Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 25, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 42781 

PART 214—SEALED BIDDING 

■ 4. Section 214.407–3 is amended by 

revising paragraph (e)(v) to read as 

follows: 

214.407–3 Other mistakes disclosed 

before award. 

(e) * * * 

(v) National Geospatial-Intelligence 

Agency: General Counsel, NGA. 

* * * * * 

PART 227—PATENTS, DATA, AND 

COPYRIGHTS 

227.7004 [Amended] 

■ 5. Section 227.7004 is amended in 

paragraph (c)(7) by removing ‘‘Imagery 

and Mapping’’ and adding in its place 

‘‘Geospatial-Intelligence’’. 

PART 237—SERVICE CONTRACTING 

237.7204 [Amended] 

■ 6. Section 237.7204 is amended under 

the heading ‘‘EDUCATIONAL SERVICE 

AGREEMENT Agreement No. llll’’, 

in paragraph 1., by removing ‘‘19ll’’ 

and adding in its place ‘‘ll’’. 

PART 252—SOLICITATION 

PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT 

CLAUSES 

■ 7. Section 252.244–7000 is amended 

by revising the clause date and 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

252.244–7000 Subcontracts for 

Commercial Items and Commercial 

Components (DoD Contracts). 

* * * * * 

Subcontracts for Commercial Items 

and Commercial Components (DoD 

Contracts) (AUG 2009) 

* * * * * 

(a) 252.225–7009 Restriction on 

Acquisition of Certain Articles 

Containing Specialty Metals (10 U.S.C. 

2533b). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E9–20416 Filed 8–24–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–08–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 571 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2009–0151] 

RIN 2127–AK44 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standards; Air Brake Systems 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This document makes 

permanent an existing requirement that 

trailers with antilock brake systems 

(ABS) be equipped with an external 

malfunction indicator lamp. The 

indicator lamp requirement, which is 

included in the Federal motor vehicle 

safety standard that governs air-braked 

vehicles, was originally scheduled to 

sunset on March 1, 2009, but had 

previously been extended to September 

1, 2009. The agency had established a 

sunset date for this requirement in light 

of the increasing numbers of post-2001 

tractors which have an in-cab trailer 

ABS malfunction lamp, making the 

external trailer lamp redundant. We are 

making the requirement permanent in 

light of additional safety purposes 

served by the external lamp, including: 

it not only warns the driver of a 

malfunctioning trailer ABS, but, unlike 

the in-cab lamps, indicates which trailer 

in double and trailer applications has a 

malfunction, and it assists Federal and 

State roadside inspectors and 

maintenance personnel in identifying a 

malfunctioning trailer ABS. This 

rulemaking was conducted in response 

to petitions from the Commercial 

Vehicle Safety Alliance. 

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is 

effective August 31, 2009. Petitions: 

Petitions for reconsideration must be 

received by October 9, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: If you wish to petition for 

reconsideration of this rule, you should 

refer in your petition to the docket 

number of this document and submit 

your petition to: Administrator, 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., West Building, 

Washington, DC, 20590. 

The petition will be placed in the 

docket. Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of all documents 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

document (or signing the document, 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.dot.gov/ 

privacy.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

non-legal issues, you may call Mr. 

George Soodoo, Office of Crash 

Avoidance Standards (Phone: 202–366– 

4931; FAX: 202–366–7002). For legal 

issues, you may call Mr. Ari Scott, 

Office of the Chief Counsel (Phone: 202– 

366–2992; FAX: 202–366–3820). You 

may send mail to these officials at: 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Background 

II. Comments 

III. Response to Comments and Agency 

Decision 

IV. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices 

I. Background 

The final rule requiring antilock brake 

systems (ABS) on truck tractors, other 

air-braked heavy vehicles including 

trailers, and hydraulic-braked trucks 

was published in the Federal Register 

(60 FR 13216) on March 10, 1995. As 

amended by that final rule, FMVSS No. 

121, Air Brake Systems, required two 

separate in-cab ABS malfunction 

indicator lamps for each truck tractor, 

one for the tractor’s ABS (effective 

March 1, 1997) and the other for the 

trailer’s ABS (effective March 1, 2001). 

