[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 238 (Monday, December 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58087-58088]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22824]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2025-0886]
Technical Translation Research; Request for Comment
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: NHTSA conducted a multi-phase research project evaluating 81
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) to determine how they
apply to innovative vehicle designs, particularly those incorporating
Automated Driving Systems (ADS), and to identify potential challenges
these vehicles may face in demonstrating conformance. This research was
published in four volumes of research reports. While NHTSA continues to
use the findings from this research to inform its ongoing FMVSS
modernization efforts, the agency also recognizes that the industry is
rapidly evolving, with new entrants and business models continually
emerging. Accordingly, the agency finds value in soliciting additional
public comments on this published work to further support its ongoing
modernization efforts.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before February 13, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments electronically to the docket
identified in the heading of this document by visiting the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Alternatively, you can file comments using the following methods:
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: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West
Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001, between
9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
To be sure someone is there to help you, please call 202-366-9826
before coming.
Fax: 202-366-1767.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number. 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 discussion below.
Docket: For access to the docket go to http://www.regulations.gov
at any time or to 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground
Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. Telephone: 202-366-
9826.
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 DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov/privacy.html.
Confidential Business Information: If you wish to submit any
information under a claim of confidentiality, you must submit your
request directly to NHTSA's Office of the Chief Counsel. Requests for
confidentiality are governed by part 512. NHTSA is currently treating
electronic submission
[[Page 58088]]
as an acceptable method for submitting confidential business
information to the agency under part 512. If you would like to submit a
request for confidential treatment, you may email your submission to
Dan Rabinovitz in the Office of the Chief Counsel at
[email protected] or you may contact him for a secure file
transfer link. At this time, you should not send a duplicate hardcopy
of your electronic CBI submissions to DOT headquarters. If you claim
that any of the information or documents provided to the agency
constitute confidential business information within the meaning of 5
U.S.C. 552(b)(4), or are protected from disclosure pursuant to 18
U.S.C. 1905, you must submit supporting information together with the
materials that are the subject of the confidentiality request, in
accordance with part 512, to the Office of the Chief Counsel. Your
request must include a cover letter setting forth the information
specified in our confidential business information regulation (49 CFR
512.8) and a certificate, pursuant to Sec. 512.4(b) and part 512,
appendix A. In addition, you should submit a copy, from which you have
deleted the claimed confidential business information, to the Docket at
the address given above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about this
request for comments, please contact Dee Williams at
[email protected] or 202-366-7409.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle
Safety Act of 1966 \1\ (Safety Act) created NHTSA and required and
empowered \2\ the agency to establish ``minimum standards for motor
vehicle and motor vehicle equipment performance,'' known as Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).\3\ By requiring FMVSS to be
established as performance requirements, and not design or development
requirements, the Safety Act provides manufacturers with freedom to
choose how to achieve the safety performance requirements established
in an FMVSS. When promulgating FMVSS, NHTSA seeks to establish
standards in such a way as to provide manufacturers with the
flexibility to innovate and find increasingly effective and efficient
means to meet or exceed the standards. That said, sometimes the agency
cannot foresee the advent of new technological innovation when
establishing standards, and drafts standards in a manner that
inadvertently creates unintended and unnecessary barriers to
technological advancement.
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\1\ Public Law 89-563, 80 Stat. 718
\2\ 49 U.S.C. 30111.
\3\ 49 U.S.C. 30102(b)(10).
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Historically, FMVSS have been established based on the assumption
that a human driver would be operating the vehicle. With the
introduction of ADS-equipped vehicles, the driving tasks are intended
to be performed by the ADS, when operating, and not a human driver. The
absence of a human driver creates opportunities for vehicle
manufacturers to design new vehicle architectures that may remove
driving controls, change seating configurations, and consider new
interfaces for passengers. Compliance with existing FMVSS or
demonstration thereof, may become challenging for such unconventional
vehicle designs, due to references to a driver, or by linking a test
procedure to human-performed actions and controls. The objective of
this research was to gather data and evidence that could support
decisions on potential adaptations of regulations to ensure equivalent
safety performance standards in a manner that enables innovative, ADS-
specific designs. The project also sought to adapt regulatory test
procedures to accommodate NHTSA's evaluation of standards conformance
for such designs. This effort was performed with extensive hands-on
support from dozens of industry and safety experts. The findings were
published in four volumes:
Volume 1 (https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/54287)
[cir] This volume focuses on 12 FMVSS. It presents research findings on
performance requirements and test procedures, focusing on technical
translation options based on potential regulatory barriers identified
for compliance demonstration of innovative vehicle designs,
particularly those incorporating ADSs. It describes activities focused
on six crash avoidance standards (FMVSS Nos. 102, 108, 114, 118, 138,
and 141) and six crashworthiness standards (FMVSS Nos. 201, 202a, 203,
204, 205, and 206).
Volume 2 (https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/54442)
[cir] This volume focuses on 18 FMVSS, including nine crash avoidance
standards (FMVSS Nos. 101, 103, 104, 110, 111, 113, 124, 125, and 126)
and nine crashworthiness standards (FMVSS Nos. 207, 208, 210, 214,
216a, 219, 222, 225, and 226).
Volume 3 (https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/85074)
[cir] This volume focuses on 28 FMVSS, including 11 crash avoidance
standards (FMVSS Nos. 105, 106, 109, 116, 117, 119, 121, 129, 135, 136,
and 139), 15 crashworthiness standards for conventional seating designs
(FMVSS Nos. 209, 212, 213, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 301, 302, 303,
304, 305, and 401), 1 low-speed standard (FMVSS No. 500), and 1
crashworthiness standard for unconventional seating designs (FMVSS No.
208).
Volume 4 (https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/88071)
[cir] This volume focuses on the remaining 23 FMVSS including the
braking and electronic stability control (ESC) test methods for FMVSS
Nos. 135 and 126; the heavy braking and ESC requirements associated
with FMVSS Nos. 105, 121, and 136; the technical translations of FMVSS
Nos. 122, 122a, 123, 131, 223, 224, 403, 404, and CFR part 571 Subpart
A; and potential unconventional seating barriers associated with FMVSS
Nos. 201, 202a, 207, 209, 210, 214, 216a, 219, and 226.
NHTSA welcomes all types of comments; however, the agency is
particularly interested in whether there have been changes in industry,
product plans, new concepts that may have impacted the scope of the
documented effort and whether other issues may have been identified or
newly emerged since the effort was carried out.
Please be as specific as you can in your feedback and minimally
identify:
[cir] The relevant FMVSS
[cir] Specific regulatory text within the FMVSS
[cir] The ADS concept which may be viewed as encountering a new
challenge
Issued on December 11, 2025, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
1.95.
Jonathan Morrison,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2025-22824 Filed 12-12-25; 8:45 am]
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