2019-07782. Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Application for an Exemption From Navistar Inc.

AGENCY:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), DOT.

ACTION:

Notice of application for exemption; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requests public comment on an application for exemption from Navistar Inc. (Navistar) to allow its advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to be mounted lower in the windshield on Navistar's commercial motor vehicles (CMV) than is currently permitted.

DATES:

Comments must be received on or before May 20, 2019.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments bearing the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2019-0091 using any of the following methods:

• Website: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the Federal electronic docket site.
• Fax: [phone].
• 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:

Mr. Jose R. Cestero, Vehicle and Roadside Operations Division, Office of Carrier, Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC-PSV, [phone], 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 the terms and conditions of the exemption. The exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 381.315(c) and 49 CFR 381.300(b)).

Navistar's Application for Exemption

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) require devices meeting the definition of “vehicle safety technology,” including Navistar's ADAS, to be mounted (1) not more than 4 inches below the upper edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers, or (2) 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. Navistar has applied for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.60(e)(1) to allow its ADAS to be mounted lower in the windshield than is currently permitted. A copy of the application is included in the docket referenced at the beginning of this notice. Because the ADAS will be mounted outside of the driver's normal sight lines to all mirrors, Navistar 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.

Section 393.60(e)(1)(i) of the FMCSRs prohibits the obstruction of the driver's field of view by devices mounted at the top 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 § 390.5 as 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, Navistar states:

Navistar is making this request so operators can operate commercial motor vehicles with Navistar's advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) . . . These systems, like many other similar systems for which FMCSA has previously granted exemptions, require that a camera be mounted on the interior of the upper center area of the windshield and in an area where the windshield is swept by the windshield wipers to provide a clear view of the roadway ahead and any vehicles or obstacles that may be in the path of the vehicle. Navistar's ADAS system currently includes features such as enhanced rear-end collision mitigation, adaptive cruise control along with following distance alerts, stationary object alerts, lane departure warning, alerts when speeding, and automatic braking on stationary vehicles.

The proposed exemption will increase safety by providing these ADAS features on Navistar commercial motor vehicles. The exemption will also allow Navistar to enable additional safety features in the future that will provide further safety benefits such as traffic sign recognition, active lane keeping, and driver fatigue monitoring. This exemption will become a critical enabler for future technology such as Autonomous Vehicles.

In the Navistar installation, the camera housing is approximately 120 mm (4.72 inches) wide by 120 mm (4.72 inches) tall. We propose to mount the camera such that it is in the approximate center of the top of the windshield and such that the bottom edge of the camera housing is approximately 8 inches below the upper edge of the windshield, outside of the driver's and passenger's normal sight lines to the road ahead, highway signs and signals, and all mirrors. This location will allow for proper installation (including connectors and cables) for optimal functionality of the advanced safety systems supported by the camera.

Navistar has created a CAD layout of a typical Navistar conventional type truck to verify that the safety device does not significantly obstruct the FMVSS 104 Windshield Wiping and Washing Systems specified zones A, B, or C . . . The installation will not obstruct the C zone, and only obstructs <1% of B zone, and approximately 1.5% of the A zone.

Navistar has virtually evaluated the impact of camera housings using digital human modeling software, and there was no noticeable obstruction to the normal sight lines to the road ahead, highway signs, signals, or any mirrors. Navistar has installed prototype camera housings in several Navistar commercial motor vehicles & operated them in typical over-the-road conditions during the past 6 months. All drivers and passengers agreed that there was no noticeable obstruction to the normal sight lines to the road ahead, highway signs, signals or any mirrors.

The exemption would apply to all CMV operators driving Navistar vehicles equipped with its ADAS mounted on the windshield. Navistar believes that mounting the system as described will maintain a level of safety that is 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 Navistar's application for an exemption from 49 CFR 393.60. 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: April 11, 2019.

Larry W. Minor,

Associate Administrator for Policy.