97-27597. Denial of Petition To Adopt a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard To Require That New Vehicles Be Equipped With Technology (Computer Chips) Embedded in Ignition Keys To Deter Theft  

  • [Federal Register Volume 62, Number 201 (Friday, October 17, 1997)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 54152-54154]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 97-27597]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
    
    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
    [Docket No. 97-041; Notice 01]
    
    
    Denial of Petition To Adopt a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
    Standard To Require That New Vehicles Be Equipped With Technology 
    (Computer Chips) Embedded in Ignition Keys To Deter Theft
    
    AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
    Department of Transportation.
    
    ACTION: Denial of petition for rulemaking.
    
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    SUMMARY: This document denies the Consumers for Auto Reliability and 
    Safety's (CARS) petition to adopt a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
    Standard ( FMVSS) to require that new motor vehicles be equipped with 
    specific technology, such as computer chips in the ignition keys, to 
    deter theft. CARS believes that the standard it proposed would ensure a 
    safer and more effective means of deterring theft than the steering 
    lock systems presently required by 49 CFR Section 571.114, Theft 
    Protection.
    
    [[Page 54153]]
    
        The agency is denying this petition because it cannot mandate 
    specific technologies that motor vehicle manufacturers are to use to 
    deter theft. The definition of ``motor vehicle safety standard'' in the 
    vehicle safety law limits the agency's discretion with respect to 
    petitions that seek to specify the design of vehicles or equipment 
    rather than their performance. In addition, the Department of 
    Transportation (DOT) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) are currently 
    assessing the existing theft prevention program to determine what, if 
    any, changes are needed to further deter motor vehicle theft. 
    Accordingly, the agency believes it would be premature to promulgate 
    additional requirements before this comprehensive assessment is 
    completed.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rosalind Proctor, Motor Vehicle 
    Theft Group, Office of Planning and Consumer Programs, NHTSA, 400 
    Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590. Ms. Proctor's telephone 
    number is (202) 366-0846. Her fax number is (202) 493-2739.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By facsimile dated April 21, 1997, CARS 
    petitioned the agency to adopt a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
    Standard (FMVSS) which will require new motor vehicles to be equipped 
    with specific technology, such as computer chips embedded in the 
    ignition keys, to deter theft. CARS believes that adopting such a 
    standard would reduce crime and ensure a safer and more effective means 
    of deterring theft than that offered by the steering lock systems 
    presently required by 49 CFR Section 571.114, Theft Protection. 
    Additionally, CARS notes that the European Union has mandated that 
    model year (MY) 1999 vehicles must use some form of this technology to 
    deter motor vehicle theft in its market. CARS contention is that 
    adopting the proposed standard would be compatible with the agency's 
    goal of moving toward harmonization with other countries without 
    jeopardizing a stronger U.S. standard.
    
