10740 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

• April 21, 2010, at 1:30 p.m., at the 

Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel and 

Conference Center, 5440 North River 

Road, Rosemont, IL, 60018 

To participate in one of the April 21, 

2010 stakeholder meetings, or be a 

nonparticipating observer, you may 

submit notice of intent electronically, by 

facsimile, or by hard copy. OSHA 

intends to give preference to 

organizations that have not participated 

in previous stakeholder meetings, in 

order to encourage as wide a range of 

viewpoints as possible. OSHA will 

confirm participants as necessary to 

ensure a fair representation of interests 

and to facilitate gathering diverse 

viewpoints. To receive a confirmation of 

your participation 1 week before the 

meeting, register by the date listed in 

the DATES section of this notice. 

However, registration will remain open 

until the meetings are full. Additional 

nonparticipating observers that do not 

register for the meeting will be 

accommodated as space permits. See the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice for the 

registration Web site, facsimile number, 

and address. To register electronically, 

follow the instructions provided on the 

Web site. To register by mail or 

facsimile, please indicate the following: 

• Name, address, phone, fax, and email. 

• First and second preferences of 

meeting time. 

• Organization for which you work. 

• Organization you represent (if 

different). 

• Stakeholder category: Government, 

industry, standards-developing 

organization, research or testing agency, 

union, trade association, insurance, fire 

protection equipment manufacturer, 

consultant, or other (if other, please 

specify). 

• Industry sector (if applicable): 

metals, wood products, grain or wet 

corn milling, food (including sugar), 

pharmaceutical or chemical 

manufacturing, paper products, rubber 

or plastics, coal, or other (if other, 

please specify). 

Electronic copies of this Federal 

Register notice, as well as news releases 

and other relevant documents, are 

available on the OSHA Web page at: 

http://www.osha.gov. 

Authority and Signature 

This document was prepared under 

the direction of David Michaels, PhD 

MPH, Assistant Secretary of Labor for 

Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. 

Department of Labor, pursuant to 

sections 4, 6, and 8 of the Occupational 

Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 

653, 655, 657), 29 CFR part 1911, and 

Secretary’s Order 5–2007 (72 FR 31160). 

Signed at Washington, DC, on March 2, 

2010. 

David Michaels, 

Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational 

Safety and Health. 

[FR Doc. 2010–4916 Filed 3–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–26–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 575 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2010–0025] 

RIN 2127–AK51 

New Car Assessment Program (NCAP); 

Safety Labeling 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: Since September 2007, new 

passenger vehicles have been required 

to be labeled with safety rating 

information published by the National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA) under its New Car Assessment 

Program (NCAP). This information is 

required to be part of the Monroney 

(automobile price sticker) label. In July 

2008, NHTSA announced a decision to 

enhance the NCAP ratings program. In 

this document, the agency is proposing 

to upgrade its regulation on vehicle 

labeling of safety rating information to 

reflect the enhanced NCAP ratings 

program. NHTSA is proposing, among 

other things, to include a new overall 

vehicle score on the Monroney label. 

DATES: Comments should be submitted 

early enough to ensure that they are 

received no later than April 8, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to 

the docket number above and be 

submitted by one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

Please note, if you are submitting 

comments electronically as a PDF 

(Adobe) file, we ask that the documents 

submitted be scanned using an Optical 

Character Recognition (OCR) process, 

thus allowing the agency to search and 

copy certain portions of your 

submissions. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

• Hand Delivery: West Building 

Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, 

DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, 

Monday through Friday, except Federal 

holidays. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the agency name and docket 

number. For detailed instructions on 

submitting comments and additional 

information on the rulemaking process, 

see the Public Participation heading of 

the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section 

of this document. All comments 

received will be posted without change 

to http://www.regulations.gov, including 

any personal information provided. 

Privacy Act: Anyone may search the 

electronic form of all comments 

received into any of NHTSA’s dockets 

by the name of the individual 

submitting the comments (or signing the 

comments, 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:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

non-legal issues, you may contact Ms. 

Jennifer N. Dang, Office of 

Crashworthiness Standards (Telephone: 

202–493–0598). For legal issues, you 

may contact Ms. Dorothy Nakama, 

Office of the Chief Counsel (Telephone: 

202–366–2992). You may send mail to 

both of these officials at the National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West 

Building, Washington, DC 20590–0001. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background on the Monroney Label 

Most new vehicle buyers are probably 

familiar with the label affixed to the 

side window showing the price of the 

vehicle and the options installed on that 

vehicle. This label is required by 

Federal law. The Automobile 

Information Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. 

1231–1233) was enacted into law in 

1958, and is also called the ‘‘Monroney 

Act,’’ after its sponsor, Senator 

Monroney of Oklahoma. The Monroney 

Act requires all new light vehicles to 

have a window sticker affixed that 

shows, among other things: 

• Vehicle make. 

• Vehicle model. 

• Vehicle identification number. 

• The final assembly point. 

• The name and location of the dealer 

to whom the vehicle is to be delivered. 

• The manufacturer’s suggested retail 

price (MSRP) of the base vehicle. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 10741 

• The MSRP of the optional 

equipment installed on the particular 

vehicle. 

• The transportation charges for 

delivery of the vehicle from the 

manufacturer to the dealer, and 

• The total MSRP of all of the above. 

Beginning with the 1959 model year, 

this information was provided on the 

window label. Beginning in 1962, some 

manufacturers began providing 

information not just on the options 

installed on the vehicle, but on standard 

items as well. 

The information required to be 

labeled on the window by the Monroney 

Act remained unchanged from its 

passage in 1958 until 2005. In 2005, 

Congress enacted SAFETEA–LU (Pub. L. 

109–59), which expanded the window 

label requirement to include the safety 

ratings assigned by NHTSA under its 

New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), 

or a statement that the vehicle was not 

assigned safety ratings under NCAP. 

The 2005 law also added size and 

visibility requirements for the safety 

ratings information (15 U.S.C. 1232(g) 

and (h)). 

In addition to the MSRP and safety 

ratings information, Congress has also 

permitted the information from two 

other Federal programs to appear on the 

Monroney label on the window of new 

vehicles. 49 U.S.C. 32908(b) requires 

that the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) issue regulations 

requiring vehicle manufacturers to 

attach a label in a prominent place of 

the vehicle that provides information 

on: 

• The vehicle’s fuel economy. 

• The estimated annual fuel cost of 

operating the vehicle. 

• The range of fuel economy of 

comparable vehicles by all 

manufacturers, and 

• A statement that a booklet is 

available from the dealer to compare the 

fuel economy of other vehicles 

manufactured by all manufacturers for 

the model year. 

49 U.S.C. 32908(b)(2) expressly 

provides that the EPA ‘‘may allow a 

manufacturer to comply with this 

subsection by disclosing the information 

on the label required under * * * the 

Automobile Information Disclosure Act 

(15 U.S.C. 1232).’’ 

In addition to the fuel economy 

information, Congress has expressly 

permitted one other type of required 

Federal information to appear on the 

Monroney label. 49 U.S.C. 32304 

requires that passenger motor vehicle 

country of origin labeling be provided 

on new vehicles, and 49 U.S.C. 32304(g) 

provides that NHTSA ‘‘shall permit a 

manufacturer to comply with this 

section by allowing the manufacturer to 

disclose the information * * * on the 

label required under * * * the 

Automobile Information Disclosure Act 

(15 U.S.C. 1232).’’ 

We are not aware of instances other 

than the fuel economy labeling and 

domestic content labeling where 

Congress has granted a Federal agency 

permission to specify that other 

information be provided on the 

Monroney label. Below is an example of 

a Monroney label as it appears in a new 

vehicle window. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

10742 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

1 49 CFR part 575, Docket No. NHTSA–2006– 

25772, RIN 2127–A576, ‘‘New Car Assessment 

Program; Safety Labeling’’, Final Rule. 

II. Overview of This Proposal 

Section 10307 of the Safe, 

Accountable, Flexible, Efficient 

Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for 

Users (SAFETEA–LU), Public Law 109– 

59 (August 10, 2005; 119 Stat. 1144), 

requires new passenger vehicles to be 

labeled with safety ratings from the 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration’s (NHTSA) New Car 

Assessment Program (NCAP). 

