Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Proposed Rules 80685 

1 82 FR 3854. 

2 DSRC is a short-range wireless technology that 

would provide local, nearly instantaneous message 

transmission with good reliability, critical 

characteristics for detecting potential and imminent 

crash scenarios. 

3 Detailed in a Public Notice from the FCC: 

https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/ 

FCC-16-68A1_Rcd.pdf. 

E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism 

This action does not have federalism 

implications. It will not have substantial 

direct effects on the States, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. 

F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation 

and Coordination With Indian Tribal 

Governments 

This action does not have Tribal 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13175. Thus, Executive Order 

13175 does not apply to this action. 

G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of 

Children From Environmental Health 

Risks and Safety Risks Populations and 

Low-Income Populations 

EPA interprets Executive Order 13045 

as applying only to those regulatory 

actions that concern environmental 

health or safety risks that EPA has 

reason to believe may 

disproportionately affect children, per 

the definition of ‘‘covered regulatory 

action’’ in section 2–202 of the 

Executive Order. 

Therefore, this action is not subject to 

Executive Order 13045 because it does 

not concern an environmental health 

risk or safety risk. Since this action does 

not concern human health, EPA’s Policy 

on Children’s Health also does not 

apply. 

H. Executive Order 13211: Actions 

Concerning Regulations That 

Significantly Affect Energy Supply, 

Distribution, or Use 

This action is not a ‘‘significant 

energy action’’ because it is not likely to 

have a significant adverse effect on the 

supply, distribution or use of energy 

because this action only solicits 

comments on regulatory alternatives for 

small businesses. 

I. National Technology Transfer and 

Advancement Act (NTTAA) and 1 CFR 

Part 51 

This rulemaking does not involve 

technical standards. 

J. Executive Order 12898: Federal 

Actions To Address Environmental 

Justice in Minority Populations and 

Low-Income Populations and Executive 

Order 14096: Revitalizing Our Nation’s 

Commitment to Environmental Justice 

for All 

The EPA believes that this type of 

action does not concern human health 

or environmental conditions and 

therefore cannot be evaluated with 

respect to potentially disproportionate 

and adverse effects on communities 

with environmental justice concerns 

because this action only solicits 

comments on regulatory alternatives for 

small businesses. 

Michael S. Regan, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25580 Filed 11–17–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 571 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2016–0126] 

RIN 2127–AL55 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standards; V2V Communications 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S. 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Withdrawal of proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration withdraws a 

previous proposal to create a new 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 

requiring vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) 

communications in new light vehicles. 

After the advent of new V2V 

communications protocol, and after a 

recent Federal Communications 

Commission (FCC) decision regarding 

the regulations governing the 5.850– 

5.895 gigahertz (5.9 GHz) band, the 

agency has decided to withdraw its V2V 

proposed rule. 

DATES: NHTSA is withdrawing the 

proposed rule published January 12, 

2017 (82 FR 3854) as of November 20, 

2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua Fikentscher, Office of Crash 

Avoidance Standards, by telephone at 

202–366–1688, by email 

joshua.fikentscher@dot.gov and by fax 

at 202–493–2990. Rebecca Schade, 

Office of the Chief Counsel, by 

telephone at 202–366–2992, and by 

email at rebecca.schade@dot.gov. 

Mailing address: National Highway 

Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New 

Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 

20590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background on V2V Technology 

Vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology 

consists of systems that enable vehicles 

to broadcast Basic Safety Messages 

(BSMs) about their speed, heading, 

brake status, and other vehicle 

information using the radiofrequency 

spectrum, and to receive the same 

information from surrounding vehicles 

also equipped with the technology. 

When received in a timely manner, this 

information could help vehicle systems 

identify potential crash situations with 

other vehicles and provide warning 

messages to their drivers. V2V 

technology is distinct from ‘‘vehicleresident’’ technologies (e.g., camera and 

sensor-based systems) and would 

operate separately from, or 

complementarily to, advanced driver 

assistance systems. V2V employs signals 

which can be received around corners 

or other physical obstructions and in 

suboptimal weather and light 

conditions, without line-of-sight 

limitations that vehicle-resident 

technologies can face. 

Summary of the Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking 

On January 12, 2017, the agency 

published a notice of proposed 

rulemaking (NPRM) to create a new 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 

(FMVSS) for V2V communications, 

which NHTSA proposed to designate as 

FMVSS No. 150.1 The NPRM proposed 

to mandate V2V communication 

technology in all new light vehicles 

based on DSRC radiofrequency 

transmissions,2 and also proposed a 

pathway for vehicles to comply using 

non-DSRC technology if certain 

performance and interoperability 

standards were met. The NPRM further 

proposed technical requirements for the 

content, security, and handling of V2V 

messages as well as system 

requirements more broadly. While the 

NPRM proposed to allow compliance 

using non-DSRC technologies, all of the 

technical requirements (and 

expectations about the effectiveness of 

V2V communications at helping 

vehicles to prevent crashes) were based 

on DSRC, and the proposal would have 

required non-DSRC technologies to be 

interoperable with DSRC. 

