```

[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 246 (Thursday, December 23, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 76865-76870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-28085]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2004-19938]
RIN 2127-AJ50

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Platform Lifts for Motor 
Vehicles, Platform Lift Installations in Motor Vehicles

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Interim final rule; delay of compliance date; request for 
comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This document delays the compliance dates of Federal motor 
vehicle safety standards for platform lifts and vehicles equipped with 
platform lifts. In December 2002, NHTSA published a final rule that 
established Federal motor vehicle safety standards for platform lifts 
and vehicles equipped with platform lifts. In October 2004, the agency 
published an amendment to these standards in response to petitions for 
reconsideration of the December 2002 final rule. Since that time, the 
agency has received several telephone calls on the inability of vehicle 
manufacturers to comply with the vehicle standards by the compliance 
date. We are also aware of some confusion within the industry as to the 
applicability of the standards. Additionally, in response to the 
October 2004 final rule, we received several petitions for 
reconsideration. As established in the December 2002 final rule, the 
standards are to become

[[Page 76866]]

effective December 27, 2004. This notice delays the compliance date for 
the platform lift standard for a period of three months and the vehicle 
standard for a period of six months. The delay in compliance dates will 
prevent a gap between the cessation of production of vehicles with pre-
standard lifts and the beginning of production of vehicles with post-
standard (compliant) lifts. The delay will also allow the agency to 
address issues of applicability in advance of the compliance dates.

DATES: Effective date: This final rule becomes effective December 27, 
2004.
    Comments must be received by NHTSA not later than February 22, 
2005, and should refer to this docket and the notice number of this 
document.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by the DOT DMS Docket 
Number above] by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Web Site: http://dms.dot.gov. Follow the instructions for 
submitting comments on the DOT electronic docket site.
     Fax: 1-202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Management Facility; U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Nassif Building, Room PL-401, 
Washington, DC 20590-001.
     Hand Delivery: Room PL-401 on the plaza level of the 
Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 
a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
    Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and 
docket number or Regulatory Identification Number (RIN) for this 
rulemaking. For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Request for 
Comments heading of the Supplementary Information section of this 
document. Note that all comments received will be posted without change 
to http://dms.dot.gov, including any personal information provided. 
Please see the Privacy Act heading under Regulatory Analyses and 
Notices.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://dms.dot.gov at any time or to Room PL-
401 on the plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 Seventh Street, SW., 
Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues, you may call Mr. 
William Evans, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, at (202) 366-2272, 
facsimile (202) 366-7022.
    For legal issues, you may call Mr. Chris Calamita, Office of the 
Chief Counsel, at (202) 366-2992, facsimile (202) 366-3820.
    You may send mail to any of these officials at the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 
20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Industry Response
III. Petitions For Reconsideration
IV. Today's Final Rule; Delay of Compliance Date
V. Regulatory Analyses and Notices
VI. Request for Comments

I. Background

    On December 27, 2002, the agency published in the Federal Register 
(67 FR 79416) a final rule establishing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
Standard (FMVSS) No. 403, Platform lift systems for motor vehicles, and 
FMVSS No. 404, Platform lift installation on motor vehicles (final 
rule). These two new standards provide practicable, performance-based 
requirements and compliance procedures to ensure the safety of platform 
lifts and vehicles equipped with those lift systems.
    FMVSS No. 403 establishes requirements for platform lifts that are 
designed to carry passengers who rely on wheelchairs, scooters, canes, 
and other mobility aid devices in entering and exiting motor vehicles. 
The standard requires that these lifts meet minimum platform dimensions 
and maximum size limits for platform protrusions and gaps between the 
platform and either the vehicle floor or the ground. The standard also 
requires handrails, a threshold warning signal, and retaining barriers. 
Performance tests are specified for wheelchair retention on the 
platform, lift strength, and platform slip resistance requirements. A 
set of interlocks is prescribed to prevent accidental movement of a 
lift and the vehicle on which a lift is installed.
    FMVSS No. 404 establishes requirements for vehicles equipped with 
platform lifts. Vehicle manufacturers must install lifts certified as 
meeting FMVSS No. 403. The vehicle standard requires that the lifts be 
installed according to the lift manufacturer's instructions and must 
continue to meet all of the applicable requirements of FMVSS No. 403. 
The standard also requires that specific information is made available 
to lift users.
    The December 27, 2002 final rule established a compliance date of 
December 27, 2004 for both FMVSS Nos. 403 and 404.