Pursuant to SAFETEA–LU, the agency 

published in the Federal Register (71 

FR 53572) on September 12, 2006 a final 

rule 1 requiring manufacturers by 

September 1, 2007, to incorporate a 

distinct safety rating label into the 

Monroney (automobile price sticker) 

label required by the Automobile 

Information Disclosure Act (AIDA), 15 

U.S.C. 1231–1233. The September 12, 

2006 final rule required that the safety 

rating label: 

• Have the title ‘‘Government Safety 

Ratings’’ along its top, 

• Be either 41⁄2 inches wide by 31⁄2

inches high or 8 percent of the area of 

the Monroney label, whichever is larger, 

and 

• Include frontal crash (driver and 

passenger), side crash (front seat and 

rear seat) and rollover safety ratings that 

have been generated under NCAP or 

display the term ‘‘Not Rated’’ or ‘‘To Be 

Rated’’ in any areas of the safety rating 

label where ratings have not been 

developed. (Vehicles for which no 

safety ratings at all have been developed 

may use a smaller safety rating label 

[41⁄2 inches wide by 11⁄2 inches high] 

indicating that the vehicle has not been 

rated by the government.) 

The rule also required explanatory 

language for each of the areas of safety 

ratings and, near the bottom of the label, 

language briefly explaining the use of 

stars to communicate safety ratings 

(ratings are from 1 to 5 stars with 5 stars 

being the highest rating). Finally, the 

safety rating label must have ‘‘http:// 

www.safercar.gov or 1–888–327–4236’’ 

along the bottom of the label to alert 

consumers as to where they may obtain 

further information. 

On July 11, 2008, the agency 

published a final decision notice 


mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALSER09MR10.000</GPH>
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 10743 

2On December 24, 2008, the agency published a 

notice announcing a postponement (for one model 

year) in the implementation of the new 

enhancements to the NCAP crash testing and safety 

rating program in Docket No. NHTSA–2006–26555. 

The agency will begin applying the enhanced NCAP 

testing and safety rating criteria to model year 2011 

vehicles. 

3 In other words, manufacturers would have the 

option to place the proposed safety rating labels on 

model year 2011 vehicles that are manufactured 

before September 1, 2010. 

4The full study report is available at http:// 

www.regulations.gov in Docket No. NHTSA–2006– 

25772. 

announcing enhancements to the NCAP 

programs. These enhancements include: 

• For the frontal crash program— 

modifying the frontal NCAP rating 

system to reflect updated test dummies, 

expanded injury criteria, and the 

inclusion of all body regions that are 

covered by Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standard (FMVSS) No. 208; 

• For the side crash program— 

modifying the side NCAP rating system 

to reflect new side impact test dummies, 

new injury criteria, the inclusion of 

nearly all of the body regions that are 

covered by FMVSS No. 214, as well as 

a new pole test using a small female 

crash test dummy; 

• A new overall vehicle score that 

will be based on frontal crash, side 

crash, and rollover resistance test 

results; and 

• A new program that will provide 

consumers with information concerning 

the availability of advanced crash 

avoidance technologies. 

The final decision notice did not 

announce any changes to NCAP rollover 

resistance testing. 

Beginning with model year 2011,2

safety ratings for new passenger vehicles 

that must be in the safety rating label 

will be based on the updated 

approaches to frontal and side crash 

testing and ratings criteria. 

Section 10307 of SAFETEA–LU 

specifies a number of detailed 

requirements for the safety rating label, 

including content, size, location, and 

applicability. The agency’s September 

2006 final rule was consistent with 

those requirements, and included a 

number of detailed requirements 

including ones related to format. 

In today’s document, we are 

proposing to revise our regulation on 

vehicle labeling of safety rating 

information to reflect the enhancements 

to the NCAP programs listed above. 

Under this proposal: 

(1) Beginning with model year 2011, 

safety rating labels on new passenger 

vehicles that are manufactured on or 

after September 1, 2010, would be 

required to include, as the first item of 

safety information in the safety rating 

label, an overall vehicle score based on 

a vehicle’s frontal crash, side crash, and 

rollover resistance ratings. The agency 

would allow early compliance for model 

year 2011 vehicles that are 

manufactured before September 1, 

2010.3

(2) Language describing the nature 

and meaning of the NCAP test data used 

to generate vehicle safety ratings and a 

reference to http://www.safercar.gov for 

additional vehicle safety information in 

the safety rating label would be revised 

slightly and, in some cases, relocated in 

the safety rating label; and 

(3) Safety concerns identified as a 

result of NCAP testing would need to be 

displayed in the overall vehicle score 

area of the safety rating label in addition 

to the appropriate area of the safety 

rating label to which the safety concern 

applies (frontal, side, or rollover). 

III. Application 

Vehicle Weight 

In 2005, Congress modified the 

Automobile Information Disclosure Act 

(AIDA), 15 U.S.C. 1231–1233, which 

requires a Monroney label on all 

passenger vehicles, to require that 

passenger vehicles with a Gross Vehicle 

Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,000 

pounds or less, manufactured on or after 

September 1, 2007, include on their 

Monroney labels safety information 

developed as part of NHTSA’s New Car 

Assessment Program (NCAP). As a 

result, all changes to the safety rating 

label proposed in this notice would 

apply to safety rating labels in the 

Monroney labels of passenger vehicles 

with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 

(GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less. 

Vehicles that have a Monroney label 

and that have been rated in at least one 

area under NCAP would need to display 

those ratings as described in this notice. 

Vehicles that display a Monroney label 

and that have not been rated under 

NCAP would be required to include in 

their Monroney label the smaller vehicle 

safety rating label, which indicates that 

the vehicle has not been rated. 

IV. Proposed New Requirements for the 

Safety Rating Label 

A. Content and Graphic Details 

The agency is proposing to modify the 

safety rating label to add a new area of 

the label for the overall vehicle score. 

This area would be located immediately 

below the heading area and would be 

the first item of safety information. 

Persons who are interested in the details 

concerning the new overall vehicle 

score are encouraged to read the July 

2008 final decision notice announcing 

enhancements to the NCAP programs. 

The format of the remainder of the 

safety rating label would be very similar 

to the current safety rating label, except 

that language explaining the five star 

rating system and other language 

indicating that NHTSA is the source of 

the safety information contained in the 

safety rating label would now be 

incorporated into the footer area of the 

label, rather than be displayed in its 

own area of the label, currently referred 

to as the general information area. Some 

minor modifications in other language 

would also occur. 

The result would be that the modified 

safety rating label would consist of six 

sections, the same number of sections in 

the current safety rating label. The 

modified safety rating label would be 

subdivided into—the heading area, a 

new overall vehicle score area, the 

frontal crash area, the side crash area, 

the rollover area, and the footer area. 

The position of these areas, running 

from the top to the bottom of the label, 

would be as follows: heading area at the 

top, followed by the overall vehicle 

score area, the frontal area, the side area, 

the rollover area, and the footer area. 

As is currently the case, the areas of 

the label whose background is light in 

color—overall vehicle score, frontal, 

side, and rollover—would continue to 

be required to be separated from each 

other by a dark line that is a minimum 

of 3 points in width. Also as is currently 

required, the entire safety rating label 

would be required to be surrounded by 

a solid dark line that is a minimum of 

3 points in width. The format of each 

area of the safety rating label is 

described below. 

Heading Area 

The agency is proposing to change the 

language in the heading area to read 

‘‘Government 5-Star Safety Ratings’’ 

rather than the existing heading 

‘‘Government Safety Ratings’’, as a result 

of consumer research conducted by 

NHTSA.4 When asked which heading is 

most appropriate for the Federal 

Government motor vehicle safety rating 

system (which is based on a 5-Star 

rating system), approximately twothirds of the interviewees preferred 

‘‘Government 5-Star Safety Ratings’’. 

Approximately two-thirds of the 

participants in the survey were aware 

that the Government posts safety ratings 

on a new vehicle’s window sticker (the 

Monroney label), and the majority 

preferred the ‘‘Government 5-Star Safety 

Ratings’’ heading. Since it is critical that 

the heading area be easily recognizable 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

10744 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

5The full study report is available at http:// 

www.regulation.gov in Docket No. NHTSA–2006– 

25772. 

6The full study report is available at http:// 

www.regulations.gov in Docket No. NHTSA–2006– 

25772. 

to help consumers identify the NHTSA 

safety information on the Monroney 

label, the agency is proposing to require 

the words ‘‘Government 5-Star Safety 

Ratings’’ in centered boldface, light 

capital letters against a dark 

background. 