The NPRM also discussed the 

possibility that the 5.9 gigahertz (GHz) 

band of radiofrequency spectrum in 

which DSRC has operated might be 

modified and/or opened to unlicensed 

devices, such as cordless telephones 

and outdoor broadband transceivers.3

NHTSA sought comment on what that 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
80686 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

4Comments are available in Docket No. NHTSA– 

2016–0126 at http://www.regulations.gov. 5LTE, Long-Term Evolution, is a predecessor to 

3G cellular technology and a precursor to 4G 

cellular technology. 

6 Detailed in a First Report and Order, Further 

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Order of 

Proposed Modification, document FCC–CIRC2011– 

01, which can be found at https://docs.fcc.gov/ 

public/attachments/DOC-367827A1.pdf. 

7https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-23- 

343A1.pdf. 

8See, e.g., https://www.transportation.gov/ 

content/safety-band (last accessed Aug. 22, 2023). 

might mean for the effectiveness or 

viability of V2V systems using DSRC 

technology. 

Summary of Comments 

NHTSA received 492 comments 

regarding the 2017 NPRM.4 More than 

100 comments were submitted by 

organizations including, but not limited 

to: automotive manufacturers, suppliers 

and associations, and wireless 

companies and associations. There were 

also comments from consumer and trade 

associations, nonprofits, think tanks, 

and Federal, State, and local 

governments, and more than 350 

comments were received from 

individual citizens. Most organizations 

expressed broad support for mandating 

V2V technology on all new light 

vehicles and had various comments 

about the technical implementation 

thereof. Most individual citizens who 

commented expressed concerns about 

cybersecurity, privacy, and 

electromagnetic hypersensitivity, 

though some supported a V2V mandate 

for its potential safety benefits. 

Commenters also addressed the FCC 

proposals to allow sharing of the 5.9 

GHz radio frequency band. 

Approximately 20 automotive 

organizations addressed these 

proposals. The general consensus 

among commenters was that the specific 

V2V mandate proposed in the NPRM 

would need to be revisited should there 

be changes to the regulations governing 

the use of the 5.9 GHz band. 

New Technologies 

Since the release of the NPRM, one 

potential alternative for DSRC, LTE 5

Cellular-V2X, or LTE C–V2X, has 

emerged and is supported by some 

industry stakeholders as an alternative 

to DSRC. While based on cellular 

technology, LTE C–V2X offers device-todevice communications without the 

need for a cell tower to schedule and 

relay messages. Standards organizations 

that helped develop 5G cellular 

technology are also working on a 5Gbased version of C–V2X (5G C–V2X) 

that will focus on device-to-device 

communications with the potential for 

enhanced performance over either DSRC 

or LTE C–V2X, and potentially allow for 

further advancements in vehicle 

platooning, advanced driving, extended 

sensors, and remote driving. 

Revisions to the 5.9 GHz Regulations 

On November 18, 2020, the FCC 

issued a final rule which approved a 

reallocation of the 5.9 GHz spectrum 6

that reassigns the lower 45 MHz of the 

previously reserved spectrum for 

unlicensed use. It further requires that 

20 MHz of the 30 MHz remaining for 

transportation use transition from DSRC 

to cellular vehicle-to-everything (C– 

V2X) technology. Of note, on April 24, 

2023, the FCC granted a joint waiver 

allowing deployment of C–V2X 

technology.7 The U.S. Department of 

Transportation, in cooperation with the 

NTIA, DoD, NASA and NSF, conducted 

a data-driven technical analysis to 

inform the FCC with the relevant 

information to make a determination on 

the technical parameters requested in 

the waiver. The FCC’s April 24 action 

allows proponents of C–V2X use of the 

upper 30 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band for 

deployment. DOT has ongoing, active 

research in the area of whether and how 

C–V2X could support safety-critical 

technologies.8

Rationale for Withdrawal 

NHTSA and the DOT believe that V2V 

and other vehicle-to-everything (V2X) 

technologies hold tremendous promise 

to improve safety and to offer innovative 

services to consumers. The record in 

response to the NPRM supports this 

conclusion. 

However, given the advent of new 

V2V communications protocol, and the 

revised regulations governing the 5.9 

GHz band, the agency believes a 

regulatory action to revise the proposed 

rulemaking cannot be reasonably 

accomplished at this time. For this 

reason, the agency has decided to 

withdraw the V2V rule at this time. 

Conclusion 

NHTSA does not believe it is 

reasonable to move forward with the 

proposal. Based on its evaluation of the 

available information, NHTSA has 

concluded that significant analysis must 

be conducted before determining 

whether a V2V standard is appropriate, 

and, if so, what that standard would 

encompass. Accordingly, NHTSA 

withdraws the NPRM. NHTSA will 

continue to monitor the development of 

V2V technology for possible future 

vehicle safety applications. The NPRM 

published in the Federal Register 

January 12, 2017, at 82 FR 3854, is 

withdrawn. 

Issued in Washington, DC, under authority 

delegated in 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.5. 

Ann Carlson, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25519 Filed 11–17–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P 


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