The final rule also required air-braked 

trailers to be equipped with an 

externally mounted ABS malfunction 

lamp (effective March 1, 1998) so that 

the driver of a non-ABS equipped 

tractor or an ABS-equipped tractor 

manufactured prior to March 1, 2001, 

towing an ABS-equipped trailer would 

be alerted in the event of a malfunction 

in the trailer ABS. 

The requirement for the trailermounted ABS malfunction indicator 

lamp was originally scheduled to expire 

on March 1, 2009. The National 

Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

(NHTSA) established this sunset date, 

based on the assumption that, after this 

eight-year period, many of the pre-2001 

tractors without the dedicated trailer 

ABS malfunction indicator lamp would 

no longer be in long-haul service. The 

agency based its decision on the belief 

that the typical tractor life was five to 

seven years, and therefore decided on 

an eight-year period for the external 

ABS malfunction indicator lamp 

requirement. We further stated our 

belief that there would be no need for 

a redundant ABS malfunction lamp 

mounted on the trailer after the vast 

majority of tractors were equipped with 

an in-cab ABS malfunction indicator 

lamp for the trailer. 

Before the trailer-mounted ABS 

malfunction indicator lamp requirement 

expired, NHTSA received two petitions 

from the Commercial Vehicle Safety 

Alliance (CVSA). CVSA is an 

international not-for-profit organization 

comprised of local, State, provincial, 

territorial and Federal motor carrier 

safety officials and industry 


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1The OOIDA comment was submitted prior to 

NRPM in support of the CVSA petition. 

2 Docket NHTSA–2009–0038–0009, p. 2, available 

at http://www.regulations.gov. 

3 Docket NHTSA–2009–0038–0017, p. 3, available 

at http://www.regulations.gov. 

representatives from the United States, 

Canada, and Mexico. 

On October 22, 2007, CVSA 

petitioned NHTSA to make the trailermounted external antilock malfunction 

indicator lamp permanent instead of 

allowing it to expire. CVSA included in 

its petition suggested regulatory text 

along with its rationale for why the 

extension should be permanent. On 

October 15, 2008, CVSA again 

petitioned NHTSA to amend FMVSS 

No. 121, requesting that the agency 

issue a stay of the sunset date of March 

1, 2009 for the external ABS warning 

lamp. CVSA stated that a stay would 

prevent a time gap in the regulation, 

while NHTSA continued to evaluate 

CVSA’s 2007 petition. CVSA stated that 

the vehicle inspection process has 

already been complicated by the 

phased-in ABS and ABS malfunction 

indicator lamp requirements, and a time 

gap would further complicate the 

inspection process and cause additional 

confusion for drivers and maintenance 

personnel. 

On March 3, 2009, the agency 

concurrently published an interim final 

rule extending the sunset date for the 

requirement by six months, to 

September 1, 2009 (74 FR 9173), and a 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

to extend the requirement to March 1, 

2011 (74 FR 9202). In the latter notice, 

the agency explained that it expected to 

be able to fully analyze the issues raised 

by the CVSA petitions and further 

address them prior to March 1, 2011. 

The agency also indicated that if it was 

able to fully resolve the outstanding 

issues it could make the requirement 

permanent in a final rule based on the 

NPRM. 

The rationale put forth by CVSA, in 

its 2007 petition, for making the 

requirement permanent included four 

points. The first point was that there 

were still expected to be many pre-2001 

tractors in use when the malfunction 

indicator lamp requirement was set to 

expire (at the time, March 1, 2009). 

These tractors do not have the in-cab 

trailer ABS malfunction indicator lamp 

that was perceived to render the 

external lamp redundant. Second, CVSA 

argued that for double and triple trailer 

applications, it will not be possible to 

determine, from an in-cab lamp alone, 

which trailer ABS is malfunctioning 

without external lamps. Third, CVSA 

stated that many trailer repair shops rely 

on the external lamp to quickly 

diagnose the operational status of the 

trailer ABS without having to couple a 

post-2001 tractor to the trailer. With an 

external indicator lamp, any age tractor 

can be used, making inspection 

significantly easier. Fourth, the petition 

argued that without the external lamp, 

the signal from the in-cab lamp may be 

confusing, as it may indicate either a 

malfunctioning in-cab bulb, a 

functioning pre-1998 trailer (with no 

ABS), a problem with the 

communication circuit between the 

trailer and tractor, or a malfunctioning 

ABS. The external lamp helps to 

diagnose the situation further. 

