James F. Jae - Comment

The purpose of FMVSS No. 111, rearview mirrors, "is to reduce the number of deaths and injuries that occur when the driver of a motor vehicle DOES NOT HAVE A CLEAR AND RESONABLY UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW TO THE REAR" [emphases added]. When vehicles with near verticle rear windows (like SUV's, or trucks with a cap or shell installed) become soiled when driving in inclement weather, the driver can not "have a clear and resonably unobstructed view" if the manufacturers of the vehicles do not provide that driver with a means to clear the window of rain, snow, dirt, etc., with a wiper/washer type or appratus. FMVSS No. 111 also states "each passenger car shall have an inside mirror...to provide a view of a level road surface extending to the horizon beginning at a point not greater than 61m to the rear of the vehicle..." If the rule states you have to be able to see out of the rear window, then if something is placed on the vehicle that blocks that view, then that item is negating the rule, unless the rule goes on to state that if such item is placed on the vehicle, (like a cap installed on a truck bed), it must provide a way to extend the intent of the rule, (in this case, clear vision). The same as what was required when truck caps blocked the upper brake light on trucks, an upper brake light must be placed on the back of the cap. NZTA.GOVT.NZ/FACTSHEET/39 answers the question "How many mirrors do I need?" The law states that "new passenger vehicles must have two rear view mirrors (one outside, on the right-hand side, and an inside rear-view mirror)". If the intent of the law is to require rear vision through the inside rear-view mirror, than there also should be a requirement that in order to have the necessary rear view, the driver of the vehicle must have a way to clean the rear view of dirt and debris to allow the required rear vision. Ohio statute no. 4513.23 Rear View Mirrors says, "operators of vehicles...shall have a clear view or their vehicles...by mirror". Once again, this is not possible if the rear window is not clean enough to have the "clear view". Therefore, any type of vehicle that is so constructed that water, snow, dirt, etc. is deposited on the rear window while driving on roadways and highways, then the manufacturer of said vehicle must provide a means of cleaning the rear window to allow the driver to continually clean the surface as necessary, or the intent of the law is negated. A wiper/washer installed on the rear window allows this. New York statute says, "Every motor vehicle, when driven or operated upon a public highway, shall be equipped with a mirror so adjusted that the operator of such vehicle SHALL HAVE A CLEAR AND FULL VIEW OF THE ROAD CONDITIONS OF TRAFFIC BEHIND SUCH VEHICLE".(emphases added)."Every passenger motor vehicle registered in the state...shall be equipped with adjustable interior mirrors meeting specifications established by the commissioner". Vehicles can not have a clear view as required by law if the rear window is to dirty to provide the required "clear view". Subsection (b) of the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act "directs the Secretary of Transportation to initiate rulemaking...to expand the required field of view to enable the driver of a motor vehicle to detect arear behind the motor vehicle to reduce death and injury resulting from backing accidents". "The Secretary may prescribe different requirements for different types of motor vehicles to expand the required field of view to enable the driver of the motor vehicle to detect areas behind the motor vehicle to reduce death and injury resulting from backing incidents". THIS SHOULD BE EXPANDED TO INCLUDE REAR VISION ON THE ROADWAYS AND HIGHWAYS, NOT JUST ROLLOVERS IN DRIVWAYS. The Act goes on to state "such standards may be met by the provision of additional mirrors, sensors, cameras, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGY TO EXPAND THE DRIVERS FIELD OF VIEW" [emphases added]. The "other technology" can be as simple as requiring the manufacturers to provide a way for the driver to clean the rear window surface to allow clear vision. The Act goes on to state "If the Secretary determines that any type of motor vehicle should be given priority, the Secretary shall issue regulations that specify A) which type of motor vehicle shall be phased-in first". The data in 49 CFR PART 571 indicates that some vehicles may have a greater risk of involvement in backing crashes than other vehicles. Table 3 on page 19 illustrates that pickup trucks and utility vehicles are overrepresented in backover fatalities when compared to all non-backing trraffic craches, (trucks account for 31% of fatalities, 18% injuries, and 15% of Non-backing Traffic Injury Crashes). Therefore, it stands to reason that these vehicles should be required to have the safety equipment installed sooner. NHTSA is considering specifying a minumum portion of a vehicle's rear visibility that must be provided VIA A DIRECT VISION. [emphases added]. NHTSA requests input regarding how a minumum threshold should be specified. NHTSA also requests comments on which types of possible rear visibility enhancement counermeasure technologies may be considered for use on which types of vehicles. This information is important for estimating the costs of countermeasures in the fleet. The countermeasure that comes to mind is a rear wiper/washer system that should be required on all vehicles that are constructed in such a way that water, snow, dirt, etc. built up on the rear glass, and blocks clear rear vision. Such vehicles are the ones that have a near verticle rear glass at the back of the vehicle, which allows build up of debris that blocks the view out of the rear glass. The vehicles in question would be SUV type vehicles, and trucks with caps installed on the bed. Most or all SUV's now have rear wipers as standard equipment. No caps have such an accessory available. A wiper/washer system for truck caps is available to all cap manufacturers, at a cost of about $120.00. They should be required on all caps manufactured.