Overall Vehicle Score Area 

In NHTSA’s July 11, 2008 final 

decision notice (which discusses how 

the agency plans to enhance its existing 

NCAP programs), the overall vehicle 

score is referred to as the Vehicle Safety 

Score. NHTSA’s research found that 

most participants preferred the term 

‘‘Overall Vehicle Score’’ as compared to 

‘‘Vehicle Safety Score’’ to convey the 

overall safety rating of a vehicle.5

Therefore, the agency is proposing that 

‘‘Overall Vehicle Score’’ be used to 

describe the section of the safety rating 

label in which stars reflecting the 

overall vehicle score will be displayed. 

NHTSA is also proposing to require 

the statement ‘‘Based on the combined 

ratings of frontal, side and rollover.’’ at 

the bottom of this area of the safety 

rating label to explain to consumers 

how the overall vehicle score is 

determined. The words ‘‘Star rating,’’ 

which are currently included in similar 

statements in other areas of the safety 

rating label, would be excluded from 

this statement. The agency believes 

consumers will readily understand that 

a star rating is involved because of the 

obvious use of stars in the safety rating 

label. (In other sections of this 

document, the agency is proposing to 

drop the use of the words ‘‘Star rating’’ 

from the other areas of the safety rating 

label where they are currently used.) 

Finally, the agency is proposing that 

the words, ‘‘Should ONLY be compared 

to other vehicles of similar weight 

class.’’ appear at the bottom of the 

overall vehicle score area of the safety 

rating label as well. The current safety 

rating label is required to include the 

statement, ‘‘Frontal ratings should 

ONLY be compared to other vehicles of 

similar weight class.’’ at the bottom of 

the Frontal Crash area of the safety 

rating label. (As explained elsewhere in 

this notice, the agency is proposing to 

eliminate the words ‘‘Frontal ratings’’ so 

that the statement required in the 

Frontal Crash area would be identical to 

the one proposed above for the overall 

vehicle score area.) Since the overall 

vehicle score is based in part on the 

frontal crash rating, the agency believes 

it is appropriate to propose the same 

language for both the Frontal Crash area 

and the Overall Vehicle Score area. 

Frontal Area 

In the current NCAP frontal crash test 

program, NHTSA provides consumers 

with frontal crash ratings for two seating 

positions, the driver and the right front 

passenger. The current rating for each 

seating position is based on the 

combined chance of serious injury to 

the head and chest. As mentioned 

previously, the new frontal program will 

include all of the FMVSS No. 208 body 

regions (head, neck, chest, and femur). 

The new program will also use a 

different crash test dummy in the right 

front passenger seating position. The 

seating positions will remain the same. 

Hence, the new frontal crash rating for 

each seating position will be based on 

the combined chance of serious injury 

to the head, neck, chest, and femur. 

Nearly three-fourths of the 

participants in NHTSA’s consumer 

research preferred a rating for each 

frontal seating position over an overall 

frontal rating.6 NHTSA understands 

consumers’ preference for having crash 

rating information by seating position 

readily available at the point of sale. 

Thus, the agency proposes to continue 

reporting frontal crash ratings on the 

Monroney label by seating position on 

the revised safety rating label. It is 

proposed that the term ‘‘Frontal Crash’’ 

continue to be used to refer to frontal 

crash test ratings and ‘‘Driver’’ and 

‘‘Passenger’’ still be used to refer to the 

seating positions and the applicable star 

rating. 

Currently the statement, ‘‘Star ratings 

based on the risk of injury in a frontal 

impact.’’ is required at the bottom of the 

Frontal Crash area of the safety rating 

label. NHTSA is proposing that this 

statement be shortened to ‘‘Based on the 

risk of injury in a frontal impact.’’ As 

explained previously, the term ‘‘Star 

ratings,’’ would be excluded from this 

statement because the term 

‘‘Government 5-Star Safety Ratings’’ 

would appear in the heading area of the 

modified safety rating label and should 

make clear to consumers that the stars 

in any area of the safety rating label 

reflect safety ratings. This generic 

statement would continue to provide 

the agency with the flexibility to update 

the ratings (due to additional injury 

criteria, an update to FMVSS No. 208, 

etc.) without conducting further 

rulemaking to update the label. 

As explained above under Overall 

Vehicle Score Area, the statement, 

‘‘Frontal ratings should ONLY be 

compared to other vehicles of similar 

weight class.’’ is currently required at 

the bottom of the Frontal Crash area of 

the safety rating label. NHTSA is 

proposing that this statement be 

shortened to ‘‘Should ONLY be 

compared to other vehicles of similar 

weight class.’’ This shortened statement 

would be required, as the longer 

statement is currently required, at the 

bottom of the frontal crash area of the 

safety rating label. The words ‘‘Frontal 

ratings’’ would be deleted because we 

believe consumers would realize that 

the statement refers to Frontal ratings 

since the statement would appear in the 

Frontal Crash area of the safety rating 

label. 

Side Area 

In the current side NCAP program, 

NHTSA conducts side impact tests that 

provide consumers with side ratings for 

the first and second seating rows of a 

vehicle, specifically for the driver 

seating position and the rear outboard 

seating passenger position. In the 

current program, a moving deformable 

barrier (MDB) test is used to assess side 

impact protection. Currently, side 

impact ratings for each seating position 

are based on chest injury only. 

Changes to the side NCAP program 

include (1) new test dummies for the 

two seating positions in the MDB test, 

(2) a new oblique pole test with a small 

female crash test dummy in the driver 

position, and (3) additional injury 

criteria for both the MDB and the new 

oblique pole tests. As previously 

mentioned, the enhanced side NCAP 

program will include nearly all of the 

FMVSS No. 214 body regions (except for 

the lower spine acceleration for the 

small female crash test dummy) for the 

calculation of the side NCAP rating. In 

other words, the new side program will 

include, for the MDB test, head, chest, 

abdomen, and pelvic injury criteria in 

the driver seating position and head and 

pelvic injury criteria in the rear 

passenger seating position. The new 

oblique pole test will include head and 

pelvic injury criteria in the driver 

seating position. In summary, ratings for 

the new side program will be based on 

(1) for the driver seating position, a 

combined chance of serious injury to 

the head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis in 

an MDB test as well as a combined 

chance of injury to the head and pelvis 

in a side oblique pole or narrow object 

test, and (2) for the rear passenger 

seating position, a combined chance of 

serious injury to the head and pelvis in 

an MDB test. 

As discussed previously, an 

overwhelming proportion of 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 10745 

7The current regulatory text has a comma 

between the ‘‘parenthesis’’ and the word ‘‘with’’ 

whereas the text in the sample label does not. The 

agency is proposing to revise the text as stated in 

this notice to reflect the text shown in the sample 

label. 

8The current regulatory text does not include a 

period at the end of the Source text whereas the text 

in the sample labels does. The agency is proposing 

to revise the text shown in the sample labels to 

reflect the text stated in the regulation. 

9The Web site information ‘‘http:// 

www.safercar.gov’’ will not be shown italicized to 

reflect the sample label. 

10The full study report is available at http:// 

www.regulations.gov in Docket No. NHTSA–2006– 

25772. 

interviewees in a NHTSA consumer 

survey preferred that NHTSA provide 

crash test ratings by seating position on 

the revised safety rating label. 

Therefore, as with frontal crash ratings, 

it is proposed that side crash ratings 

continue to be presented by seating 

position. 

‘‘Side Crash’’ would still be used to 

describe the side crash test ratings, and 

‘‘Front Seat’’ and ‘‘Rear Seat’’ would still 

be used to describe the seating positions 

and applicable star ratings for those 

seating positions. Furthermore, as in the 

Frontal Crash area, NHTSA is also 

proposing to shorten the statement 

required at the bottom of the Side Crash 

area to ‘‘Based on the risk of injury in 

side impact tests.’’ The words ‘‘Star 

ratings’’ currently required at the 

beginning of this statement would be 

excluded for the same reason these 

words would be excluded from a similar 

statement in the Frontal Crash area. 

Also, this generic statement would 

allow the agency the flexibility to 

update the ratings (i.e., due to additional 

injury criteria, an update to FMVSS No. 

214, etc.) on the label without 

conducting further rulemaking. 