II. Summary of Comments 

Overview 

NHTSA received a number of 

comments in response to the two March 

3, 2009 Federal Register notices. All 

commenters addressing the issue 

supported the extension provided in the 

interim final rule and some further 

extension, with varying time periods for 

the further extension. 

The American Trucking Associations 

(ATA), a trade association representing 

trucking companies, supported 

extending the trailer external lamp 

requirement until March 1, 2011, the 

date proposed in the NPRM, but argued 

against making the requirement 

permanent. The Truck Trailer 

Manufacturers Association (TTMA) 

supported extending the requirement to 

March 1, 2010. The American Moving 

and Storage Association (AMSA), which 

represents moving services and handlers 

of specialized freight, supported 

extending the requirement through 2011 

in order to prevent a ‘‘gap’’ in the 

requirements, but did not offer a 

position on whether the requirement 

should be made permanent. 

Two associations submitted 

comments supporting the permanent 

extension of the requirements, the 

Heavy Duty Brake Manufacturers 

Association (HDMA), which represents 

manufacturers of braking systems and 

components, and the Owner-Operator 

Independent Drivers Association 

(OOIDA).1 Other commenters 

supporting a permanent extension of the 

external lamp requirement included 

Meritor WABCO, a supplier of air and 

hydraulic antilock brake systems (ABS), 

air disc brakes, air compressors, brake 

control valves and electronic 

components for medium and heavy duty 

trucks, buses, and trailers, and 

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety 

(Advocates). CVSA, the petitioner, also 

submitted comments supporting a 

permanent extension. 

NHTSA also received information 

from the University of Michigan 

Transportation Research Institute 

(UMTRI). 

Whether at Least a Limited Extension Is 

Needed 

Every commenter addressing the 

issue, with one exception, supported 

extending the external malfunction 

indicator lamp requirement to at least 

March 1, 2011. TTMA supported a 

shorter extension, to March 1, 2010, to 

coincide with the sunset date of the 

external lamp requirement in Canada. 

AMSA, making an argument for 

continuity of the requirement, stated 

that it supported the extension until 

2011 because it would be extremely 

disruptive for carriers to cease current 

maintenance of external ABS indicators, 

and then be required to resume the 

current practices at a later date. 

Several commenters provided data 

indicating that relatively large numbers 

of pre-2001 tractors are still in use, and 

that therefore there is still at least a 

temporary need for the trailer-mounted 

lamp. The HDMA provided information 

from R.L. Polk & Co. regarding vehicle 

age date, which stated that 58.5 percent 

of registered tractors were built prior to 

March 1, 2001.2 Meritor WABCO also 

provided this figure in its comments. 

Information obtained from UMTRI, 

Center for National Truck and Bus 

Statistics, also provided information on 

the numbers of pre-2001 tractors in use. 

UMTRI analyzed two crash data files to 

estimate the proportion of tractors with 

model year 2000 and prior: (1) The 

General Estimates System (GES) file 

compiled by NHTSA, which is a 

nationally representative sample file of 

all police-reportable traffic crashes, and 

(2) the Trucks Involved in Fatal 

Accidents (TIFA) file, compiled by 

UMTRI, which is a census of all 

medium and heavy trucks involved in 

fatal crashes in the U.S. Based on 

accident analysis from the GES and the 

TIFA file, UMTRI estimated that 29–30 

percent of the exposed population of 

tractors has a model year of 2000 or 

earlier.3 The ‘‘exposure’’ in crashes is 

primarily related to vehicle miles 

traveled. 

Whether the Requirement Should Be 

Made Permanent 

We note that the decision whether to 

make the requirement for the external 

trailer lamp permanent presents 

different issues than a temporary 

extension. There are two potential 

reasons for a temporary extension. First, 

as discussed in the NPRM, an extension 

to March 1, 2011 would give the agency 

additional time to do further analyses 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 25, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 42783 

4 0038–0013, p. 2. 

5 Docket NHTSA–2009–0038–0019, available at 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

6 Docket NHTSA–2009–0038–0008, p. 2, available 

at http://www.regulations.gov. 

7 71 FR 7614, Feb 13, 2006. 

8 Docket NHTSA–2009–0038–0004, available at 

http://www.regulations.gov. We note that this 

comment was superseded by the comment 

submitted April 2, 2009 (Docket NHTSA–2009– 

0038–0016). 

