13460 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Notices 

the facts do not appear to warrant a 

hearing. If any interested party desires 

an opportunity for oral comment, they 

should notify FRA, in writing, before 

the end of the comment period and 

specify the basis for their request. 

All communications concerning these 

proceedings should identify the 

appropriate docket number and may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Web site: http://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: Docket Operations Facility, 

U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 

New Jersey Avenue SE., W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Room W12–140, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal Holidays. 

Communications received by April 

27, 2015 will be considered by FRA 

before final action is taken. Comments 

received after that date will be 

considered as far as practicable. 

Anyone is able to search the 

electronic form of any written 

communications and comments 

received into any of our dockets by the 

name of the individual submitting the 

comment (or signing the document, if 

submitted on behalf of an association, 

business, labor union, etc.). In 

accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT 

solicits comments from the public to 

better inform its processes. DOT posts 

these comments, without edit, including 

any personal information the 

commenter provides, to 

www.regulations.gov, as described in 

the system of records notice (DOT/ALL– 

14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at 

www.dot.gov/privacy. See also http://

www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice 

for the privacy notice of regulations.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 10, 

2015. 

Ron Hynes, 

Director, Office of Technical Oversight. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05752 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2013–0386] 

Parts and Accessories Necessary for 

Safe Operation; Grant of Temporary 

Exemption for Volvo/Prevost LLC 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of final disposition. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration (FMCSA) 

announces its decision to grant Volvo/ 

Prevost, LLC’s (Volvo/Prevost) 

application for a limited two-year 

exemption from 49 CFR 393.60(e)(1) on 

behalf of motor carriers that will be 

operating commercial motor vehicles 

(CMV) manufactured by the company to 

use lane departure warning (LDW) 

systems mounted in the windshield area 

at a height lower than what is currently 

allowed by the regulation. The LDW 

system alerts drivers who 

unintentionally drift out of their lane of 

travel, thus promoting improved safety 

performance. The Agency has 

determined that the placement of the 

LDW system camera in the windshield 

area would not have an adverse impact 

on safety and that the terms and 

conditions of the exemption would 

achieve a level of safety equivalent to or 

greater than the level of safety provided 

by the regulation. 

DATES: This exemption is effective from 

March 13, 2015 through March 13, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Mike Huntley, Vehicle and Roadside 

Operations Division, Office of Carrier, 

Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC–PSV, 

(202) 366–4325, Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590– 

0001. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments submitted to the notice 

requesting public comments on the 

exemption application, go to 

www.regulations.gov at any time or visit 

Room W12–140 on the ground level of 

the West Building, 1200 New Jersey 

Avenue SE., Washington, DC, between 9 

a.m. and 5 p.m., ET, Monday through 

Friday, except Federal holidays. The online Federal document management 

system is available 24 hours each day, 

365 days each year. The docket number 

is listed at the beginning of this notice. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

FMCSA has authority under 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315 to grant exemptions 

from certain parts of the Federal Motor 

Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). 

FMCSA must publish a notice of each 

exemption request in the Federal 

Register (49 CFR 381.315(a)). The 

Agency must provide the public an 

opportunity to inspect the information 

relevant to the application, including 

any safety analyses that have been 

conducted. The Agency must also 

provide an opportunity for public 

comment on the request. 

The Agency reviews safety analyses 

and public comments submitted, and 

determines whether granting the 

exemption would likely achieve a level 

of safety equivalent to, or greater than, 

the level that would be achieved by the 

current regulation (49 CFR 381.305). 

The decision of the Agency must be 

published in the Federal Register (49 

CFR 381.315(b)) with the reasons for 

denying or granting the application and, 

if granted, the name of the person or 

class of persons receiving the 

exemption, and the regulatory provision 

from which the exemption is granted. 

The notice must also specify the 

effective period and explain the terms 

and conditions of the exemption. The 

exemption may be renewed (49 CFR 

381.300(b)). 