Rollover Area 

As discussed in the July 11, 2008 final 

decision notice, the agency decided to 

not change its current rollover test 

program, which uses a vehicle’s Static 

Stability Factor (SSF) and the results of 

a dynamic rollover ‘‘fishhook’’ test, to 

determine the chance that a vehicle will 

roll over in a single-vehicle crash and 

the rollover resistance rating that 

results. It is proposed the term 

‘‘Rollover’’ for the area of the safety 

rating label for the rollover rating 

remain the same in the revised safety 

rating label since the program is 

unchanged. However, NHTSA is 

proposing to shorten the statement 

required at the bottom of the rollover 

area to ‘‘Based on the risk of rollover in 

a single vehicle crash.’’ As with the 

Frontal Crash and Side Crash areas of 

the safety rating label, we are proposing 

to exclude the words ‘‘Star rating’’ from 

this statement for the same reason given 

for excluding these words from those 

two areas of the label. 

Footer Area 

The agency has required the phrase 

‘‘Star ratings range from 1 to 5 stars 

(★★★★★) with 5 being the highest.’’ in 

the current general information area of 

the safety rating label.7 This statement is 

used not only to remind consumers that 

the maximum rating is 5 stars but also 

to fulfill the Congressional requirement 

that the graphic depiction of the vehicle 

rating be displayed in a clearly 

differentiated fashion while also 

indicating the maximum possible rating. 

Additionally, the text ‘‘Source: National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA)’’ is required to appear as the 

last line in the general information area 

of the existing safety rating label. This 

statement is used to inform consumers 

that the ratings are from a government 

agency. 

Also on the existing safety rating 

label, the text ‘‘www.safercar.gov or 1– 

888–327–4236’’ is required to be placed 

in the footer area. This information is 

provided not only to help consumers 

identify the agency’s Web site, where 

additional NHTSA safety information 

can be found, but also to fulfill the 

mandate from Congress that the safety 

rating label contain a reference to 

http://www.safercar.gov and additional 

vehicle safety resources. 

Due to the proposed addition of an 

overall vehicle score area in the 

modified safety rating label, the agency 

believes that for the label to be 

presented in a legible, visible, and 

prominent fashion that covers at least 8 

percent of the total area of the 

Monroney label or an area with a 

minimum of 41⁄2 inches in length and 

31⁄2 inches in height on the Monroney 

label, only the required rating 

information should be provided in 

designated relevant areas (i.e., overall 

vehicle score area, frontal crash area, 

side crash area, and rollover area). In 

other words, the agency is proposing 

that the texts ‘‘Star ratings range from 1 

to 5 stars (★★★★★) with 5 being the 

highest.’’ and ‘‘Source: National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA)’’ 8 be shown in the footer area 

(instead of in the current general 

information area) along with the 

agency’s Web site information.9

More than half of the respondents 

who participated in NHTSA’s consumer 

survey preferred that the agency’s Web 

address, hotline number, and source 

information be included in the footer 

area.10 Under this proposal, the general 

information area where this information 

is currently displayed would be 

eliminated as a separate area of the 

safety rating label. 

Safety Concerns 

For vehicle tests for which NHTSA 

reports a safety concern as part of the 

star rating, the regulation currently 

requires a symbol consisting of an 

exclamation point inside a triangle 

(safety concern symbol) to be depicted 

as a superscript to the star rating, and 

the same symbol to be depicted at the 

bottom of the relevant area along with 

the words ‘‘Safety Concern: Visit 

http://www.safercar.gov or call 1–888– 

327–4236 for more details.’’ Examples of 

such safety concerns are high 

likelihoods of thigh injury, pelvic 

injury, or head injury; fuel leakage; and 

door openings. 

NHTSA believes the inclusion of all 

of the FMVSS No. 208 body regions in 

the calculation of the frontal NCAP 

rating and nearly all of the FMVSS No. 

214 body regions (except for the lower 

spine acceleration for the small female 

crash test dummy) in the calculation of 

the side NCAP rating will lead to more 

robust ratings and significantly reduce 

the need to use the safety concern 

symbol to highlight injury related 

occurrences during testing. For those 

injury related safety concerns and safety 

concerns relating to the physical 

structure of a vehicle (i.e., fuel leakage, 

door openings, etc.) that continue to 

arise, the agency would continue to 

require depiction of the symbol and 

related statement in the appropriate area 

of the safety rating label. 

We are proposing to also require, 

whenever a safety concern arises in any 

rating category, that the safety concern 

symbol and related statement be 

included in the overall vehicle score 

area of the safety rating label as well. 

We believe that to not require the 

symbol in this location as well as in the 

location containing the rating for the 

testing in which the safety concern 

arose could diminish the effect of 

having the symbol in the applicable 

rating category by suggesting that the 

safety concern was not sufficient to have 

an impact on the overall safety of the 

vehicle. The agency’s view is that any 

safety concern that arises during NCAP 

testing is a necessary part of the overall 

picture of a vehicle’s relative safety, 

even though the concern does not have 

an impact on the rating derived from the 

specific testing in which the concern 

arose. Since the overall vehicle score is 

based on the combined ratings of the 

frontal crash, side crash, and rollover 

tests, the agency believes that a safety 

concern relating to one of these NCAP 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

10746 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

11Carry-over models are vehicles that have been 

tested under the NCAP in previous years, and 

whose design has not changed, therefore retaining 

the previous safety rating. 

12Through carry-over and new testing, NCAP 

provides ratings for approximately 85 percent of the 

vehicle fleet each year. 

tests should be noted in the area where 

the overall vehicle score is displayed. 

NHTSA continues to believe that the 

types of events that trigger a safety 

concern and the use of the safety 

concern symbol are significant and 

should be communicated to consumers. 

Agency consumer research indicates 

that consumers welcome having this 

information so that they may use it in 

making vehicle purchasing decisions. 

Depiction of the safety symbol to flag 

safety concerns is therefore consistent 

with the overall goal of NCAP, which is 

to create market forces to drive 

manufacturers to continually enhance 

the safety of the vehicles they produce. 

Furthermore, the agency believes it 

would be inconsistent and misleading to 

consumers to have a safety concern for 

a vehicle noted on the agency Web site, 

http://www.safercar.gov, and not on the 

vehicle safety label in the Monroney 

label. 

The agency is seeking comments and 

plans to conduct consumer research into 

the extent to which consumers 

understand this approach, or other 

approaches, to communicating safety 

concerns. Since consumers may rely on 

some or all of the sections of the 

Monroney label to make purchasing 

decisions, we seek comment on whether 

NHTSA’s planned follow-up consumer 

testing for the safety section of the label 

should include all four items that might 

appear on the Monroney label (price, 

safety, fuel economy, and domestic 

content) to help the agency better 

understand any potential tradeoffs 

consumers may make among those 

items and whether the amount of space 

dedicated to each of the four items 

affects the attention consumers give the 

items. NHTSA also solicits public 

comments on the benefits the public 

would receive from a coordinated 

approach to any revisions of the 

Monroney label among the three 

agencies with authority over the 

different sections (the Department of 

Justice for price information, the 

Environmental Protection Agency for 

fuel economy, and NHTSA for safety 

and domestic content), and whether 

those benefits would outweigh any 

delays that might occur to achieve 

comprehensive and coordinated 

revisions to parts of the Monroney label. 

The agency is currently developing 

communications materials to educate 

consumers about the safety ratings label, 

including detailed explanations of the 

individual safety ratings and how those 

ratings indicate the percent chance of 

serious injury to the occupant(s) 

traveling in a vehicle that is involved in 

a crash. However, the agency is seeking 

comments on key components of 

effective approaches of communicating 

the safety ratings to consumers. NHTSA 

is particularly interested in data to 

substantiate the effectiveness of 

recommended approaches. The agency 

is also seeking comments on the current 

consumer understanding of the NCAP 

star safety ratings and the difference 

between those ratings, which range from 

1 to 5 stars, and whether other 

presentation formats could more 

effectively communicate that 

information to consumers. As above, 

NHTSA is especially interested in 

reviewing the data to support 

commenters’ suggested alternative 

approaches. 

B. Crash Avoidance Technologies 

Enhancements to the existing NCAP 

testing programs also include the 

establishment of a crash avoidance 

technology information program under 

which the agency will indicate on the 

http://www.safercar.gov Web site those 

vehicles equipped with certain 

technologies either available or as 

standard equipment. To be so noted, the 

crash avoidance technology of the 

vehicle will need to meet NHTSA 

performance requirements for the 

technology involved. 

