[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53476-53477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13953]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2024-0027]


Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition, DP22-004

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

ACTION: Denial of petition for a defect investigation.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the reasons for the denial of a 
petition submitted to NHTSA on August 18, 2022, requesting that the 
agency commence an investigation of collisions of passenger vehicles 
and vulnerable road users (pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists) 
with van-type (also known as box) semi-trailers that result in 
significant injuries or death due to a lack of effective rear impact 
guards. On January 17, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition DP22-004 to 
evaluate petitioners' request. After consideration of the petition and 
other information, NHTSA believes that the issues raised here are best 
addressed through its recent rulemaking and the ongoing actions under 
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Accordingly, the agency has 
denied the petition.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Nate Seymour, Medium and Heavy 
Duty Vehicle Division, Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), NHTSA, 
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590. Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) 
received a petition dated August 18, 2022, requesting an investigation 
of collisions of passenger vehicles and vulnerable road users 
(pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists) with van-type (also known 
as box) semi-trailers that result in significant injuries or death due 
to a lack of effective rear impact guards (RIGs).\1\ No specific 
trailer manufacturer or equipment supplier was identified. The petition 
acknowledges that the issues presented may be addressed by the actions 
the agency is taking pursuant to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law 
(BIL).
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    \1\ The petition is available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=11481272.
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    The petitioners cite crashes exemplifying their concerns, including 
those in NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), stating 
that there are ``hundreds of underride deaths and serious injuries 
annually from collisions with semitrailers.'' Petitioners observe that 
from 1994 to 2015, FARS reports 1,803 rear underride deaths, and they 
further assert that FARS is ``known to underreport these deaths.'' This 
data, according to petitioners, ``indicate[s] that semitrailers without 
effective [RIGs] contain a defect that presents an unreasonable risk.''
    Petitioners also submitted to NHTSA, between January 30 and May 15, 
2023, various materials--the vast majority of which were over 200 news 
articles pertaining to fatal incidents involving a heavy vehicle. NHTSA 
reviewed these materials. Of the news articles, over a third regarded 
the same crash event, or regarded a non-crash event. Through extensive 
additional research, ODI determined that twenty-two of the events 
involved van-type (or ``box'') semitrailers. Of those twenty-two 
events, ODI was able to identify the trailer manufacturer in nine; 
however, none of the model years could be determined. There were no 
crash reports of vulnerable road user fatalities or injuries included 
in the materials received from the petitioners.
    Approximately one month before submission of the petition, NHTSA 
updated the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for RIGs 
(FMVSS 223 and 224). See 87 FR 42339. FMVSS provide minimum safety 
standards for vehicles or items of motor vehicle equipment sold in the 
United States. Such rulemaking efforts involve extensive research and 
analysis, including requirements to consider economic impacts. NHTSA 
relied on a collection of crash databases and published research to 
update these FMVSS. Among other sources, NHTSA used the University of 
Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) study of Trucks 
Involved in Fatal Accidents (TIFA) in updating the FMVSS for RIGs--not 
the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data that petitioners 
claim underreport deaths from collisions with semitrailers. See 87 FR 
42354.
    These updated standards replace the original standards released in 
1996 and adopt requirements similar to the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard (CMVSS) 223 for RIG protection. They provide for upgraded 
protection in crashes where the passenger motor vehicle hits the center 
of the rear of the trailer or semitrailer, and crashes in which 50 
percent of the width of the passenger motor vehicle overlaps the rear 
of the trailer or semitrailer. The updated standards went into effect 
on January 11, 2023, and have a compliance date of no later than July 
15, 2024. The updated standards also satisfy BIL requirements. 87 FR 
42342.

[[Page 53477]]

    Further, pursuant to BIL, in July 2022, NHTSA published a notice 
soliciting nominations for an advisory committee on Underride 
Protection, to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of 
Transportation on safety regulations to reduce underride crashes and 
fatalities relating to underride crashes. See 87 FR 40346. In April 
2023, NHTSA announced 16 members of that committee, which include 
petitioner Marianne Karth as well as another representative of 
underride crash victims. The committee is further comprised of 
representatives of truck safety organizations; motor vehicle crash 
investigators; law enforcement; labor organizations; motor vehicle 
engineers; the insurance industry; motor carriers, including 
independent owner-operators; and truck and trailer manufacturers.
    In addition to the advisory committee, NHTSA previously announced 
several additional actions related to truck trailer underride safety, 
including improving data collection of underride crashes by 
recommending inclusion of underride data in state crash data systems 
and by providing educational materials to state and local police 
departments on identifying and recording underride crashes. NHTSA is 
also conducting research on rear impact guard designs that better 
protect occupants of passenger vehicles in even more rear underride 
crash scenarios. NHTSA, with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration (FMCSA), published a pamphlet in August 2022--which was 
also distributed to law enforcement through various channels--that 
explains how to identify and record such crashes.\2\
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    \2\ This pamphlet is available at https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2022-08/Underride-Crash-Pamphlet_071522_v6a-tag.pdf.
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    After consideration of the petition, including the reports provided 
by the petitioners, NHTSA believes the issues raised are best addressed 
through its recent rulemaking and the ongoing actions under BIL. 
Accordingly, NHTSA has decided not to open a defect investigation and 
the petition is denied. The denial of this petition does not foreclose 
the agency from taking further action if warranted or making a future 
finding that a safety-related defect exists based upon additional 
information the agency may receive.
    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30162(d) and 49 CFR part 552; delegation of 
authority at 49 CFR 1.95(a).\3\
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    \3\ The authority to determine whether to approve or deny defect 
petitions under 49 U.S.C. 30162(d) and 49 CFR part 552 has been 
further delegated to the Associate Administrator for Enforcement.

Eileen Sullivan,
Associate Administrator, Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2024-13953 Filed 6-25-24; 8:45 am]
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