    On October 1, 2004, in response to petitions for reconsideration, 
the agency revised the standards by amending the definitions of certain 
operational functions, the requirements for lift lighting on public 
lifts, the interlock requirements, compliance procedures for lifts that 
manually deploy/stow, the environmental resistance requirements, the 
edge guard requirements, the wheelchair test device specifications, and 
the location requirements for public lift controls (69 FR 58843). The 
October 2004 final rule did not amend the compliance date for the 
standards.

II. Industry Response

    The agency has received several telephone requests from vehicle 
manufacturers to delay the compliance date of FMVSS No. 404. 
Specifically, several over-the-road coach and bus manufacturers have 
stated that compliant lifts have not been available to allow for the 
production of FMVSS No. 404-compliant vehicles by the compliance date. 
While lift manufacturers have informed the agency that they will be 
able to produce compliant lifts by the compliance date, vehicle 
manufacturers will need additional time to incorporate these lifts in 
their vehicle production.
    Additionally, some lifts relied upon by specialty or niche vehicle 
manufacturers (i.e., street ``trolley'' and motor home manufacturers) 
will no longer be produced. These companies stated that the lack of 
compliant lifts has been a recent development and that additional time 
is required to find replacement lifts.
    The agency has also received numerous inquiries regarding the 
applicability of the standards. There appears to be some confusion as 
to the applicability to lifts manufactured prior to the compliance 
date, aftermarket installation of lifts to vehicles manufactured prior 
to the compliance date, and aftermarket installation of lifts to 
vehicles manufactured after the compliance date.

III. Petitions for Reconsideration

    Petitions for reconsideration of the October 2004 final rule were 
received from a school bus manufacturer, Blue Bird Body Company (Blue 
Bird); two school bus manufacturer associations, School Bus 
Manufacturers Technical Council (SBMTC) and Manufacturers Council of 
Small School Buses (Manufacturers Council); a mobility industry 
association, Adaptive Driving

[[Page 76867]]

Alliance (Driving Alliance); and a vehicle systems manufacturer, Safety 
Systems and Controls, Inc. (Safety Systems).
    A majority of the comments focused on the transfer of the lighting 
requirements from FMVSS No. 403, the equipment standard to FMVSS No. 
404, the vehicle standard. As originally established in December 2002, 
the agency structured the lighting requirements so that a platform lift 
system would be a complete, self-contained system ready for 
installation upon delivery to the vehicle manufacturer. FMVSS No. 403 
required a lift manufacturer to provide the hardware and instructions 
necessary to install lighting in a manner that complies with the 
requirements of the standard. In response to petitions for 
reconsideration of the December 2002 final rule, the agency moved the 
responsibility for the lighting requirements from the platform lift 
manufacturer to the vehicle manufacturer. We explained that vehicle 
manufacturers have traditionally provided lift lighting. Additionally, 
the manufacturers of vehicles that are required by FMVSS No. 404 to be 
equipped with lighted platform lifts already must comply with American 
with Disabilities Act \1\ (ADA) lighting standards.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Pub. L. 101-336, 42 U.S.C. 12101, et seq. Titles II and III 
of the ADA set specific requirements for vehicles purchased by 
municipalities for use in fixed route bus systems and vehicles 
purchased by private entities for use in public transportation to 
provide a level of accessibility and usability for individuals with 
disabilities. 42 U.S.C. 12204.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In their petitions for reconsideration, Blue Bird, SBMTC, and 
Manufacturers Council stated that not all vehicles required to have 
lighted platform lifts are subject to the ADA requirements, notably 
school buses. Petitioners requested that the lighting requirements be 
shifted back to FMVSS No. 403. They further stated that school bus 
manufacturers would have difficulty in complying with the new lighting 
requirement in the time between the October 2004 final rule and the 
December 2004 compliance date. These petitioners also raised concern 
that the luminescence requirements of the standard would require lights 
that produce high levels of heat, which could potentially burn 
occupants, and could potentially cause glare and distraction 
problems.\2\ At a minimum, these petitioners requested that the agency 
delay the compliance date of the standards while we contemplated their 
petitions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Petitioners' concerns with the substance of the luminescence 
requirement relate to requirements established in the December 27, 
2002 final rule. As such, this issue is beyond the scope of 
petitions for reconsideration of the October 1, 2004 final rule and 
may be treated as a request for rulemaking.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Additionally, Safety Systems requested that the interlock 
requirements be amended to include provisions for ``malicious 
release.'' The Driving Alliance requested a clarification of the 
applicability of the standards to aftermarket installation of certified 
and non-certified lifts to vehicles manufactured before and after the 
compliance date.