The agency selected three 

technologies that are mature enough to 

include in a crash avoidance ratings 

program at this time. The three 

technologies are electronic stability 

control (ESC), forward collision warning 

(FCW), and lane departure warning 

(LDW). The agency plans to use text and 

simple graphics on http:// 

www.safercar.gov to communicate (1) 

the fact that ESC, LDW, and/or FCW is 

available as optional or standard 

equipment on vehicles and (2) that the 

equipment involved meets the 

appropriate agency performance 

requirements. 

The agency has decided at this time 

to not include advanced technology 

information in the safety rating label for 

the following reasons: 

• Including advanced crash 

avoidance technologies in the safety 

rating label of the Monroney label 

would require that the agency conduct 

a rulemaking to update the safety rating 

label each time that the list of crash 

avoidance technologies changed. 

• Available Monroney label space is 

limited. If information on crash 

avoidance technologies were included 

in the new safety rating label, the 

information on the safety rating label as 

a whole might not be legible. 

The agency is seeking comments from 

the public on the approach the agency 

is taking to communicate the 

availability of these advanced 

technologies and on how these and 

other technologies that may arise should 

be communicated in the future. 

C. Notification 

Current Process 

In May/June of each year, NHTSA 

collects information from vehicle 

manufacturers to help the agency 

identify new vehicle models, redesigned 

vehicles, and models whose design will 

carry-over from the previous model 

year.11 Once the agency analyzes the 

information provided, the carry-over 

models, new and redesigned models not 

being tested, and new and redesigned 

models to be tested are posted on the 

agency’s Web site, http:// 

www.safercar.gov.12

At about the same time, the agency 

sends a letter to officially inform each 

vehicle manufacturer which models the 

agency has determined to be carry-over 

vehicles and their respective NCAP star 

rating(s). NHTSA provides these letters 

to manufacturers as soon as a 

determination is made regarding the 

status of the vehicles (carryover or noncarryover) to ensure that manufacturers 

have the opportunity to place NCAP star 

ratings on the Monroney labels of these 

models as soon as they begin the new 

year of production. 

The agency also sends a separate 

letter to each vehicle manufacturer 

indicating which models have been 

selected for NCAP testing. Once a 

selected vehicle has been tested and 

NHTSA completes the process of 

thoroughly reviewing the data generated 

during NCAP testing, the agency sends 

a letter informing the manufacturer of 

the rating(s) of the tested vehicle. The 

letter also informs the manufacturer 

which vehicle trim lines and corporate 

twins will be rated based on the results 

from the tested vehicle. 

Vehicles for which ratings have not 

been provided in one or more of the 

ratings areas must have ‘‘Not Rated’’ in 

those areas of the safety rating label. 

Vehicles that have not been tested in 

any of the ratings areas and therefore do 

not have ratings in any ratings area may 

use a smaller safety rating label 

described in 49 CFR 575.301. Vehicles 

that are slated to be tested by NHTSA, 

but have not yet been tested may have 

‘‘To Be Rated’’ in the various ratings 

areas of the safety rating label for which 

testing is slated. 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 10747 

13The vehicle manufacturing date will be used to 

determine which vehicles will be required to have 

the new NCAP star rating(s). 

Model Year 2011 Process 

Due to the enhancements to the NCAP 

frontal and side crash test programs, no 

frontal and side safety ratings of the 

current NCAP crash test programs will 

carry-over to model year 2011 vehicles. 

To help address this, the agency plans 

to modify its current notification 

process for 2011 model year vehicles. 

NHTSA began collecting basic model 

year 2011 vehicle information from 

vehicle manufacturers in September 

2009. Based on information provided by 

the manufacturers, the agency will 

devise a preliminary model year 2011 

testing schedule. NHTSA also plans to 

contact vehicle manufacturers again in 

March 2010 and in June 2010 to help 

the agency to continue to identify and 

verify vehicles to be tested with the 

upgraded frontal and side crash tests 

and to ensure that initial projections of 

vehicle availability provided by 

manufacturers still align with the 

agency’s testing schedule. 

Once NHTSA has determined that a 

2011 model year vehicle will be tested, 

which could occur as early as after the 

initial contact with manufacturers or as 

late as the last contact with 

manufacturers, the agency will send a 

letter to officially inform each vehicle 

manufacturer which 2011 model year 

vehicles the agency has selected for the 

updated tests. Additional letters may be 

required to notify vehicle manufacturers 

of vehicles selected for NCAP testing 

later in the vehicle selection process. 

Once vehicles have been tested and the 

data generated during the NCAP tests 

has been thoroughly reviewed, the 

agency will send letters to 

manufacturers of the tested vehicles 

informing them of the ratings achieved 

by those vehicles. As with the current 

process, the letter will also inform 

manufacturers which trim lines and 

corporate twins will get the same ratings 

as the vehicle actually tested. 

Additionally, the ratings will be 

announced in a press release and posted 

on the agency’s Web site http:// 

www.safercar.gov. 

The rollover NCAP program has not 

changed. Therefore, rollover resistance 

ratings for some model year 2010 

vehicles will carryover to model year 

2011 vehicles. Carryover rollover 

resistance ratings for vehicles slated to 

be crash tested under the revised NCAP 

will be posted on http:// 

www.safercar.gov as soon as they are 

confirmed as carryover ratings. This will 

allow consumers to continue to have 

access to this information while the 

revised NCAP crash testing and rating 

program is being rolled out. Official 

notification of carryover rollover 

resistance ratings for these vehicles, as 

well as notification of the rollover 

resistance ratings for non-carryover 

vehicles that are selected for rollover 

testing, will occur at the same time 

manufacturers are notified of crash 

ratings under the revised NCAP crash 

program. 

Once the first year of testing using the 

revised frontal and side crash tests is 

completed, the agency will resume the 

notification process that the agency has 

followed prior to the implementation of 

the enhanced crash test programs. 

Specifically, the vehicle information 

collection process will again begin in 

May/June of each year. The agency will 

continue to send letters to each vehicle 

manufacturer indicating which models 

have been selected for the NCAP crash 

test and other programs. The agency 

will send a separate letter to officially 

inform each manufacturer which 

models the agency has determined to be 

carry-over vehicles and the safety 

ratings that apply to those vehicles. 

Letters informing manufacturers of the 

ratings assigned to vehicles tested will 

be sent when testing and quality control 

of test data has been completed. 

Since the frontal and side safety 

ratings of the current NCAP crash test 

programs will not be carried-over to 

model year 2011 vehicles and beyond, 

manufacturers will be required to either 

post ‘‘Not Rated’’ on the Monroney label 

for the frontal and side crash categories 

until the agency informs the 

manufacturer of the rating(s) that apply 

or post ‘‘To Be Rated’’ if the vehicle 

involved is slated to be tested. If 

NHTSA has not released a safety rating 

for any category for a vehicle and will 

not be performing any NCAP tests on 

the vehicle, the manufacturer may use a 

smaller safety rating label as illustrated 

in Figure 2. 

D. Timing 

As in the current labeling program, 

the agency will require vehicle 

manufacturers to place the new 

Government 5-Star safety ratings on the 

safety rating label of the Monroney label 

of new vehicles manufactured 30 days 

after receiving from NHTSA notification 

of the test results. The agency does not 

and will not require manufacturers to 

reprint Monroney labels for vehicles 

that were produced prior to the agency’s 

notification.13 However, manufacturers 

are allowed to voluntarily re-label 

vehicles, should they choose, by 

replacing the entire Monroney label (not 

just the safety rating label with the 

NCAP information). 

E. Consumer Education 

As discussed previously, new model 

year 2011 and later vehicles will be 

subjected to the enhanced NCAP 

program. NHTSA realizes that 

consumers could misinterpret or be 

confused by differences between ratings 

for model year 2010 and 2011 vehicles. 

Even when model year 2010 and 2011 

vehicles achieve the same rating, 

consumers may not fully understand 

what this means. To address this, the 

agency plans to develop an educational 

toolkit and work with various partners 

to educate consumers about its new 

Government 5-Star Safety Ratings 

program. 

F. Compliance Date 

Under our proposal, beginning with 

model year 2011, passenger vehicles 

that are manufactured on or after 

September 1, 2010, would be required to 

have the new safety rating labels. The 

agency would allow early compliance 

for model year 2011 vehicles that are 

manufactured before September 1, 2010, 

provided the ratings placed on the 

safety rating label were derived from 

vehicle testing conducted by the 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration that is appropriate for 

model year 2011 or later vehicles. 