    Agency Analysis
    
        Because there is already a standard (FMVSS 114) covering theft 
    protection, the agency is treating CARS' petition as a petition to 
    amend the existing standard rather than to adopt a new standard as the 
    petitioner requests. FMVSS 114 specifies requirements primarily for 
    theft protection to reduce the incidence of crashes resulting from 
    unauthorized operation of motor vehicles, or from rollaway of parked 
    vehicles. Specifically, this standard requires that each vehicle have a 
    key-locking system that requires the vehicle transmission lever to be 
    in ``park'' before removal of the key is permitted; and that, whenever 
    the key is removed, prevents the vehicle from starting, and prevents 
    the steering and/or forward mobility of the vehicle.
        Although NHTSA is interested in actions that would reduce motor 
    vehicle theft and provide for a safer and more effective means of 
    deterring theft than that presently offered by steering lock systems, 
    the definition of ``motor vehicle safety standard'' in the vehicle 
    safety law, 49 U.S.C. 30102(9), provides that a safety standard is ``a 
    minimum standard for motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment 
    performance.'' This definition limits the agency's discretion with 
    respect to petitions that seek to specify the design of vehicles or 
    equipment rather than their performance. This prohibits the agency from 
    mandating specific technologies that motor vehicle manufacturers are to 
    use to deter theft, as the CARS petition requests.
        In addition to FMVSS 114, Congress and NHTSA recognized the 
    economic impact and seriousness of motor vehicle theft and have taken 
    actions aimed at alleviating theft in a cost-effective manner. The 
    Motor Vehicle Theft Law Enforcement Act (the Theft Act) was passed by 
    Congress in 1984. The purpose of the Theft Act was to reduce the 
    incidence of motor vehicle thefts and to facilitate the tracing and 
    recovery of stolen motor vehicles and parts from stolen vehicles. The 
    Department of Transportation implemented this legislation by issuing 
    the Federal Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Standard (49 CFR part 541), 
    which requires manufacturers of designated high-theft passenger cars to 
    inscribe or affix the vehicle identification number onto the major 
    parts of that vehicle. In 1992, the Theft Act was amended to provide 
    tougher law enforcement against auto theft, impede automobile title 
    fraud, and extend the parts-marking requirements to light-duty trucks 
    and multipurpose passenger vehicles.
        49 CFR part 543, Exemption from Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention 
    Standard, provides that manufacturers of high-theft vehicle lines may 
    petition the agency for an exemption from the parts-marking 
    requirements if an antitheft device is installed as standard equipment 
    on the entire vehicle line. A manufacturer may be exempted from the 
    parts-marking requirements for any line of passenger motor vehicles 
    equipped with an antitheft system that is determined to be as effective 
    in reducing and deterring theft as parts marking would be.
        The exemption provisions of the Theft Act have already resulted in 
    manufacturers installing antitheft systems, including systems that 
    incorporate the technology advocated by CARS, in many high-theft 
    models. Thus, vehicles with higher-than-median theft rates are already 
    equipped with theft deterrents (parts marking and/or antitheft systems) 
    that add to the protection provided by FMVSS No. 114.
        All manufacturers are attempting to reduce motor vehicle theft 
    through development and installation of effective antitheft devices as 
    standard equipment. Additionally, along with meeting mandatory 
    requirements, all manufacturers have moved forward in manufacturing new 
    vehicles with other improved antitheft deterrents, such as hardened 
    collars that shield the upper and lower casing of the steering column. 
    These deter theft by increasing significantly the time required to 
    disable the locking mechanism for the ignition, steering wheel and 
    automatic transmission gear selector.
        In its petition, CARS also asserts that by adopting a new FMVSS 
    comparable to the European Union's, NHTSA would be meeting its goal of 
    moving toward harmonization without jeopardizing the U.S. standard. The 
    European Union has mandated that its model year (MY) 1999 vehicles must 
    use some form of antitheft technology. Some manufacturers have already 
    developed and installed antitheft devices which utilize specific 
    ignition keys and sophisticated electronic control modules similar to 
    that required by the European Union. The agency has also granted 
    exemptions from parts marking under 49 CFR part 543 for models equipped 
    with PASS-KEY and other antitheft devices with computer chips imbedded 
    in the ignition key.
        The statutory basis for granting these exemptions under the vehicle 
    theft law is a finding by the agency, on a case-by-case basis, that 
    these systems are at least as effective as the parts-marking 
    requirements of the theft prevention standard in reducing and deterring 
    theft (49 U.S.C. 33106(b). Part 543 does not specify how the antitheft 
    device is to perform or be designed. Instead, it requires a 
    manufacturer applying for an exemption to provide information on how 
    the device is activated and functions. The agency then uses the 
    information provided about these functions to decide whether the system 
    will be sufficiently effective in deterring theft to warrant an 
    exemption from the parts-marking requirements of the Theft Prevention 
    Standard.
    
    [[Page 54154]]
    
        It should be noted that by October 25, 1997, the Department of 
    Transportation is required to provide a Report to Congress which will 
    evaluate the effects of federal regulations on auto theft and 
    comprehensive insurance premiums, and recommend what changes, if any, 
    to these regulations are appropriate. Specifically, the Report to 
    Congress will evaluate the effects of the Anti Car Theft Act of 1992 
    and the Motor Vehicle Theft Law Enforcement Act of 1984. This report 
    will provide information on the efficacy of parts-marking and antitheft 
    devices. It will also recommend whether the Theft Prevention Standard 
    should be continued without change, modified to cover more or fewer 
    lines of passenger motor vehicles; modified to cover other classes of 
    motor vehicles or to terminate the standard for all future motor 
    vehicles. The notice seeking public review and comment on the report 
    prior to its submission to Congress was published in the Federal 
    Register on June 26, 1997 (See 62 FR 34494). The Department of 
    Transportation and the Department of Justice are assessing the current 
    theft prevention program to determine what, if any, changes are needed 
    to further deter motor vehicle theft. Upon review of the public 
    comments, recommendations for changes, if any, to the regulations will 
    be considered.
        The agency believes that the Theft Prevention Standard (49 CFR part 
    541), in conjunction with FMVSS No. 114 and Part 543, provides a 
    comprehensive scheme for deterring motor vehicle theft. Until DOT and 
    DOJ complete their assessment of the existing theft prevention program, 
    it would be premature to promulgate any regulatory requirement under 
    the vehicle safety law even if a way could be found to develop 
    performance criteria rather than the design criteria suggested by the 
    CARS petition.
        In accordance with 49 CFR part 552, this completes the agency's 
    review of the petition. The agency has concluded that there is no 
    reasonable possibility that the request by the petitioner would be 
    amended at the conclusion of a rulemaking proceeding. Accordingly, it 
    denies CARS' petition.
    
        Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30103, 30162; delegation of authority at 49 
    CFR 1.50 and 501.8
    
        Issued on: October 9, 1997.
    L. Robert Shelton,
    Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
    [FR Doc. 97-27597 Filed 10-16-97; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
10/17/1997
Department:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Denial of petition for rulemaking.
Document Number:
97-27597
Pages:
54152-54154 (3 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. 97-041, Notice 01
PDF File:
97-27597.pdf