9 Docket NHTSA–2009–0038–0013, p. 2, available 

at http://www.regulations.gov. 

10 Docket NHTSA–2009–0038–0008, p. 1, 

available at http://www.regulations.gov. 

11 Docket NHTSA–2009–0038–0014, p. 2, 

available at http://www.regulations.gov. 

related to CVSA’s request for a 

permanent extension, while avoiding a 

potential confusing time gap in the 

vehicles subject to the requirement. 

Second, even if NHTSA did not make 

the existing requirement permanent, a 

further temporary extension could be 

needed given the relatively large 

numbers of pre-2001 tractors that are 

still in use. Since the numbers of pre2001 tractors will over time become 

increasingly small, the case for a 

permanent requirement is predicated on 

the benefits that the external lamp 

provides even when coupled with the 

in-cab trailer ABS indicator present on 

tractors built after March 1, 2001. 

A number of commenters which 

supported CVSA’s petition to make the 

external lamp requirement permanent 

cited the utility of the external lamp for 

trailer inspection and diagnostic 

purposes. There were several reasons 

given in the comments, including 

benefits related to redundancy of the 

external lamp, the lamp serves to 

facilitate inspections and repair of 

trailer ABS, and the utility of the lamp 

in multiple trailer applications. 

Additionally, several commenters noted 

the centrality of a functioning ABS with 

regard to recent safety developments, 

such as electronic stability control (ESC) 

systems, that could be negatively 

impacted by faulty ABS. 

One reason given to support the 

permanent extension of the external 

lamp is simple redundancy and utility 

of the external lamp, with Advocates 

noting that ‘‘if a combination vehicle 

* * * suffers loss of the in-cab ABS 

malfunction indicator, the only fail-safe 

means on the road of determining 

whether the ABS is still functioning is 

the external trailer, semi-trailer, or dolly 

ABS lamp.’’ 4 Similarly, OOIDA stated 

that the external lamp provides a 

‘‘reliable and readily identifiable 

method for drivers, roadside inspectors, 

and maintenance personnel to 

determine the operational status of the 

affected towed units.’’ 5 CVSA 

commented on the multitude of possible 

vehicle systems dependent on 

functioning ABS, such as rollover 

stability systems, electronic stability 

control, and adaptive cruise control, as 

adding importance to the ability of 

various parties to identify 

malfunctioning ABS in trailers. 

In arguing against a permanent 

extension of the requirement, the ATA 

used the redundancy argument as well. 

ATA stated that it believes the extension 

for the ABS warning lamp is warranted 

so long as there are still tractors 

operating without functional in-cab 

systems. As to a permanent extension, 

however, it argued that the in-cab 

malfunction indicator lamp is a more 

useful warning signal to drivers than the 

external lamp, and that it does not 

believe the external trailer ABS 

malfunction lamp should be required on 

trailers matched with tractors with incab systems beyond 2011 solely as an 

aid for roadside inspection. ATA also 

stated that there are other tools to check 

the trailer ABS at a roadside inspection, 

if monitoring the in-cab dash warning 

lamp is not practical or safe for the 

inspector. Acknowledging that the 

external lamp did have some value, the 

ATA stated that some of its members 

wanted the light continued as an option, 

especially those who operate double 

and triple trailer combinations 

(discussed below). 

Commenters including Meritor 

WABCO stated that the external lamp 

enhances the inspection and 

maintenance of ABS on trailers and 

dollies. Meritor WABCO pointed out a 

recent Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration study indicating that 15 

percent and 30 percent of tractor and 

trailer ABS, respectively, indicated 

potential operational problems,6

implying that additional means to 

identify and correct these problems 

should be considered. Meritor WABCO 

cited a NHTSA statement that the intent 

of the lamp was, in part, to ‘‘to inform 

operators * * * and to facilitate * * * 

and * * * encourage repairs of faulty 

ABS systems.’’ 7 Meritor WABCO also 

stated that when conducting 

diagnostics, the lack of a trailermounted indicator would require that a 

trailer be coupled to a post-2001 tractor 

in order to determine the status of the 

trailer ABS. Similarly, in its comments 

to the original 2007 CVSA petition, 

TTMA noted that ‘‘the lamp mounted 

externally allows additional people 

such as shop personnel to see if the ABS 

system is operable.’’ 8 CVSA reiterated 

this argument from its petition in its 

comments submitted to NHTSA. And 

even though it argued against making 

the lamp requirement permanent, in its 

comments, the ATA noted that the 

external lamp helped in troubleshooting 

problems. 