Some model year 2010 vehicles may 

continue to be manufactured after 

September 1, 2010. The requirements of 

the existing regulation would apply to 

these vehicles. 

Under our proposal, the new 

regulation that would apply to model 

year 2011 and later vehicles 

manufactured on or after September 1, 

2010 would be designated as § 575.302. 

The existing regulation, with minor 

conforming amendments, would 

continue to be at § 575.301. 

V. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices 

A. Executive Order 12866 and DOT 

Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

NHTSA has considered the impact of 

this proposed rule under Executive 

Order 12866 and the Department of 

Transportation’s regulatory policies and 

procedures. This proposed rulemaking 

document was not reviewed under E.O. 

12866, ‘‘Regulatory Planning and 

Review.’’ This action has been 

determined to be ‘‘non-significant’’ 

under the Department of 

Transportation’s regulatory policies and 

procedures. The agency concludes that 

if this rule were made final, the impacts 

of the amendments would be so 

minimal that preparation of a full 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

10748 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

regulatory evaluation would not be 

required. 

This NPRM proposes to require 

vehicle manufacturers to add to the 

existing safety rating label the new 

overall vehicle score rating the agency 

has added to the NCAP program, and to 

make minor modifications to the safety 

rating label. The agency has considered 

and concluded that the one-time 

redesign cost and the cost of redesign to 

replace ‘‘Not Rated’’ or ‘‘To Be Rated’’ 

with stars each time a vehicle is rated, 

all to be minor. The cost of the existing 

label is estimated to be less than $0.15 

per vehicle, and, under our proposal, 

the label would remain the same size. 

Given these considerations, any effects 

on costs would be trivial. 

B. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., as amended by 

the Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 

1996), whenever an agency is required 

to publish a notice of rulemaking for 

any proposed or final rule, it must 

prepare and make available for public 

comment a regulatory flexibility 

analysis that describes the effect of the 

rule on small entities (i.e., small 

businesses, small organizations, and 

small governmental jurisdictions). The 

Small Business Administration’s 

regulations at 13 CFR part 121 define a 

small business, in part, as a business 

entity ‘‘which operates primarily within 

the United States.’’ (13 CFR 121.105(a)). 

No regulatory flexibility analysis is 

required if the head of an agency 

certifies the rule will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

SBREFA amended the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act to require Federal 

agencies to provide a statement of the 

factual basis for certifying that a rule 

will not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. 

NHTSA has considered the effects of 

this proposed rule under the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act. There are four small 

motor vehicle manufacturers in the 

United States building vehicles that 

would be affected by this rule. I certify 

that this proposed rule would not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

The rationale for this certification is that 

the agency does not believe that this 

proposal adds a significant economic 

cost to a motor vehicle. The cost of the 

existing label is estimated to be less 

than $0.15 per vehicle. The 

requirements proposed by today’s 

document would result in minor costs, 

as it would merely require redesign of 

that label. 

C. 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 Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) control number. For the 

following reasons, NHTSA concludes 

that if made final, this rulemaking 

would not impose any new collection of 

information requirements for which a 

5 CFR part 1320 clearance must be 

obtained. As described previously, this 

rule, if made final, would require 

vehicle manufacturers to include on the 

existing safety rating labels, the overall 

vehicle score rating information by 

NCAP. This NPRM proposes how 

NHTSA will describe the appearance of 

the label, and specify to the vehicle 

manufacturers, in both individual letters 

to the manufacturers and on the 

NHTSA’s 5-Star safety ratings Web site 

(http://www.safercar.gov), the 

information specific to a particular 

motor vehicle make and model that the 

vehicle manufacturer must place on the 

Monroney label. 

Because, if this rule is made final, 

NHTSA will specify the format of the 

safety rating label, and the information 

each vehicle manufacturer must include 

on the label, this ‘‘collection of 

information’’ falls within the exception 

described in 5 CFR 1320.3(c)(2) which 

states in part: ‘‘The public disclosure of 

information originally supplied by the 

Federal government to the recipient for 

the purpose of disclosure to the public 

is not included within this definition.’’ 

The Government 5-Star safety ratings 

are created by NHTSA. This rule, if 

made final, would require vehicle 

manufacturers to take the Government 

5-Star safety ratings (which NHTSA will 

provide to each manufacturer) and 

report them on the Monroney labels, 

thus disclosing them to potential 

customers (i.e., the public). For this 

reason, this proposed rule, if made final, 

would impose a ‘‘collection of 

information’’ requirement for which 

5 CFR part 1320 approval need not be 

obtained. 

D. National Environmental Policy Act 

NHTSA has analyzed this proposed 

rule for the purposes of the National 

Environmental Policy Act and has 

determined that if made final, the rule 

will not have any significant impact on 

the quality of the human environment. 

E. Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) 

The agency has analyzed this 

proposed rule in accordance with the 

principles and criteria contained in 

Executive Order 13132 and has 

determined that it does not have 

sufficient federalism implications to 

warrant consultation with State and 

local officials or the preparation of a 

federalism summary impact statement. 

If made final, this rule will have no 

substantial effects on the States, on the 

current Federal-State relationship, or on 

the current distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various local 

officials. 

F. Civil Justice Reform 

This proposed rule would not have 

any retroactive effect. Parties are not 

required to exhaust administrative 

remedies before filing suit in court. 

G. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Public Law 104– 

113, section 12(d) (15 U.S.C. 272) 

directs NHTSA to use voluntary 

consensus standards in regulatory 

activities unless doing so would be 

inconsistent with applicable law or 

would otherwise be impractical. 

Voluntary consensus standards are 

technical standards (e.g., materials 

specifications, test methods, sampling 

procedures, and business practices) that 

are developed or adopted by voluntary 

consensus standards bodies, such as the 

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). 

The agency searched for, but did not 

find any voluntary consensus standards 

relevant to this proposed rule. 

H. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

This proposed rule will not impose 

any unfunded mandates under the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(UMRA) of 1995. This rule will not 

result in costs of $100 million or more 

to either State, local, or tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or to the 

private sector. Thus, this rule is not 

subject to the requirements of sections 

202 and 205 of the UMRA. 

I. 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? 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 10749 

14See 49 CFR 553.21. 

15Optical 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. 

16See 49 CFR 512. 

• 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 this 

rulemaking easier to understand? 

If you have any responses to these 

questions, please include them in your 

comments on this NPRM. 

J. Privacy Act Statement 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of all comments or 

petitions 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:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

VI. Public Participation 

We invite comments on today’s 

proposal. We are providing a 30-day 

comment period. We are not providing 

a longer period because there is a need 

to complete rulemaking in time to allow 

manufacturers to make any necessary 

changes in the labels for MY 2011 

vehicles manufactured on or after 

September 1, 2010. Moreover, we 

believe 30 days is sufficient, given that 

the rulemaking addresses changes in an 

existing label to reflect already 

announced changes in the NCAP 

Program. 

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.14 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 your comments by any 

of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to 

http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• Mail: Docket Management Facility, 

M–30, U.S. Department of 

Transportation, West Building, Ground 

Floor, Rm. W12–140, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery or Courier: West 

Building Ground Floor, Room W12–140, 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 

9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

• Fax: (202) 493–2251. 

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.15

How Can I Be Sure That My Comments 

Were Received? 

If you submit your comments by mail 

and 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. 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.16

In addition, you should submit a 

copy, from which you have deleted the 

claimed confidential business 

information, to the Docket by one of the 

methods set forth above. 

Will the Agency Consider Late 

Comments? 

We will consider all comments 

received before the close of business on 

the comment closing date indicated 

above under DATES. To the extent 

possible, we will also consider 

comments received after that date. If a 

comment is received 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 materials placed in 

the docket for this document (e.g., the 

comments submitted in response to this 

document by other interested persons) 

at any time by going to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for accessing the dockets. 

You may also read the materials at the 

Docket Management Facility by going to 

the street address given above under 

ADDRESSES. The Docket Management 

Facility is open between 9 a.m. and 

5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Please note that even after the 

comment closing date, we will continue 

to file relevant information in the 

Docket as it becomes available. 

Furthermore, some people may submit 

late comments. Thus, we recommend 

that you periodically check the Docket 

for new material. 