IV. Today's Final Rule; Delay of Compliance Date

    Today's final rule delays the compliance date of FMVSS No. 403 
until April 1, 2005, and FMVSS No. 404 until July 1, 2005. This delay 
will prevent the disruption in the availability of vehicles 
manufactured to accommodate individuals with disabilities. The delay 
will also permit the agency to address any outstanding issues and 
confusion as to the applicability of the standards.
    The delay in the compliance date will provide relief to vehicle 
manufacturers that would have been unable to incorporate compliant 
lifts into their vehicles by the December 27, 2004 effective date 
because of delays in receiving compliant lifts. The delay to the 
compliance date for FMVSS No. 404 also provides manufacturers an 
opportunity to secure replacement lifts for those lifts that will no 
longer be produced. This will further afford vehicle manufacturers and 
lift manufacturers an opportunity to perform any final engineering 
analysis required to incorporate compliant lifts into vehicle 
production.
    The staggered compliance dates will ensure that vehicle 
manufacturers will have at least three months of lead time to 
incorporate compliant lifts before the compliance date for the vehicle 
standard. Additionally, we fully expect that lift manufacturers 
intending to distribute compliant lifts beginning December 27, 2004, 
will still do so. This will provide vehicle manufacturers adequate lead 
time to comply with FMVSS No. 404.
    The agency recognizes that the installation of a compliant lift 
onto a vehicle that is not required to comply with FMVSS No. 404 may 
require removal or alteration of elements installed on the lift for 
purposes of compliance with FMVSS No. 403; e.g., removal or alteration 
of the threshold warning system or interlock system. Because the 
vehicle is not required to be equipped with an FMVSS No. 403 compliant 
lift, we would not consider alterations to the lift in this situation 
as making the lift inoperative with FMVSS No. 403 within the meaning of 
49 U.S.C. 30122.
    The agency also recognizes that there is some confusion within the 
mobility industry as to the applicability of FMVSS Nos. 403 and 404 to 
aftermarket lift installations. The agency is in the process of 
responding to several requests for interpretation that will address 
this and related issues. These responses will be publicly available in 
advance of the new compliance dates.
    Further, the agency is in the process of responding to petitions 
for reconsideration of the October 2004 final rule. The agency's 
response could affect the certification responsibility of platform lift 
and vehicle manufacturers as well as the requirements for platform lift 
lighting systems. The six-month delay in the compliance date relieves 
vehicle manufacturers of the potential of installing systems for which 
requirements may be amended.
    Because the December 27, 2004 effective date for FMVSS Nos. 403 and 
404 is fast approaching, NHTSA finds for good cause to issue this 
interim final rule to delay the compliance date. Further we find good 
cause that it should take effect immediately. Today's interim final 
rule makes no substantive change to the standard, but delays the 
compliance dates for FMVSS Nos. 403 and 404 for a period of three and 
six months, respectively. We are excepting comments on this delay. See, 
Request for Comments section below.

V. Regulatory Analyses and Notices

A. Executive Order, 12866 Regulatory Planning and Review

    Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review'' (58 FR 
51735, October 4, 1993), provides for making determinations whether a 
regulatory action is ``significant'' and therefore subject to Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) review and to the requirements of the 
Executive Order. The Order defines a ``significant regulatory action'' 
as one that is likely to result in a rule that may:
    (1) Have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or 
adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector of the 
economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public 
health or safety, or State, local, or Tribal governments or 
communities;
    (2) Create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an 
action taken or planned by another agency;
    (3) Materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, 
user fees,

[[Page 76868]]

or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients thereof; 
or
    (4) Raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
the Executive Order.
    This rulemaking document was not reviewed under Executive Order 
12866. It is not significant within the meaning of the DOT Regulatory 
Policies and Procedures. It does not impose any burden on 
manufacturers, and extends the compliance date FMVSS Nos. 403 and 404 
for 3 and 6 months, respectively. The agency believes that this impact 
on manufacturers is so minimal as to not warrant the preparation of a 
full regulatory evaluation. Additionally, because the Federal standards 
incorporate the most relevant industry standards and guidelines, the 
agency believes that any impact on the benefits of the Federal 
standards will be minimal.

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act, we have considered the 
impacts of this rulemaking action will have on small entities (5 U.S.C. 
601 et seq.). I certify that this rulemaking action will not have a 
significant economic impact upon a substantial number of small entities 
within the context of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. The following is 
our statement providing the factual basis for the certification (5 
U.S.C. 605(b)). The final rule affects manufacturers of platform lifts 
for motor vehicles and vehicles equipped with platform lifts. According 
to the size standards of the Small Business Association (at 13 CFR 
121.601), manufacturers of platform lifts are considered manufacturers 
of ``All Other Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing'' (NAICS Code 336399). 