Several commenters emphasized that 

the external malfunction indicator lamp 

provides more pertinent information 

than the in-cab lamp with regard to 

multiple trailer configurations, where a 

single tractor tows two or three trailers, 

each equipped with an ABS. This is 

because while the in-cab lamp may 

indicate a malfunction, it will not 

provide specific information as to which 

trailer is experiencing a malfunctioning 

ABS. While it did not support making 

the requirement permanent, in its 

comment the ATA noted that members 

with multiple trailer operations found 

the external lamp useful for 

troubleshooting. Advocates and CVSA 

also made this argument, with 

Advocates stating that ‘‘on multi-trailer 

combinations when each trailer is fitted 

with ABS, a driver needs to be able to 

verify that each trailing unit has 

operable ABS.’’ 9

Finally, Meritor WABCO provided 

some guidance in its comments with 

regard to the cost of the external lamp. 

Specifically, the commenter stated that 

‘‘all trailer wiring harnesses have been 

modified to accommodate the indicator 

lamp so making it a permanent 

requirement would not require any 

additional changes of expense to the 

vehicle OEMs or the end user.’’ 10

Furthermore, the ATA comment stated 

that improvements in the external lamp 

circuit have eliminated previous 

maintenance issues that had caused 

expenses.11

III. Response to Comments and Agency 

Decision 

After carefully considering the 

comments, and for the reasons 

discussed below, we have decided to 

make the requirement that trailers with 

ABS be equipped with an external 

antilock malfunction indicator lamp 

permanent. 

We are making this decision because 

the external lamp provides information 

that assists maintenance personnel and 

roadside inspectors, provides important 

diagnostic information, and provides 

detailed important information for 

multiple trailer applications. NHTSA 

believes that these benefits of the 

external lamp warrant the permanent 

extension of the requirement. 

We believe that trailer maintenance 

operations would be inconvenienced by 

having to couple a trailer to a post-2001 

tractor or use additional specialized 

equipment in order to diagnose the state 

of a trailer’s ABS, when right now a 

standardized trailer-mounted lamp 


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42784 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 25, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 

provides the same information. This 

inconvenience could diminish the 

effectiveness of some maintenance 

operations. Furthermore, the external 

lamps provide otherwise-unavailable 

information to both drivers and roadside 

inspectors with regard to multiple 

trailer combinations. Without them, the 

in-cab information can only indicate the 

existence of a malfunctioning trailer 

ABS. The external lamps can pinpoint 

which trailer’s ABS is malfunctioning, 

allowing drivers or inspectors to take 

the appropriate remedial action. 

We note that since we are making the 

requirement permanent because of the 

benefits the external lamp provides even 

when coupled with the in-cab trailer 

ABS indicator present on tractors built 

after March 1, 2001, it is unnecessary to 

address the numbers of pre-2001 

tractors that are still in use. 

As indicated above, we stated in the 

NPRM that we might make the 

requirement permanent if we could 

fully resolve the outstanding issues. We 

have specifically considered whether 

there are any unresolved issues for 

which additional analysis would be 

beneficial to the agency in reaching a 

decision on this issue. We have 

concluded that there are no issues for 

which further analyses are needed prior 

to making a decision. All trailers 

manufactured after March 1, 1998 have 

already been required to comply with 

the requirement, so manufacturers and 

users are familiar with these systems. 

Furthermore, all trailer wiring harnesses 

have already been modified to 

accommodate the external lamp, and 

there are relatively few maintenance 

issues, thereby minimizing the costs of 

this requirement. Finally, Federal and 

State inspectors and maintenance 

operations successfully use the lamps as 

part of their current procedures in order 

to obtain the benefits discussed in this 

document. 

In stating that we are making the 

existing requirement permanent, we do 

not mean to imply that we would not 

readdress this issue in future 

rulemaking if new developments were 

to make the requirement unnecessary. In 

its comments, ATA stated that in the 

future, wireless transmissions of the 

vehicle fault messages will be the means 

of inspection which will make external 

malfunction lamps obsolete. Our 

decision today reflects current designs 

and inspection and maintenance 

practices developed in light of those 

designs. If future designs and new 

inspection and maintenance practices 

should make the external malfunction 

lamps obsolete, we will take appropriate 

action at that time. 