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 575 

Consumer protection, Motor vehicle 

safety, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

In consideration of the foregoing, 

NHTSA proposes to amend 49 CFR part 

575 as set forth below: 

PART 575—CONSUMER 

INFORMATION 

1. The authority citation for part 575 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 32302, 30111, 30115, 

30117, 30166 and 30168, Pub. L. 104–414, 

114 Stat. 1800, Pub. L. 109–59, Stat. 1144, 15 

U.S.C. 1232(g); delegation of authority at 49 

CFR 1.50. 

2. Section 575.301 is amended by 

revising the section heading and 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 575.301 Vehicle labeling of safety rating 

information (applicable unless a vehicle is 

subject to § 575.302). 

* * * * * 

(b) Application. This section applies 

to automobiles with a GVWR of 10,000 

pounds or less, manufactured on or after 

September 1, 2007, that are required by 

the Automobile Information Disclosure 

Act, 15 U.S.C. 1231–1233, to have price 

sticker labels (Monroney labels), e.g. 

passenger vehicles, station wagons, 

passenger vans, and sport utility 

vehicles, except for vehicles that are 

subject to § 575.302. Model Year 2011 or 

later vehicles manufactured prior to 

September 1, 2010 may, at the 

manufacturer’s option, be labeled 

according to the provisions of § 575.302 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

10750 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

instead of this section provided the 

ratings placed on the safety rating label 

are derived from vehicle testing 

conducted by the National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration that is 

appropriate for Model Year 2011 or later 

vehicles. 

* * * * * 

3. Section 575.302 is added to read as 

follows: 

§ 575.302 Vehicle labeling of safety rating 

information (compliance required for model 

year 2011 and later vehicles manufactured 

on or after September 1, 2010). 

(a) Purpose and Scope. The purpose 

of this section is to aid potential 

purchasers in the selection of new 

passenger motor vehicles by providing 

them with safety rating information 

developed by NHTSA in its New Car 

Assessment Program (NCAP) testing. 

Manufacturers of passenger motor 

vehicles described in paragraph (b) of 

this section are required to include this 

information on the Monroney label. 

Although NHTSA also makes the 

information available through means 

such as postings at http:// 

www.safercar.gov and http:// 

www.nhtsa.dot.gov, the additional 

Monroney label information is intended 

to provide consumers with relevant 

information at the point of sale. 

(b) Application. This section applies 

to automobiles with a GVWR of 10,000 

pounds or less, manufactured on or after 

September 1, 2010 that are declared by 

their manufacturer to be model year 

2011 or later vehicles and that are 

required by the Automobile Information 

Disclosure Act, 15 U.S.C. 1231–1233, to 

have price sticker labels (Monroney 

labels), e.g. passenger vehicles, station 

wagons, passenger vans, and sport 

utility vehicles. Model Year 2011 or 

later vehicles manufactured prior to 

September 1, 2010 may, at the 

manufacturer’s option, be labeled 

according to the provisions of this 

§ 575.302 provided the ratings placed on 

the safety rating label are derived from 

vehicle testing conducted by the 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration that is appropriate for 

Model Year 2011 or later vehicles. 

(c) Definitions—(1) Monroney label 

means the label placed on new 

automobiles with the manufacturer’s 

suggested retail price and other 

consumer information, as specified at 15 

U.S.C. 1231–1233. 

(2) Safety rating label means the label 

with NCAP safety rating information, as 

specified at 15 U.S.C. 1232(g). The 

safety rating label is part of the 

Monroney label. 

(d) Required Label—(1) Except as 

specified in paragraph (f) of this section, 

each vehicle must have a safety rating 

label that is part of its Monroney label, 

meets the requirements specified in 

paragraph (e) of this section, and 

conforms in content, format and 

sequence to the sample label depicted in 

Figure 1 of this section. If NHTSA has 

not provided a safety rating for any 

category of vehicle performance for a 

vehicle, the manufacturer may use the 

smaller label specified in paragraph (f) 

of this section. 

(2) The label must depict the star 

ratings for that vehicle as reported to the 

vehicle manufacturer by NHTSA. 

(3) Whenever NHTSA informs a 

manufacturer in writing of a new safety 

rating for a specified vehicle or the 

continued applicability of an existing 

safety rating for a new model year, 

including any safety concerns, the 

manufacturer shall include the new or 

continued safety rating on vehicles 

manufactured on or after the date 30 

calendar days after receipt by the 

manufacturer of the information. 

(4) If, for a vehicle that has an existing 

safety rating for a category, NHTSA 

informs the manufacturer in writing that 

it has approved an optional NCAP test 

that will cover that category, the 

manufacturer may depict vehicles 

manufactured on or after the date of 

receipt of the information as ‘‘Not Rated’’ 

or ‘‘To Be Rated’’ for that category. 

(5) The text ‘‘Overall Vehicle Score,’’ 

‘‘Frontal Crash,’’ ‘‘Side Crash,’’ 

‘‘Rollover,’’ ‘‘Driver,’’ ‘‘Passenger,’’ ‘‘Front 

Seat,’’ ‘‘Rear Seat’’ and where applicable, 

‘‘Not Rated’’ or ‘‘To Be Rated,’’ the star 

graphic indicating each rating, as well 

as any text in the header and footer 

areas of the label, must have a minimum 

font size of 12 point. All remaining text 

and symbols on the label (including the 

star graphic specified in paragraph 

(e)(9)(i)(A) of this section), must have a 

minimum font size of 8 point. 

(e) Required Information and 

Format—(1) Safety Rating Label Border. 

The safety rating label must be 

surrounded by a solid dark line that is 

a minimum of 3 points in width. 

(2) Safety Rating Label Size and 

Legibility. The safety rating label must 

be presented in a legible, visible, and 

prominent fashion that covers at least 8 

percent of the total area of the 

Monroney label (i.e., including the 

safety rating label) or an area with a 

minimum of 41⁄2 inches in length and 

31⁄2 inches in height on the Monroney 

label, whichever is larger. 

(3) Heading Area. The words 

‘‘Government 5-Star Safety Ratings’’ 

must be in boldface, capital letters that 

are light in color and centered The 

background must be dark. 

(4) Overall Vehicle Score Area. (i) The 

overall vehicle score area must be 

placed immediately below the heading 

area and must have dark text and a light 

background. The overall vehicle score 

rating must be displayed with the 

maximum star rating achieved. 

(ii) The words ‘‘Overall Vehicle Score’’ 

must be in boldface aligned to the left 

side of the label. The achieved star 

rating must be on the same line, aligned 

to the right side of the label. 

(iii) The words ‘‘Based on the 

combined ratings of frontal, side and 

rollover.’’, followed (on the next line) by 

the statement ‘‘Should ONLY be 

compared to other vehicles of similar 

weight class.’’ must be placed at the 

bottom of the overall vehicle score area. 

(iv) If NHTSA has not released the 

star rating for the ‘‘Frontal Crash,’’ ‘‘Side 

Crash,’’ or ‘‘Rollover’’ area, the text ‘‘Not 

Rated’’ must be used in boldface. 

However, as an alternative, the words 

‘‘To Be Rated’’ (in boldface) may be used 

if the manufacturer has received written 

notification from NHTSA that the 

vehicle has been chosen for the NCAP 

frontal, side, and/or rollover testing 

such that there will be ratings in all 

three areas. 

(5) Frontal Crash Area. (i) The frontal 

crash area must be placed immediately 

below the overall vehicle score area, 

separated by a dark line that is a 

minimum of three points in width. The 

text must be dark against a light 

background. Both the driver and the 

right front seat passenger frontal crash 

test ratings must be displayed with the 

maximum star ratings achieved. 

(ii) The words ‘‘Frontal Crash’’ must 

be in boldface, cover two lines, and be 

aligned to the left side of the label. 

(iii) The word ‘‘Driver’’ must be on the 

same line as the word ‘‘Frontal’’ in 

‘‘Frontal Crash,’’ and be left justified, 

horizontally centered and vertically 

aligned at the top of the label. The 

achieved star rating for ‘‘Driver’’ must be 

on the same line, left justified, and 

aligned to the right side of the label. 

(iv) If NHTSA has not released the 

star rating for the ‘‘Driver’’ position, the 

text ‘‘Not Rated’’ must be used in 

boldface. However, as an alternative, the 

words ‘‘To Be Rated’’ (in boldface) may 

be used if the manufacturer has received 

written notification from NHTSA that 

the vehicle has been chosen for NCAP 

testing. Both texts must be on the same 

line as the text ‘‘Driver’’, left justified, 

and aligned to the right side of the label. 

