[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 78037-78038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27640]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION

14 CFR Part 1421

[Docket No. CPSC-2021-0014]


Notice of Availability and Request for Comment: ``Study of Debris 
Penetration of Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle (ROV) Proof-of-Concept 
(POC) Floorboard Guards''

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule; availability of supplemental information.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or 
CPSC) is announcing the availability of, and seeking comment on, a 
report from SEA, Ltd. (SEA), ``Study of Debris Penetration of 
Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle (ROV) Proof-of-Concept (POC) 
Floorboard Guards'' (SEA Technical Report). This report is related to 
CPSC's notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) regarding off-highway 
vehicle debris penetration hazards. CPSC contracted with SEA to perform 
debris penetration tests on POC floorboard guards per the test methods 
described in the NPR. The SEA Technical Report also evaluates an 
alternative test method for debris penetration that is proposed in two 
draft voluntary standards. The SEA testing evaluates the effectiveness 
of the test methods in addressing the debris penetration hazard and the 
feasibility of the proposed requirements in the NPR.

DATES: Comments must be received by January 20, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments, identified by Docket No. CPSC-2021-0014, by 
any of the following methods:
    Electronic Submissions: Submit electronic comments to the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments. CPSC typically does not accept comments submitted 
by electronic mail (email), except as described below. CPSC encourages 
you to submit electronic comments by using the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal.
    Mail/hand delivery/courier/confidential Written Submissions: Submit 
comments by mail, hand delivery, or courier to: Office of the 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East West Highway, 
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone: (301) 504-7479. If you wish to submit 
confidential business information, trade secret information, or other 
sensitive or protected information that you do not want to be available 
to the public, you may submit such comments by mail, hand delivery, or 
courier, or you may email them to: [email protected].
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number. CPSC may post all comments without change, including any 
personal identifiers, contact information, or other personal 
information provided, to www.regulations.gov. Do not submit through 
this website: confidential business information, trade secret 
information, or other sensitive or protected information that you do 
not want to be available to the public. If you wish to submit such 
information, please submit it according to the instructions for mail/
hand delivery/courier/confidential written submissions.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to: www.regulations.gov, and insert the docket 
number, CPSC-2021-0014, into the ``Search'' box, and follow the 
prompts.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Han Lim, Directorate for Engineering 
Sciences, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 5 Research Place, 
Rockville, MD 20850; telephone: (301) 987-2327; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CPSC is engaged in a rulemaking to address 
debris penetration hazards associated with ROVs and Utility Task/
Terrain Vehicles (UTVs). On July 21, 2022, the Commission published in 
the Federal Register an NPR regarding a Safety Standard for Debris 
Penetration Hazards, 87 FR 43688.
    The NPR proposed test methods to address debris penetration hazards 
associated with ROVs and UTVs. The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute 
(OPEI) and Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association (ROHVA), two 
industry groups that represent ROV and UTV manufacturers in the United 
States, have proposed a different debris penetration test method in two 
draft voluntary standards.\1\ These two draft standards, ANSI/OPEI 
B71.9-202x and ANSI/ROHVA-1-202x, include a drop test with an impact 
energy of 355 joules (the ``355 J drop test'') that OPEI and ROHVA 
assert will address the debris penetration hazard.\2\ OPEI and ROHVA 
proposed this test method as an alternative to the NPR test methods. 
OPEI and ROHVA assert that the energy level used in the 355 J drop test 
method is based on the OPEI and ROHVA members' warranty claim and 
incident data.
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    \1\ OPEI balloted the proposed test on August 3, 2022. ROHVA 
balloted the proposed test on September 8, 2022.
    \2\ OPEI included the draft proposed drop test procedure in a 
comment to the ROV/UTV Debris Penetration NPR (pages 29 to 32 in the 
PDF attachment): https://www.regulations.gov/comment/CPSC-2021-0014-0191. The drop test method involves a 2-inch diameter wood 
penetrator dowel that strikes an ROV/UTV floorboard surface when an 
80-pound weight is dropped onto the dowel from 1 meter. The drop 
weight is dropped in a guided path using a plastic pipe or other 
means to allow for vertical free fall.
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    CPSC contracted with SEA to perform debris penetration tests on POC 
floorboard guards per the test methods described in the NPR and the 355 
J drop test method in the two draft voluntary standards. The Technical 
Report, ``Study of Debris Penetration of Recreational Off-highway 
Vehicle (ROV) Proof-of-Concept (POC) Floorboard Guards,'' completed by 
SEA in October 2022, provides discussion and test results from testing 
to the proposed requirements in the NPR, and to the 355 J drop test 
method proposed in the two draft voluntary standards. SEA conducted 
this testing to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of POC