The size standard for NAICS Code 336399 is 750 employees or fewer. The 
size standard for manufacturers of ``Light Truck and Utility Vehicle 
Manufacturing'' (NAICS Code 336112) is 1,000 employees or fewer. This 
Final Rule will not have any significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small businesses in these industries because the 
rule only delays by three and six months, respectively, the compliance 
dates of previously published final rules. Small organizations and 
governmental jurisdictions that purchase platform lifts and vehicles 
equipped with platform lifts will not be significantly affected because 
this rulemaking will not cause price increases. Further, the delay in 
compliance dates will avoid a disruption in the manufacturing and sales 
that would have occurred for some lift-equipped vehicles. Accordingly, 
we have not prepared a Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis.

C. Executive Order 13132, Federalism

    E.O. 13132 requires NHTSA to develop an accountable process to 
ensure ``meaningful and timely input by State and local officials in 
the development of regulatory policies that have federalism 
implications.'' E.O. 13132 defines the term ``Policies that have 
federalism implications'' to include regulations that have 
``substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between 
the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power 
and responsibilities among the various levels of government.'' Under 
E.O. 13132, NHTSA may not issue a regulation that has federalism 
implications, that imposes substantial direct compliance costs, and 
that is not required by statute, unless the Federal government provides 
the funds necessary to pay the direct compliance costs incurred by 
State and local governments, or NHTSA consults with State and local 
officials early in the process of developing the proposed regulation.
    This final rule will not have substantial direct effects on the 
States, on the relationship between the national government and the 
States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the 
various levels of government as specified in E.O. 13132. Thus, the 
requirements of section 6 of the Executive Order do not apply to this 
rule.

D. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-4) requires 
agencies to prepare a written assessment of the costs, benefits and 
other effects of proposed or final rules that include a Federal mandate 
likely to result in the expenditure by State, local or tribal 
governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of more than 
$100 million annually. This action, which extends the compliance date 
of FMVSS Nos. 403 and 404, will not result in additional expenditures 
by state, local or tribal governments or by any members of the private 
sector. Therefore, the agency has not prepared an economic assessment 
pursuant to the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

E. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) 
(PRA), a person is not required to respond to a collection of 
information by a Federal agency unless the collection displays a valid 
OMB control number. Since it only delays the compliance date of a final 
rule, this final rule does not impose any new collection of information 
requirements for which a 5 CFR part 1320 clearance must be obtained.

F. Civil Justice Reform

    This final rule does not have any retroactive effect. Under 49 
U.S.C. 30103(b), whenever a Federal motor vehicle safety standard is in 
effect, a state or political subdivision may prescribe or continue in 
effect a standard applicable to the same aspect of performance of a 
Federal motor vehicle safety standard only if the standard is identical 
to the Federal standard. However, the United States Government, a 
state, or political subdivision of a state, may prescribe a standard 
for a motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment obtained for its own use 
that imposes a higher performance requirement than that required by the 
Federal standard. 49 U.S.C. 30161 sets forth a procedure for judicial 
review of final rules establishing, amending, or revoking Federal motor 
vehicle safety standards. A petition for reconsideration or other 
administrative proceedings are not required before parties file suit in 
court.

G. Plain Language

    Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write all rules in 
plain language. Application of the principles of plain language 
includes consideration of the following questions:

--Have we organized the material to suit the public's needs?
--Are the requirements in the rule clearly stated?
--Does the rule contain technical language or jargon that is not clear?
--Would a different format (grouping and order of sections, use of 
headings, paragraphing) make the rule easier to understand?
--Would more (but shorter) sections be better?
--Could we improve clarity by adding tables, lists, or diagrams?
--What else could we do to make the rule easier to understand?
    Comment is solicited on the extent to which this final rule 
effectively uses plain language principles.

H. National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act

    Under the National Technology and Transfer and Advancement Act of 
1995 (NTTAA) (Pub. L. 104-113), ``all Federal agencies and departments 
shall use technical standards that are developed or adopted by 
voluntary consensus standards bodies, using such technical

[[Page 76869]]

standards as a means to carry out policy objectives or activities 
determined by the agencies and departments.''
    The equipment standard was drafted to include or exceed all 
government and voluntary consensus standards. This final rule extends 
the compliance date of that final rule to July 1, 2004.

I. 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 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78) or you may visit 
http://dms.dot.gov.