(v) The word ‘‘Passenger’’ must be on 

the same line as the word ‘‘Crash’’ in 

‘‘Frontal Crash,’’ below the word 

‘‘Driver,’’ and be left justified, 

horizontally centered and vertically 

aligned at the top of the label. The 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 10751 

achieved star rating for ‘‘Passenger’’ 

must be on the same line, left justified, 

and aligned to the right side of the label. 

(vi) If NHTSA has not released the 

star rating for ‘‘Passenger,’’ the words 

‘‘Not Rated’’ must be used in boldface. 

However, as an alternative, the words 

‘‘To Be Rated’’ (in boldface) may be used 

if the manufacturer has received written 

notification from NHTSA that the 

vehicle has been chosen for NCAP 

testing. Both texts must be on the same 

line as the text ‘‘Passenger’’, left justified, 

and aligned to the right side of the label. 

(vii) The words ‘‘Based on the risk of 

injury in a frontal impact.’’, followed (on 

the next line) by the statement ‘‘Should 

ONLY be compared to other vehicles of 

similar weight class.’’ must be placed at 

the bottom of the frontal crash area. 

(6) Side Crash Area. (i) The side crash 

area must be immediately below the 

frontal crash area, separated by a dark 

line that is a minimum of three points 

in width. The text must be dark against 

a light background. Both the driver and 

the rear seat passenger side crash test 

rating must be displayed with the 

maximum star rating achieved. 

(ii) The words ‘‘Side Crash’’ must 

cover two lines, and be aligned to the 

left side of the label in boldface. 

(iii) The words ‘‘Front seat’’ must be 

on the same line as the word ‘‘Side’’ in 

‘‘Side Crash’’ and be left justified, 

horizontally centered and vertically 

aligned in the middle of the label. The 

achieved star rating for ‘‘Front seat’’ 

must be on the same line, left justified, 

and aligned to the right side of the label. 

(iv) If NHTSA has not released the 

star rating for ‘‘Front Seat,’’ the words 

‘‘Not Rated’’ must be used in boldface. 

However, as an alternative, the words 

‘‘To Be Rated’’ (in boldface) may be used 

if the manufacturer has received written 

notification from NHTSA that the 

vehicle has been chosen for NCAP 

testing. Both texts must be on the same 

line as the text ‘‘Front seat’’, left 

justified, and aligned to the right side of 

the label. 

(v) The words ‘‘Rear seat’’ must be on 

the same line as the word ‘‘Crash’’ in 

‘‘Side Crash,’’ below the word ‘‘Front 

seat,’’ and be left justified, horizontally 

centered and vertically aligned in the 

middle of the label. The achieved star 

rating for ‘‘Rear seat’’ must be on the 

same line, left justified, and aligned to 

the right side of the label. 

(vi) If NHTSA has not released the 

star rating for ‘‘Rear Seat,’’ the text ‘‘Not 

Rated’’ must be used in boldface. 

However, as an alternative, the text ‘‘To 

Be Rated’’ (in boldface) may be used if 

the manufacturer has received written 

notification from NHTSA that the 

vehicle has been chosen for NCAP 

testing. Both texts must be on the same 

line as the text ‘‘Rear seat’’, left justified, 

and aligned to the right side of the label. 

(vii) The words ‘‘Based on the risk of 

injury in side impact tests.’’ must be 

placed at the bottom of the side crash 

area. 

(7) Rollover Area. (i) The rollover area 

must be immediately below the side 

crash area, separated by a dark line that 

is a minimum of three points in width. 

The text must be dark against a light 

background. The rollover test rating 

must be displayed with the maximum 

star rating achieved. 

(ii) The word ‘‘Rollover’’ must be 

aligned to the left side of the label in 

boldface. The achieved star rating must 

be on the same line, aligned to the right 

side of the label. 

(iii) If NHTSA has not tested the 

vehicle, the words ‘‘Not Rated’’ must be 

used in boldface. However, as an 

alternative, the words ‘‘To Be Rated’’ (in 

boldface) may be used if the 

manufacturer has received written 

notification from NHTSA that the 

vehicle has been chosen for NCAP 

testing. Both texts must be on the same 

line as the text ‘‘Rollover’’, left justified, 

and aligned to the right side of the label. 

(iv) The words ‘‘Based on the risk of 

rollover in a single vehicle crash.’’ must 

be placed at the bottom of the rollover 

area. 

(8) Graphics. The star graphic is 

depicted in Figure 3 and the safety 

concern graphic is depicted in Figure 4. 

(9) Footer Area. The footer area must 

be placed at the bottom of the label; the 

text must be in boldface letters that are 

light in color, and be centered. The 

background must be dark. The text must 

state the following, in the specified 

order, on separate lines: 

(i) ’’ Star ratings range from 1 to 5 stars 

(★★★★★) with 5 being the highest.’’ 

(ii) ‘‘Source: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA)’’ 

(iii) ‘‘www.safercar.gov or 1–888–327– 

4236’’ 

(10) Safety Concern. For vehicle tests 

for which NHTSA reports a safety 

concern as part of the safety rating, and 

for overall vehicle scores that are 

derived from vehicle tests for at least 

one of which NHTSA reports a safety 

concern as part of the safety rating, the 

label must: 

(i) Depict, as a superscript to the star 

rating, the related symbol, as depicted 

in Figure 4 of this section, at 2⁄3 the font 

size of the base star, and 

(ii) Include at the bottom of the 

relevant area (i.e., overall vehicle score 

area, frontal crash area, side crash area, 

rollover area) as the last line of that area, 

in no smaller than 8 point type, the 

related symbol, as depicted in Figure 4 

of this section, as a superscript of the 

rest of the line, and the text ‘‘Safety 

Concern: Visit http://www.safercar.gov 

or call 1–888–327–4236 for more 

details.’’ 

(11) No additional information may be 

provided in the safety rating label area. 

The specified information provided in a 

language other than English is not 

considered to be additional information. 

(f) Smaller Safety Rating Label for 

Vehicles With No Ratings. (1) If NHTSA 

has not released a safety rating for any 

category for a vehicle, the manufacturer 

may use a smaller safety rating label that 

meets paragraphs (f)(2) through (f)(5) of 

this section. A sample label is depicted 

in Figure 2. 

(2) The label must be at least 41⁄2

inches in width and 11⁄2 inches in 

height, and must be surrounded by a 

solid dark line that is a minimum of 3 

points in width. 

(3) Heading Area. The text must read 

‘‘Government 5-Star Safety Ratings’’ and 

be in 14-point boldface, capital letters 

that are light in color, and be centered. 

The background must be dark. 

(4) General Information. The general 

information area must be below the 

header area. The text must be dark and 

the background must be light. The text 

must state the following, in at least 12- 

point font, be left-justified, and aligned 

to the left side of the label: ‘‘This vehicle 

has not been rated by the government 

for overall vehicle score, frontal crash, 

side crash, or rollover risk.’’ 

(5) Footer Area. The footer area must 

be placed at the bottom of the label; the 

text must be in 12-point boldface letters 

that are light in color, and be centered. 

The background must be dark. The text 

must state the following, in the 

specified order, on separate lines: 

(i) ‘‘Source: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA)’’ and 

(ii) ‘‘http://www.safercar.gov or 1– 

888–327–4236’’. 

(6) No additional information may be 

provided in the smaller safety rating 

label area. The specified information 

provided in a language other than 

English is not considered to be 

additional information. 

(g) Labels for alterers. (1) If, pursuant 

to 49 CFR 567.7, a person is required to 

affix a certification label to a vehicle, 

and the vehicle has a safety rating label 

with one or more safety ratings, the 

alterer must also place another label on 

that vehicle as specified in this 

paragraph. 

(2) The additional label (which does 

not replace the one required by 49 CFR 

567.7) must read: ‘‘This vehicle has been 

altered. The stated star ratings on the 

safety rating label may no longer be 

applicable.’’ 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALS

10752 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 

(3) The label must be placed adjacent 

to the Monroney label or as close to it 

as physically possible. 


mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALSER09MR10.001</GPH> ER09MR10.002</GPH>
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 45 / Tuesday, March 9, 2010 / Proposed Rules 10753 

Issued on: March 3, 2010. 

Stephen R. Kratzke, 

Associate Administrator For Rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. 2010–4867 Filed 3–8–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 


mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with PROPOSALSER09MR10.003</GPH> ER09MR10.004</GPH>