[[Page 78038]]

floorboard guards that conform to the proposed requirements in the NPR, 
as well as to assess the NPR and 355 J drop test methods.
    SEA conducted debris penetration tests using full-scale, 
autonomously driven ROVs. SEA also tested a simulated ROV sled system 
it previously developed,\3\ to evaluate POC floorboard guards' strength 
and their ability to reduce the debris penetration hazard. Both the 
sled tests and autonomous ROV were used to simulate an ROV colliding 
with an embedded tree branch (represented by a wooden dowel).
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    \3\ For background information, the following 2021 SEA report 
describes the development of the autonomous and sled test methods 
and debris penetration testing of commercially available aftermarket 
floorboard guards: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Study-of-Debris-Penetration-of-Recreational-Off-Highway-Vehicle-ROV-Floorboards.
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    The sled tests were conducted in accordance with the proposed 
requirements in the NPR. Specifically, a simulated vehicle was 
propelled in a straight-line path towards 2-inch and 3-inch diameter 
wooden dowels at 10, 12, and 14 mph speeds. The report describes how 
floorboard guards can be designed to prevent debris penetration at 10 
mph, as proposed in the NPR. All tests that had POC aluminum floorboard 
guards that were at least 0.125 inches thick did not have debris 
penetrations. These POC floorboard guards are thinner than an 
aftermarket floorboard guard that passed a 10 mph test during the 2021 
SEA study, which was 0.170 inch thick. Test results also showed that 
POC floorboard guards capable of resisting debris penetration at 10 mph 
were additionally capable of resisting debris penetration at speeds 
greater than 10 mph. These test results appear to confirm the 
feasibility of designing floorboard guards that effectively reduce the 
risk to consumers of debris penetration hazards.
    The SEA Technical Report also contains results of sled tests 
evaluating a commercially available, model year 2022 plastic floorboard 
that OPEI and ROHVA members indicated conforms to the draft 355 J drop 
test method. The SEA report compares the impact results at the 355 J 
energy level per the NPR test condition of a fully loaded vehicle 
traveling at 10 mph, which is approximately a 10,000 J energy level. 
The sled speed found to produce an impact energy level equivalent to 
the 355 J test condition is approximately 2.2 mph. Although no debris 
penetration of the plastic floorboard occurred at the 2.2 mph test 
condition, debris penetration did occur at the NPR's 10 mph test 
condition, as well as at a 6 mph test condition. The 10 mph speed is 
representative of incidents reviewed by CPSC and SEA staff, and it is 
reasonable to assume that drivers will operate ROVs and UTVs at these 
speeds in wooded areas where debris is likely. Thus, the test results 
indicate that the OPEI/ROHVA proposed 355 J energy drop test method 
draft requirement does not adequately prevent debris penetration at 10 
mph and poses a risk of debris penetration that could cause serious 
injury or death to ROV and UTV occupants.
    The Commission seeks public comment on the SEA Technical Report. 
The report is available on CPSC's website at: https://www.cpsc.gov/content/Study-of-Debris-Penetration-of-Recreational-Off-highway-Vehicle-ROV-Proof-of-Concept-POC-Floorboard-Guards.
    Comments must be received by January 20, 2023.

Alberta E. Mills,
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 2022-27640 Filed 12-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P