J. Environmental Impacts

    We have not conducted an evaluation of the impacts of this final 
rule under the National Environmental Policy Act. This rulemaking 
action extends the date by which the manufacturers must comply with the 
newly upgraded requirements of FMVSS No. 205. This rulemaking does not 
impose any change that would have any environmental impacts. 
Accordingly, no environmental assessment is required.

K. Executive Order 13045, Economically Significant Rules 
Disproportionately Affecting Children

    This rule is not subject to E.O. 13045 because it is not 
``economically significant'' as defined under E.O. 12866, and does not 
concern an environmental, health or safety risk that NHTSA has reason 
to believe may have a disproportionate effect on children.

VI. Request for Comments

How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the docket 
number of this document in your comments. Your comments must not be 
more than 15 pages long. (49 CFR 553.21). We established this limit to 
encourage you to write your primary comments in a concise fashion. 
However, you may attach necessary additional documents to your 
comments. There is no limit on the length of the attachments. Please 
submit two copies of your comments, including the attachments, to 
Docket Management at the address given above under ADDRESSES. Comments 
may also be submitted to the docket electronically by logging onto the 
Docket Management System Web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Click on 
``Help & Information'' or ``Help/Info'' to obtain instructions for 
filing the document electronically. If you are submitting comments 
electronically as a PDF (Adobe) file, we ask that the documents 
submitted be scanned using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) process, 
thus allowing the agency to search and copy certain portions of your 
submissions.\3\ Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, in 
order for substantive data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it 
must meet the information quality standards set forth in the OMB and 
DOT Data Quality Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to 
consult the guidelines in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may 
be accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/reproducible.html. 
DOT's guidelines may be accessed at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit/DataQuality Guidelines.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Optical character recognition (OCR) is the process of 
converting an image of text, such as a scanned paper document or 
electronic fax file, into computer-editable text.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

How Can I Be Sure That My Comments Were Received?

    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, Docket 
Management will return the postcard by mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete 
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Chief Counsel, NHTSA, at the address given 
above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. In addition, you should 
submit two copies, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential 
business information, to Docket Management at the address given above 
under ADDRESSES. When you send a comment containing information claimed 
to be confidential business information, you should include a cover 
letter setting forth the information specified in our confidential 
business information regulation. (49 CFR part 512.)

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

    We will consider all comments that Docket Management receives 
before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated 
above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider 
comments that Docket Management receives after that date. If Docket 
Management receives a comment too late for us to consider in developing 
a final rule (assuming that one is issued), we will consider that 
comment as an informal suggestion for future rulemaking action.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

    You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the 
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the Docket are 
indicated above in the same location. You may also see the comments on 
the Internet. To read the comments on the Internet, take the following 
steps:
    (1) Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the 
Department of Transportation (http://dms.dot.gov).
    (2) On that page, click on ``Simple Search.''
    (3) On the next page (http://dms.dot.gov/search), type in the four-
digit docket number shown at the beginning of this document. Example: 
If the docket number were ``NHTSA-1998-1234,'' you would type ``1234.'' 
After typing the docket number, click on ``Search.''
    (4) On the next page, which contains docket summary information for 
the docket you selected, click on the desired comments. You may 
download the comments. However, since the comments are imaged 
documents, instead of word processing documents, the downloaded 
comments are not word searchable.
    Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will 
continue to file relevant information in the Docket as it becomes 
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly, 
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571

    Motor vehicle safety, reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and 
tires.

0
In consideration of the foregoing, NHTSA amends 49 CFR part 571 as 
follows:

[[Page 76870]]

PART 571--FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS

0
1. The authority citation for part 571 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117, and 30166; 
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.50.

0
2. Section 571.403 is amended by revising S3 to read as follows:

Sec.  571.403  Standard No. 403; Platform lift systems for motor 
vehicles.

* * * * *
    S3. Application. This standard applies to platform lifts 
manufactured on and after April 1, 2005, that are designed to carry 
passengers into and out of motor vehicles.
* * * * *

0
3. Section 571.404 is amended by revising S3 to read as follows:

Sec.  571.404  Standard No. 404; Platform lift installations in motor 
vehicles.

* * * * *
    S3. Application. This standard applies to motor vehicles 
manufactured on and after July 1, 2005, that are equipped with a 
platform lift to carry passengers into and out of the vehicle.
* * * * *

    Issued on: December 17, 2004.
Jeffrey W. Runge,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-28085 Filed 12-20-04; 12:27 pm]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
```