Volvo/Prevost’s Application for 

Exemption 

Volvo/Prevost applied for an 

exemption from 49 CFR 393.60(e)(1) to 

allow the installation of an LDW system 

on motorcoaches purchased by its 

customers. A copy of the application is 

included in the docket referenced at the 

beginning of this notice. 

Section 393.60(e)(1) of the FMCSRs 

prohibits the obstruction of the driver’s 

field of view by devices mounted at the 

top of the windshield. Antennas, 

transponders and similar devices must 

not be mounted more than 152 mm (6 

inches) below the upper edge of the 

windshield. These devices must be 

located outside the area swept by the 

windshield wipers and outside the 

driver’s sight lines to the road and 

highway signs and signals. 

The application stated: 

Volvo/Prevost is making this request so it 

is possible to introduce a Lane Departure 

Warning system in line with [the] NHTSA 

Bus Safety plan as it already did for several 

other safety features. The camera must be 

installed in the wiper swept area of [the] 

windshield for the system to perform 

correctly because it must have a clear 

forward facing view of the road. On a today’s 

typical coach the lower part of the 

windshield is outside the driver’s sight lines 

to the road and highway signs and signals 

which is different from a truck. Therefore, we 

request the installation of the camera on the 

lower part of the windshield within the 

bottom 7 inches of the wiper swept area. 

In addition, Volvo/Prevost noted that 

without the proposed temporary 

exemption, it would not be able to 

deploy the LDW system in 

motorcoaches because (1) its customers 

would be fined for violating the current 

regulation, (2) the LDW system would 

not perform adequately and would not 

bring the safety benefits expected, and 

(3) the camera would be more in the 

field of view of the driver. Volvo/

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 49 / Friday, March 13, 2015 / Notices 13461 

Prevost states that if the exemption is 

granted, it ‘‘will be able to install the 

LDW camera system in a location which 

will offer the best opportunity to 

optimize the data and evaluate the 

benefits of such a system.’’ 

Comments 

FMCSA published a notice of the 

application in the Federal Register on 

December 18, 2013, and asked for public 

comment (78 FR 76702). 

The Agency received one comment, 

from Greyhound Lines, Inc. 

(Greyhound). Greyhound stated that it 

‘‘has a substantial number of 

motorcoaches manufactured by Prevost 

in its fleet and has been an industry 

leader in adding innovative safety 

equipment to its motorcoaches.’’ 

Greyhound strongly supports the 

granting of the exemption, stating that it 

‘‘believes that the lane departure 

warning (LDW) system that Prevost 

plans to install on its motorcoaches can 

be a useful tool for enhancing 

motorcoach safety if properly installed,’’ 

and agreed with Volvo/Prevost’s 

assertion that ‘‘the camera must be 

installed in the wiper swept area of [the] 

windshield for the system to perform 

correctly because it must have a clear 

forward facing view of the road.’’ 

Greyhound agreed that installation of 

the LDW camera within the bottom 7 

inches of the wiper swept area ‘‘will 

maximize its effectiveness as a safety 

tool while not impeding the driver’s 

sight lines.’’ 

FMCSA Decision 

The FMCSA has evaluated the Volvo/ 

Prevost exemption application. The 

Agency believes that granting the 

temporary exemption to allow the 

placement of LDW systems lower in the 

windshield than is currently permitted 

by the Agency’s regulations will provide 

a level of safety that is equivalent to, or 

greater than, the level of safety achieved 

without the exemption because (1) 

based on the technical information 

available, there is no indication that the 

LDW systems would obstruct drivers’ 

views of the roadway, highway signs 

and surrounding traffic; (2) generally, 

buses have an elevated seating position 

that greatly improves the forward visual 

field of the driver, and any impairment 

of available sight lines would be 

minimal; and (3) the location within the 

bottom seven inches of the area swept 

by the windshield wiper and out of the 

driver’s normal sightline will be 

reasonable and enforceable at roadside. 

In addition, the Agency believes that the 

use of LDW systems by fleets is likely 

to improve the overall level of safety to 

the motoring public. 

