[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 65 (Thursday, April 4, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13222-13223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06518]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 571
[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0024]
RIN 2127-AL03
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Glazing Materials
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Proposed rule; withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: NHTSA withdraws its June 21, 2012 Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM), which proposed revising Federal motor vehicle safety
standard (FMVSS) No. 205, ``Glazing materials,'' to harmonize it with
Global Technical Regulation (GTR) No. 6, ``Safety Glazing Materials for
Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment.'' Based on the results of
the agency's review of available information and analysis of the
technically substantive comments on the proposal, NHTSA is unable to
conclude at this time that harmonizing FMVSS No. 205 with GTR No. 6
would increase safety.
DATES: As of April 4, 2019, the proposed amendments to 49 CFR part 571
that were contained in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM)
published June 21, 2012 (77 FR 37477) are withdrawn.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Myers, Office of Crashworthiness
Standards (Phone 202-366-1810; FAX: 202-366-2739) or Callie Roach,
Office of the Chief Counsel (Phone: 202-366-2992; FAX: 202-366-3820).
You may send mail to these officials at: National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 205, ``Glazing
materials,'' (49 CFR 571.205), specifies performance requirements for
the types of glazing that may be installed in motor vehicles. It also
specifies the vehicle locations in which the various types of glazing
may be installed. The purpose of FMVSS No. 205 is to reduce injuries
(e.g., lacerations) resulting from impact to glazing surfaces, to
ensure a necessary degree of transparency in motor vehicle windows for
driver visibility, and to minimize the possibility of occupants being
thrown through the vehicle windows in collisions. FMVSS No. 205 applies
to passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses,
motorcycles, slide-in campers, pickup covers designed to carry persons
while in motion and low speed vehicles, and to glazing materials for
use in those vehicles.
GTR No. 6, ``Safety Glazing Materials for Motor Vehicles and Motor
Vehicle Equipment,'' was adopted under the United Nations/Economic
Commission for Europe (UN/ECE) 1998 Agreement, which is administered by
World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulation (WP.29). At the
one-hundred-and-thirty-second session of the WP.29 in March 2004, the
formal proposal to develop a GTR on safety glazing was adopted, and at
that time restricted the scope of the glazing GTR to glass safety
glazing, thereby excluding other materials, such as plastics. The
objective of GTR No. 6 is to develop an internationally harmonized
standard regarding the safety of glass automotive glazing materials.
GTR No. 6 includes requirements and tests to ensure that the mechanical
properties, optical qualities and environmental resistance of glazing
are satisfactory; it does not include type approval, plastic glazing
and installation requirements.
II. NPRM
On June 21, 2012, NHTSA published a NPRM \1\ as part of the
agency's ongoing effort to harmonize vehicle safety standards under the
UN/ECE 1998 agreement when, and to the extent, appropriate to do so.
The agency stated in the NPRM that harmonization with GTR No. 6 would
modernize the test procedures for tempered glass, laminated glass, and
glass-plastic glazing used in front windshields and rear and side
windows. The GTR proposed an upgraded fragmentation test for testing
the tempering of curved tempered glass, and a new procedure for testing
an optical property of the windshield at the angle of installation, to
more accurately reflect real world driving conditions than the current
procedure used in Standard No. 205. The agency said further that most
of the proposals were minor amendments that would harmonize differing
measurements and performance requirements for similar test procedures.
Many of the tests in the GTR were said to be substantially similar to
tests currently included in FMVSS No. 205.
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\1\ 77 FR 37478.
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III. Comments Received
In the NPRM, the agency requested public comment on whether the
[[Page 13223]]
proposed amendments reflecting provisions of the GTR are suitable for
being adopted into the Federal glazing standard. NHTSA received
comments from 14 entities in response to the NPRM to adopt GTR
provisions in FMVSS No. 205.\2\ These comments came from trade
associations, glazing manufacturers, automobile manufacturers, a
glazing industry expert, and a safety technology company. Overall, most
of the comments supported the harmonization efforts, though several
suggested revisions or requested clarification. A few commenters were
opposed to certain aspects of the proposed harmonization of glazing
standards, with one respondent completely opposing the NPRM. NHTSA also
received comments for definitions, markings, and cost.
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\2\ Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0083.
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IV. Decision to Withdraw Rulemaking
Crash data indicates that current glazing materials are performing
acceptably. Since the 1960s, the magnitude of the safety problem for
glazing has been substantially reduced.\3\ The increased availability
of automatic occupant protection systems has resulted in a substantial
reduction in the numbers of occupants impacting the windshield and thus
being exposed to lacerative injuries from broken glass. The current
glazing standard ensures that emerging and evolving glazing
technologies produce commensurate benefits and that glazing remains a
safety concern rather than becoming a safety problem.
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\3\ Kahane, C.J. (2015, January). Lives saved by vehicle safety
technologies and associated Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards,
1960 to 2012--Passenger cars and LTVs--With reviews of 26 FMVSS and
the effectiveness of their associated safety technologies in
reducing fatalities, injuries and crashes. (Report No. DOT HS 812
069). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
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According to agency crash data, occupant ejection, particularly
during rollover events, is a much larger safety problem than
lacerations from broken glass. NHTSA addressed this safety problem by
issuing FMVSS No. 226, ``Ejection mitigation,'' in 2011. The standard
became fully phased-in in 2017. While glazing materials may be one
component of an ejection mitigation countermeasure system, the scope of
FMVSS No. 205 is focused on material performance in terms of the
glazing mechanical strength, optical properties, and environmental
durability. The tests described in FMVSS No. 205 assure conformance
with minimum required glazing equipment performance levels.
Based on the results of our review and of available data and
analysis of the technically substantive comments, the agency is unable
to conclude at this time that harmonizing FMVSS No. 205 with GTR No. 6
would, on balance, increase or decrease safety. While some of the
proposed changes would be expected to improve safety as they more
accurately reflect real world driving conditions, others may result in
a decrease in safety. NHTSA has determined that it does not have
sufficient data to evaluate the safety implications of harmonizing
FMVSS No. 205 with GTR No. 6. Therefore, NHTSA has determined that the
most appropriate path forward at this time is to withdraw the 2012
NPRM.
In order to better inform future agency decisions, NHTSA is
planning a glazing research study. NHTSA is also monitoring SAE
International's efforts to publish a new Glazing Standard, SAE Standard
J3097 ``Standard for Safety Glazing Materials for Glazing Motor
Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment Operating on Land Highways.'' If
this study is undertaken as planned, it may enable the agency to reach
clearer conclusions about the impact of harmonizing FMVSS No. 205 with
GTR No. 6. Depending on the outcome of that study and SAE's progress,
NHTSA would consider those data in potential next steps.
The agency notes that this document does not represent a decision
whether or not to adopt GTR No. 6. NHTSA voted in favor of establishing
a global technical regulation (GTR) on automotive glazing and
considered adopting the regulations by issuing an NPRM in 2012.
However, after considering public comments received in response to the
proposal, the agency is withdrawing the NPRM to reconsider its next
steps. Accordingly, NHTSA withdraws the 2012 proposed glazing GTR
harmonization rulemaking.
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
part 1.95 and 501.5.
Heidi Renate King,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-06518 Filed 4-3-19; 8:45 am]
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