the California Air 
Resources Board (CARB) Tractor-Trailer Greenhouse Gas Regulation for 
dry van and refrigerated van type trailers that has been in effect 
since 2010.
    For newly manufactured trailers, STEMCO states that the 
TrailerTail[supreg] top panel is mounted 1.5--3.5 inches below the roof 
of the trailer in order to comply with the FMVSS No. 108 and FMCSR 
mounting location requirements for rear identification and clearance 
lamps. However, STEMCO states:

    This inset creates an unaeordynamic gap as airflow transitions 
from the trailer roof onto the TrailerTail panels and has prevented 
TrailerTails from delivering the maximum available fuel economy 
benefit. Wind tunnel flow visualization highlights the contrast in 
airflow between flush and inset panels and our own internal testing 
estimates an additional 0.14 delta CDA (measured drag 
area) gain and 70 million gallons of annual diesel fuel savings can 
be achieved simply by installing TrailerTails flush with the trailer 
roof. In order to evaluate the actual performance of flush mounted 
TrailerTail aerodynamic systems on actual fleet based fuel economy, 
it is necessary to request relief from the location requirements for 
upper identification lamps and rear clearance lamps on commercial 
van trailers and box trucks. Additionally, these lower clearance and 
identification lamp locations will pave the way for the commercial 
launch of collapsible boat tails for roll door box trailers, where 
the rear upper header is a critical mounting location of boat tail 
components.

    In support of its application, STEMCO states that ``The relocation 
of the rear identification lamps and rear clearance lamps to a lower 
location on the trailer or box truck are equivalent to the current 
required lamp location on a flatbed trailer or intermodal chassis, so 
no safety impact is anticipated.'' In addition, according to the 
application:

    STEMCO believes that there will be no safety impact from the 
relocation of both the rear identification lamps and the rear 
clearance lamps to a location on an approximate horizontal plane 
with other rear lamps. NHTSA issued legal interpretations from 1968 
until approximately 1999 to trailer manufacturers to allow the lower 
mounting location for rear identification lamps and rear clearance 
lamps when there was no ``practicable'' means of installing the 
lamps ``as close as practicable to the top of the vehicle.'' NHTSA 
subsequently issued an interpretative rule on April 5, 1999, 64 FR 
16358, suggesting that trailer manufacturers could no longer mount 
lamps at the lower location as narrow lamps were now readily 
available, and NHTSA would no longer defer to a manufacturer's 
subjective determination of practicability for locating lamps in the 
rear upper header location on van trailers and box trucks. However, 
NHTSA noted in that same Notice that they did not intend to bring 
enforcement actions based on this interpretive rule immediately. 
Subsequently, trailer manufacturers continued to manufacture van 
trailers and box trucks with the rear identification lamps and rear 
clearance lamps mounted lower on the vehicles on an approximate 
horizontal plane with the other required lamps.''

    STEMCO states that without the exemption, it will be unable to 
verify fleet performance of a higher performance TrailerTail[supreg] 
design that is expected to provide the maximum available fuel economy 
benefit that may

[[Page 37664]]

be necessary in order to meet future fuel efficiency requirements.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests 
public comment from all interested persons on STEMCO's application for 
an exemption from 49 CFR 393.11. 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 continue to file relevant 
information in the public docket that becomes available after the 
comment closing date. Interested persons should continue to examine the 
public docket for new material.

    Issued on: June 2, 2016.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2016-13774 Filed 6-9-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P