We find good cause for making 

today’s final rule effective on August 31, 

2009. This is necessary to avoid a 

confusing time gap in the vehicles 

subject to the requirement. Moreover, 

since trailer manufacturers are required 

to meet the requirement for the trailers 

they are currently manufacturing, this 

effective date will not result in any new 

burdens. 

IV. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices 

Executive Order 12866 and DOT 

Regulatory Policies and Procedures 

This action was not reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget under 

E.O. 12866. The agency has considered 

the impact of this action under the 

Department of Transportation’s 

regulatory policies and procedures (44 

FR 11034; February 26, 1979), and has 

determined that it is not ‘‘significant’’ 

under them. 

This document makes permanent the 

existing antilock malfunction indicator 

lamp requirement, which had been 

scheduled to expire September 1, 2009. 

When the agency published its March 

10, 1995 Final Rule, we estimated the 

costs of the lamp and the associated 

wiring to be approximately $9.43 (in 

2007 dollars $12.82). In 2007 dollars, 

assuming 189,000 trailer units and that 

same unit costs we estimate the total 

cost to be approximately $2.4 million 

per year. However, we note that since 

all trailers manufactured after March 1, 

1998 have already been complying with 

the requirement and that the agency is 

merely making permanent the 

requirement, the impact on costs is 

likely much lower than this figure 

indicates. While not supplying a lamp 

could result in a trailer that could be 

made for a few dollars less, we estimate 

the costs to be so minimal that 

preparation of a full regulatory 

evaluation is not required. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq., NHTSA has 

evaluated the effects of this action on 

small entities. I hereby certify that this 

rule will not have a significant impact 

on a substantial number of small 

entities. This document merely makes 

permanent the requirement for an 

external indicator lamp in FMVSS No. 

121. No other changes are made. Small 

organizations and small government 

units will not be significantly affected 

since this action will not affect the price 

of new motor vehicles. Trailer 

manufacturers will not be required to 

install new systems but rather continue 

to install the systems they are already 

installing. 

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism) 

NHTSA has examined today’s rule 

pursuant to Executive Order 13132 (64 

FR 43255, August 10, 1999) and 

concluded that no additional 

consultation with States, local 

governments or their representatives is 

mandated beyond the rulemaking 

process. The agency has concluded that 

the rule does not have federalism 

implications because it does 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.’’ 

Further, no consultation is needed to 

discuss the issue of preemption in 

connection with today’s rule. The issue 

of preemption can arise in connection 

with NHTSA rules in at least two ways. 

First, the National Traffic and Motor 

Vehicle Safety Act contains an express 

preemption provision: ‘‘When a motor 

vehicle safety standard is in effect under 

this chapter, a State or a political 

subdivision of a State may prescribe or 

continue in effect a standard applicable 

to the same aspect of performance of a 

motor vehicle or motor vehicle 

equipment only if the standard is 

identical to the standard prescribed 

under this chapter.’’ 49 U.S.C. 

30103(b)(1). It is this statutory command 

that unavoidably preempts State 

legislative and administrative law, not 

today’s rulemaking, so consultation 

would be unnecessary. 

Second, the Supreme Court has 

recognized the possibility of implied 

preemption: in some instances, State 

requirements imposed on motor vehicle 

manufacturers, including sanctions 

imposed by State tort law, can stand as 

an obstacle to the accomplishment and 

execution of a NHTSA safety standard. 

When such a conflict is discerned, the 

Supremacy Clause of the Constitution 

makes the State requirements 

unenforceable. See Geier v. American 

Honda Motor Co., 529 U.S. 861 (2000). 

However, NHTSA has considered the 

nature and purpose of today’s rule and 

does not currently foresee any potential 

State requirements that might conflict 

with it. Without any conflict, there 

could not be any implied preemption. 

Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice 

Reform) 

With respect to the review of the 

promulgation of a new regulation, 

section 3(b) of Executive Order 12988, 

‘‘Civil Justice Reform’’ (61 FR 4729, 

February 7, 1996) requires that 

Executive agencies make every 

reasonable effort to ensure that the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 163 / Tuesday, August 25, 2009 / Rules and Regulations 42785 

regulation: (1) Clearly specifies the 

preemptive effect; (2) clearly specifies 

the effect on existing Federal law or 

regulation; (3) provides a clear legal 

standard for affected conduct, while 

promoting simplification and burden 

reduction; (4) clearly specifies the 

retroactive effect, if any; (5) adequately 

defines key terms; and (6) addresses 

other important issues affecting clarity 

and general draftsmanship under any 

guidelines issued by the Attorney 

General. This document is consistent 

with that requirement. 

Pursuant to this Order, NHTSA notes 

as follows. The issue of preemption is 

discussed above in connection with E.O. 

13132. NHTSA notes further that there 

is no requirement that individuals 

submit a petition for reconsideration or 

pursue other administrative proceeding 

before they may file suit in court. 

Protection of Children From 

Environmental Health and Safety Risks 

Executive Order 13045, ‘‘Protection of 

Children from Environmental Health 

and Safety Risks’’ (62 FR 19855, April 

23, 1997), applies to any rule that: (1) 

Is determined to be ‘‘economically 

significant’’ as defined under Executive 

Order 12866, and (2) concerns an 

environmental, health, or safety risk that 

the agency has reason to believe may 

have a disproportionate effect on 

children. If the regulatory action meets 

both criteria, the agency must evaluate 

the environmental health or safety 

effects of the planned rule on children, 

and explain why the planned regulation 

is preferable to other potentially 

effective and reasonably feasible 

alternatives considered by the agency. 

This rule is not expected to affect 

children and it is not an economically 

significant regulatory action under 

Executive Order 12866. Consequently, 

no further analysis is required under 

Executive Order 13045. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act 

of 1995 (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. There is not any information 

collection requirement associated with 

this rule. 

National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (NTTAA), Public Law 104– 

113, (15 U.S.C. 272) directs the agency 

to evaluate and use voluntary consensus 

standards in its regulatory activities 

unless doing so would be inconsistent 

with applicable law or is otherwise 

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. The NTTAA 

directs us to provide Congress (through 

OMB) with explanations when we 

decide not to use available and 

applicable voluntary consensus 

standards. There are no voluntary 

consensus standards developed by 

voluntary consensus standards bodies 

pertaining to this rule. 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 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 

(adjusted for inflation with base year of 

1995). This rule will not result in 

expenditures by State, local or Tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector in excess of $100 million 

annually. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

NHTSA has analyzed this rulemaking 

action for the purposes of the National 

Environmental Policy Act. The agency 

has determined that implementation of 

this action will not have any significant 

impact on the quality of the human 

environment. 

Executive Order 13211 

Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, 

May 18, 2001) applies to any 

rulemaking that: (1) Is determined to be 

economically significant as defined 

under E.O. 12866, and is likely to have 

a significantly adverse effect on the 

supply of, distribution of, or use of 

energy; or (2) that is designated by the 

Administrator of the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs as a 

significant energy action. This 

rulemaking is not subject to E.O. 13211. 

Regulatory Identifier Number (RIN) 

The Department of Transportation 

assigns a regulation identifier number 

(RIN) to each regulatory action listed in 

the Unified Agenda of Federal 

Regulations. The Regulatory Information 

Service Center publishes the Unified 

Agenda in April and October of each 

year. You may use the RIN contained in 

the heading at the beginning of this 

document to find this action in the 

Unified Agenda. 

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://www.regulations.gov. 

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 571 

Imports, Motor vehicle safety, Motor 

vehicles, and Tires. 

■ In consideration of the foregoing, 

NHTSA is amending 49 CFR part 571 as 

set forth below. 

PART 571—FEDERAL MOTOR 

VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS 

■ 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. 

■ 2. Section 571.121 is amended by 

revising S5.2.3.3(a) to read as follows: 

§ 571.121; Standard No. 121; Air brake 

systems. 

* * * * * 

S5.2.3.3 Antilock malfunction 

indicator. 

(a) In addition to the requirements of 

S5.2.3.2, each trailer and trailer 

converter dolly shall be equipped with 

an external antilock malfunction 

indicator lamp that meets the 

requirements of S5.2.3.3 (b) through (d). 

* * * * * 

Issued: August 19, 2009. 

Ronald L. Medford, 

Acting Deputy Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E9–20387 Filed 8–24–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 


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