Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application for an Exemption From Atwood Forest Products, Inc.

Larry W. Minor
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
August 28, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 167 (Thursday, August 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51391-51392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20498]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

[Docket No. FMCSA-2014-0326]


Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application 
for an Exemption From Atwood Forest Products, Inc.

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

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

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SUMMARY: FMCSA requests public comment on an application for exemption 
from Atwood Forest Products, Inc. (Atwood) to allow the use of a camera 
system installed at the sides and rear of up to 15 of its commercial 
motor vehicles (CMV) in lieu of rear-vision mirrors as specified in the 
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). Section 393.80 of the 
FMCSRs currently requires every bus, truck, and truck tractor to be 
equipped with two rear-vision mirrors, one at each side, firmly 
attached to the outside of the motor vehicle, and so located as to 
reflect to the driver a view of the highway to the rear along both 
sides of the vehicle. All such mirrors must, at a minimum, meet the 
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 111 
in effect at the time the vehicle was manufactured. The exemption would 
enable Atwood to install the camera system on its vehicles for use in 
an evaluation study, in a location that will offer the best opportunity 
to optimize data to evaluate the safety and economic benefits of 
eliminating outside mirrors.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before September 29, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by DOT DMS Docket Number 
FMCSA-2014-0326 by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket 
site.

[[Page 51392]]

     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 through 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: 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 19476) or you may visit http://www.regulations.gov.
    Public participation: The http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 
generally available 24 hours each day, 365 days each year. You can get 
electronic submission and retrieval help and guidelines under the 
``help'' section of the http://www.regulations.gov Web site and also at 
the DOT's http://docketsinfo.dot.gov Web site. If you want us to notify 
you that we received your comments, please include a self-addressed, 
stamped envelope or postcard or print the acknowledgement page that 
appears after submitting comments online.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mike Huntley, Vehicle and Roadside 
Operations Division, Office of Carrier, Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC-
PSV, (202) 366-5370; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590-0001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Section 4007 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century 
(TEA- 21) [Pub. L. 105-178, June 9, 1998, 112 Stat. 401] amended 49 
U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e) to provide authority to grant exemptions from 
the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). On August 20, 
2004, FMCSA published a final rule (69 FR 51589) implementing section 
4007. Under this rule, FMCSA must publish a notice of each exemption 
request in the Federal Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). 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 also specify the effective period of the 
exemption (up to 2 years) and explain the terms and conditions of the 
exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.315(c) and 49 CFR 
381.300(b)).

Background

Atwood Application for Exemption

    Atwood applied for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.80 to allow the use 
of a camera system installed at the sides and rear of CMVs in lieu of 
rear-vision mirrors as specified in the FMCSRs. A copy of the 
application is included in the docket referenced at the beginning of 
this notice.
    Section 393.80 of the FMCSRs currently requires every bus, truck, 
and truck tractor to be equipped with two rear-vision mirrors, one at 
each side, firmly attached to the outside of the motor vehicle, and so 
located as to reflect to the driver a view of the highway to the rear 
along both sides of the vehicle. All such mirrors must, at a minimum, 
meet the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 
No. 111 in effect at the time the vehicle was manufactured. The purpose 
of FMVSS No. 111 is to reduce the number of deaths and injuries that 
occur when the driver of a motor vehicle does not have a clear and 
reasonably unobstructed view to the rear.
    In its application, Atwood states:

    Atwood Forest Products, Inc. is making this request because we 
are coordinating device development and installation of rear cameras 
in up to fifteen (15) commercial motor vehicles and trailers. The 
camera equipment to be installed is going to be located at rear of 
trailers and at sides of motor vehicles. A monitor is to be located 
in the cab . . . Regulations currently require that mirrors be 
installed on each side of [a] tractor. Our system will remove 
outside mirrors and install cameras at the rear of trailers and cabs 
and motor vehicles with monitors inside the cabs of tractors.

    Atwood contends that without the proposed temporary exemption, it 
will not be able to deploy cameras and monitors in its vehicles because 
they will be fined for violating the current regulation, which requires 
rear-vision mirrors. With the exemption, Atwood states that it ``will 
be able to install the camera systems in a location which will offer 
the best opportunity to optimize the data and evaluate the benefits of 
such a system'' which would eliminate the need for the currently 
required outside mirrors.

Request for Comments

    In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 31315 and 31136(e), FMCSA requests 
public comment from all interested persons on Atwood's application for 
an exemption from 49 CFR 393.80. 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: August 21, 2014.
Larry W. Minor,
Associate Administrator for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2014-20498 Filed 8-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-EX-P