[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 97 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 27578-27579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13184]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Chapter V
Consumer Information; Motor Vehicle Safety; Rollover Prevention
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.
ACTION: Grant of petition for rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The agency grants an August 20, 1996 petition for rulemaking
from Consumers Union of United States, Inc., requesting NHTSA to
commence a rulemaking proceeding to consider establishing ``an
emergency handling test [for sport-utility vehicles] and to require
that information derived from that test be included in the consumer
warnings required by the agency.'' The agency seeks to evaluate the
issues raised in the petition in view of the agency's continuing
interest in rollover safety, as evidenced by its 1994 rulemaking
proposal to amend its consumer information regulations to require
passenger vehicles to be labeled with information about their
resistance to rollover, and other related rulemaking activities.
The agency will respond in a separate notice to a request from the
petitioner that NHTSA should commence a proceeding to decide whether to
issue an order concerning an alleged defect in model year (MY) 1995-96
Isuzu Trooper and Acura SLX sport-utility vehicles.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For nonlegal issues: Michael Pyne or
Gayle Dalrymple, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, NPS-20, telephone
(202) 366-4931, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400
Seventh St., S.W., Washington, D.C., 20590.
For legal issues: Deirdre Fujita, Office of the Chief Counsel, NCC-
20, telephone (202) 366-2992, address same as above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This document announces that NHTSA is
granting a petition for rulemaking from Consumers Union of United
States, Inc. (CU), requesting NHTSA to establish a standard and/or a
rating system ``that will help consumers to compare emergency handling
performance of sport-utility vehicles.'' CU asks the agency to
``augment its consumer information disclosure requirement by (1)
establishing a testing system that rates comparatively the ability of
sport-utility vehicles to perform emergency maneuvers acceptably, (2)
[requiring] that each such vehicle include its rating in the required
warning, and (3) [requiring] vehicles that exhibit a high rollover
propensity during emergency handling testing to achieve a minimum
acceptable rating through vehicle modifications.''
The agency issued a rulemaking proposal (NPRM) in 1994 to amend its
consumer information regulations (49 CFR Part 575) to require passenger
vehicles to be labeled with information about their resistance to
rollover. That proposal, which is still pending, would require vehicles
to be labeled by make/model with a ``stability metric,'' which is a
measured vehicle characteristic that relates to some degree to a
vehicle's likelihood of rollover involvement. The agency issued the
proposal in the belief that the information would enable prospective
purchasers to make informed choices about new vehicles based on
differences in rollover risk, and motivate manufacturers to give more
priority to rollover stability in designing their vehicles.
NHTSA has also undertaken a variety of other activities intended to
mitigate the adverse effects of rollovers, including a final rule
requiring upgraded padding on the upper interior of light vehicles, a
final rule extending the side door latch requirements to rear doors,
and research evaluating improved roof crush resistance, enhanced side
window glazing, improved door latches, and advanced occupant restraint
systems. These activities are explained in detail in the May 1996
``Status Report for Rollover Prevention and Injury Mitigation,''
available in NHTSA Docket No. 91-68, Notice 5.
CU's petition is related to the 1994 NPRM: both pertain to the
rollover resistance of vehicles and envision a rating system by which
prospective purchasers may compare vehicle performance. However, the
petition differs from the NPRM in several key respects. The CU petition
focuses on on-road, untripped rollover crashes, while the NPRM
encompasses both on- and off-road single vehicle rollovers. Also, the
CU petition envisions a dynamic test for evaluating vehicle
performance, while the NPRM proposed a static test which isolates and
measures a vehicle attribute.
NHTSA will initially focus on exploring whether it can develop a
practicable, repeatable and appropriate dynamic emergency handling test
that assesses, among other issues, a vehicle's propensity for
involvement in an on-road, untripped rollover crash. The agency will
expand this exploration beyond CU's suggestion that any such emergency
handling test be limited to sport utility vehicles. Assuming the agency
can develop a technically sound test protocol, it should be equally
useful for all light vehicles, including cars, trucks, and vans.
The granting of CU's rulemaking petition should not be
misinterpreted as an endorsement of the CU test procedure. In its
petition, CU described a particular dynamic test procedure that it has
been using since 1988 to rate the rollover propensity of vehicles.
Based on preliminary testing conducted by the agency's Office of
Defects Investigation, it does not currently appear that the CU ``short
course'' test by itself is an appropriate assessment of rollover
propensity or will be the primary focus of NHTSA's exploration of a
dynamic handling test. Indeed, CU's rulemaking petition shows that CU
did not anticipate that the agency would focus
[[Page 27579]]
on the CU test protocol--instead, CU urged that ``the agency should
determine the exact parameters of the test course and test requirements
based on its own investigation.'' NHTSA will explore a variety of
vehicle maneuvers, including a double lane change, as part of its
efforts to develop an appropriate dynamic emergency handling test.
Similarly, the granting of the rulemaking petition does not
necessarily mean that a rule will be issued. The determination of
whether to issue a rule will be made in the course of a rulemaking
proceeding, in accordance with statutory criteria.
CU also petitioned NHTSA to commence a proceeding to decide whether
to issue an order concerning an alleged defect in MY 1995-96 Isuzu
Trooper and Acura SLX sport-utility vehicles. The agency will respond
to this request for a defect proceeding in a separate document.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117 and 30166;
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.
Issued on May 14, 1997.
L. Robert Shelton,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 97-13184 Filed 5-15-97; 3:08 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