This action is consistent with 

previous Agency actions permitting the 

placement of LDW systems on CMVs 

within the swept area of the windshield 

wipers. In November 2011, FMCSA 

granted temporary exemptions to Conway, Takata, and Iteris enabling the 

mounting of LDW system sensors not 

more than 2 inches below the upper 

edge of the area swept by the 

windshield wipers and outside the 

driver’s sight lines to the road and 

highway signs and signals. The Agency 

recently renewed these exemptions for a 

second 2-year period, as FMCSA is not 

aware of any evidence showing that the 

installation of the devices has resulted 

in any degradation in safety. Further, 

while the original exemption granted 

relief to motor carriers using only the 

Takata and Iteris LDW systems, the 

Agency determined that it was 

appropriate to extend the scope of the 

exemption to motor carriers using any 

LDW system, given that FMCSA is 

unaware of any reduction in the level of 

safety associated with the use of those 

systems. 

However, the provisions of that 

exemption cannot apply to the Volvo/

Prevost application, as the requested 

mounting location for the Volvo/Prevost 

LDW system is at the lower portion of 

the windshield, within the bottom 7 

inches of the wiper swept area, as 

opposed to the mounting location 

permitted by the other exemption, 

which is not more than 2 inches below 

the upper edge of the area swept by the 

windshield wipers. Notwithstanding the 

different mounting location, and for the 

reasons discussed above, FMCSA 

believes that allowing the placement of 

LDW systems in the lower portion of the 

windshield, within the swept area of the 

wipers, will provide a level of safety 

that is equivalent to, or greater than the 

level of safety achieved without the 

exemption. FMCSA continues to believe 

that the potential safety gains from the 

use of LDW systems to improve driver 

performance will improve the overall 

level of safety to the motoring public. 

Terms and Conditions for the 

Exemption 

The Agency hereby grants the 

exemption for a two-year period, 

beginning March 13, 2015 and ending 

March 13, 2017. During the temporary 

exemption period, motor carriers 

operating motorcoaches manufactured 

by Volvo/Prevost must ensure that the 

LDW systems are mounted not more 

than 7 inches above the lower edge of 

the area swept by the windshield 

wipers, and outside the driver’s sight 

lines to the road and highway signs and 

signals. The exemption will be valid for 

two years unless rescinded earlier by 

FMCSA. The exemption will be 

rescinded if: (1) Motor carriers operating 

motorcoaches manufactured by Volvo/

Prevost fail to comply with the terms 

and conditions of the exemption; (2) the 

exemption has resulted in a lower level 

of safety than was maintained before it 

was granted; or (3) continuation of the 

exemption would not be consistent with 

the goals and objectives of 49 U.S.C. 

31136(e) and 31315(b). 

Interested parties possessing 

information that would demonstrate 

that motor carriers operating 

motorcoaches manufactured by Volvo/

Prevost are not achieving the requisite 

statutory level of safety should 

immediately notify FMCSA. The 

Agency will evaluate any such 

information and, if safety is being 

compromised or if the continuation of 

the exemption is not consistent with 49 

U.S.C. 31136(e) and 31315(b), will take 

immediate steps to revoke the 

exemption. 

Preemption 

During the period the exemption is in 

effect, no State shall enforce any law or 

regulation that conflicts with or is 

inconsistent with this exemption with 

respect to a person operating under the 

exemption. 

Issued on: March 2, 2015. 

T. F. Scott Darling, III, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2015–05634 Filed 3–12–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Highway Administration 

Notice of Final Federal Agency Actions 

on South Mountain Freeway (Loop 

202), Interstate 10 (Papago Freeway) to 

Interstate 10 (Maricopa Freeway) in 

Phoenix, AZ 

AGENCY: Federal Highway 

Administration (FHWA), Department of 

Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the 

Record of Decision (ROD) for the South 

Mountain Freeway project; and Notice 

of limitation on claims for judicial 

review of actions by FHWA and other 

Federal Agencies. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) and FHWA procedures, this 

notice announces the availability of the 

ROD regarding the South Mountain 

Freeway project in Phoenix, AZ. The 

Arizona Division Administrator signed 

the ROD on March 5, 2015. 

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