83 FR 12643 - Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application for an Exemption From Traditional Trucking Corporation

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 56 (March 22, 2018)

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requests public comment on an application for exemption from Traditional Trucking Corporation (TTC) to allow a Global Positioning System (GPS) device to be mounted on the interior of the windshield of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) within the areas allowed for ``vehicle safety technology'' devices. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) require devices using ``vehicle safety technology'' to be mounted (A) not more than 4 inches below the upper edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers, or (B) not more than 7 inches above the lower edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers, and (C) outside the driver's sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals. GPS is not considered a ``vehicle safety technology'' under the definition in the regulation, and as such, GPS devices are not permitted to be mounted on the interior of the windshield and within the area swept by the windshield wipers. TTC believes that the exemption will maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption because the GPS device is approximately the same size as vehicle safety technology devices, and the current mounting location is much lower in the vehicle which causes the driver to look away from the road to view the GPS device.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12643-12645]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05864]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2018-0098]


Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application 
for an Exemption From Traditional Trucking Corporation

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) 
requests public comment on an application for exemption from 
Traditional Trucking Corporation (TTC) to allow a Global Positioning 
System (GPS) device to be mounted on the interior of the windshield of 
a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) within the areas allowed for ``vehicle 
safety technology'' devices. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Regulations (FMCSR) require devices using ``vehicle safety technology'' 
to be mounted (A) not more than 4 inches below the upper edge of the 
area swept by the windshield wipers, or (B) not more than 7 inches 
above the lower edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers, and 
(C) outside the driver's sight lines to the road and highway signs and 
signals. GPS is not considered a ``vehicle safety technology'' under 
the definition in the regulation, and as such, GPS devices are not 
permitted to be mounted on the interior of the windshield and within 
the area swept by the windshield wipers. TTC believes that the 
exemption will maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or 
greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption 
because the GPS device is approximately the same size as vehicle safety 
technology devices, and the current mounting location is much lower in 
the vehicle which causes the

[[Page 12644]]

driver to look away from the road to view the GPS device.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 23, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket 
Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2018-0098 using any of the 
following methods:
     Website: 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 website is 
generally available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You may find 
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the 
``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov website as well as 
the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov website. 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: Jose R. Cestero, Vehicle and Roadside 
Operations Division, Office of Carrier, Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC-
PSV, (202) 366-5541, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Under 49 CFR 381.315(a), FMCSA must publish a notice of each 
exemption request in the Federal Register. 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 its terms and conditions. The exemption may 
be renewed (49 CFR 381.315(c) and 49 CFR 381.300(b)).

TTC Application for Exemption

    TTC has applied for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.60(e)(1)(i) to 
allow a GPS device to be mounted on the interior of the windshield of a 
CMV within the areas allowed for devices with ``vehicle safety 
technology'' as defined in the FMCSRs. A copy of the application is 
included in the docket referenced at the beginning of this notice.
    Section 393.60(e)(1)(i) of the FMCSRs prohibits the obstruction of 
the driver's field of view by devices mounted on the interior of the 
windshield. Antennas and similar devices must not be mounted more than 
152 mm (6 inches) below the upper edge of the windshield, and outside 
the driver's sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals. 
Section 393.60(e)(1)(i) does not apply to vehicle safety technologies, 
as defined in Sec.  390.5, including ``a fleet-related incident 
management system, performance or behavior management system, speed 
management system, lane departure warning system, forward collision 
warning or mitigation system, active cruise control system, and 
transponder.'' Section 393.60(e)(1)(ii) requires devices with vehicle 
safety technologies to be mounted (1) not more than 100 mm (4 inches) 
below the upper edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers, or (2) 
not more than 175 mm (7 inches) above the lower edge of the area swept 
by the windshield wipers, and outside the driver's sight lines to the 
road and highway signs and signals.
    In its application, TTC states;

    The exemption is necessary because the dash is not suitable for 
mounting the fixture to hold the GPS unit, and the location of the 
GPS unit (if mounted on the top of the dash) is in the same location 
as currently allowed for ``vehicle safety technologies'' mounted on 
the windshield. The GPS fixture cannot be mounted to the ``face'' of 
the control panel as that area is covered with controls and displays 
necessary for the operation of the commercial vehicle . . .
    We do not believe that there will be any potential impacts to 
safety due to the requested temporary exemption. The size of GPS 
units is approximately the same size as the currently allowed 
``vehicle safety technologies'' and the current location is much 
lower within the CMV which takes the driver's eyes farther from the 
road to determine his/her vehicle's correct lane, bridge height, 
speed, etc. The current allowed location is a more unsafe operating 
condition.
    The exemption would be for any carrier who wishes to mount a GPS 
device on the windshield within the area defined for ``vehicle 
safety technology''--not more than 4 inches below the upper edge of 
the windshield wipers, and not more than 7 inches above the lower 
edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers and outside the 
driver's sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals. This 
would yield an equivalent level of safety for GPS devices as 
compared to those ``vehicle safety technologies,'' and it would be a 
potentially safer location than lower in the CMV where the driver 
must take his/her eyes off the road to look at the location of his 
CMV on the GPS device. Back in August of 2016, in the BASIC SMS, our 
Unsafe-driving category was in the cautionary status. Only one of 
the violations was not due to speeding; all of those with violations 
said it was due to a speed limit change and they were keeping with 
what they thought was the speed limit. GPS systems display the 
posted speed limit and flash in red when they are traveling above 
the posted speed limit.

    The exemption would apply to all CMV operators driving vehicles 
with GPS devices. TTC believes that mounting the system as described 
will maintain a level of safety that is

[[Page 12645]]

equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety achieved without 
the exemption.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests 
public comment from all interested persons on TTC's application for an 
exemption from 49 CFR 393.60(e)(i). 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 also 
continue to file, in the public docket, relevant information that 
becomes available after the comment closing date. Interested persons 
should continue to examine the public docket for new material.

    Issued on: March 16, 2018.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-05864 Filed 3-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P