14222 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 18, 2015 / Notices 

Issued on: March 11, 2015. 

Larry W. Minor, 

Associate Administrator for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06177 Filed 3–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0037] 

Parts and Accessories Necessary for 

Safe Operation; Mobileye, Inc., 

Application for an Exemption 

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 

Mobileye, Inc.’s (Mobileye) exemption 

application to enable motor carriers to 

utilize its camera-based collision 

avoidance systems (CAS) mounted 

within the swept area of the windshield 

wipers. The Federal Motor Carrier 

Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) currently 

require antennas, transponders, and 

similar devices to be located outside the 

area swept by the windshield wipers. 

The Mobileye CAS is able to warn 

drivers of potential hazards by detecting 

other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists 

on the road, and lane markings and 

traffic signs. The Agency believes the 

use of the CAS promotes improved 

safety performance and that the 

placement of the system in the swept 

area of the windshield wipers will not 

obstruct drivers’ view of the roadway 

and potential hazards. The Agency has 

concluded that the limited 2-year 

exemption will achieve a level of safety 

equivalent to or greater than the level of 

safety provided by the rule restricting 

the placement of devices in the 

windshield area. 

DATES: This exemption is effective 

March 18, 2015 and ending March 20, 

2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Mike Huntley, Vehicle and Roadside 

Operations Division, Office of Carrier, 

Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC–PSV, 

(202) 366–5370, 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 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. 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)). 

Mobileye’s Application for Exemption 

Mobileye applied for an exemption 

from 49 CFR 393.60(e)(1) to allow the 

installation of a CAS system on several 

thousand commercial motor vehicles. 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. 

In its application, Mobileye stated: 

Mobileye is making this request because 

we are coordinating device development and 

installation of a camera based collision 

avoidance system in up to several hundred 

thousand commercial motor vehicles. The 

camera based sensor equipment to be 

installed is going to be located at either the 

bottom or top of the windshield, but will be 

in the swept area of the windshield wipers 

because the safety equipment must have a 

clear forward facing view of the road. 

This system is the same technology that 

Mobileye provides to carmakers such as 

Ford, GM, Honda and many others. These 

companies have deployed over two million 

vehicles with this technology. Collision 

avoidance systems, in particular those that 

have the main features of Mobileye, have 

been noted by NHTSA, NTSB and FMCSA as 

key safety equipment in both cars and trucks. 

Recently, the NTSB cited this type of 

collision avoidance system as part of its top 

ten ‘‘most wanted’’ advocacy priorities. 

FMCSA itself has recommended Forward 

Collision Warning and Lane Departure 

Warning, just two of Mobileye features. 

Mobileye seeks exemption for the aftermarket 

(field retrofitable) version of this technology. 

With the exemption, Mobileye will be able 

to install the camera based collision 

avoidance system in a location which will 

offer the best opportunity to optimize the 

data and evaluate the benefits of such a 

system as well as maximize safety benefits. 

FMCSA published a notice of the 

application in the Federal Register on 

July 2, 2014, and asked for public 

comment (79 FR 37841). 

Comments 

In response to its notice requesting 

public comment, the Agency received 

one comment from the American 

Trucking Associations (ATA). The ATA 

stated that it ‘‘strongly supports’’ 

granting the exemption to allow use of 

the Mobileye CAS in commercial motor 

vehicles. The ATA noted that ‘‘Safety 

technology companies have been 

working with many ATA members to 

help reduce carrier crash involvement 

rates using their technologies. As a 

result, many of our member companies 

have seen significant decreases in the 

number of at-fault collisions and near 

misses.’’ 

FMCSA Decision 

The FMCSA has evaluated the 

Mobileye exemption application. The 

Agency believes that granting the 

temporary exemption to allow 

placement of the Mobileye CAS system 

sensor in the upper or lower portion of 

the windshield, within the swept area of 

the windshield wipers, 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 

CAS sensor would obstruct drivers’ 

views of the roadway, highway signs 

and surrounding traffic; (2) generally, 

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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 18, 2015 / Notices 14223 

trucks and 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 top or bottom four 

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 the 

Mobileye CAS 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 

similar placement of video event 

recorders on CMVs, within the swept 

area of the windshield wipers. FMCSA 

has granted temporary exemptions to 

Greyhound Lines, Inc. and to DriveCam, 

Inc. regarding the use of the video event 

recorders to increase safety through (1) 

identification and remediation of risky 

driving behaviors such as distracted 

driving and drowsiness, (2) enhanced 

monitoring of passenger behavior on 

CMVs in passenger service, and (3) 

enhanced collision review and analysis. 

Both of these exemptions have been 

renewed for two additional 2-year 

periods, as FMCSA is not aware of any 

evidence showing that the installation 

of the devices in the upper area of the 

windshield has resulted in any 

degradation in safety. The Agency has 

not received any feedback from 

interested parties suggesting that use of 

safety devices/technology in the 

windshield area have had an adverse 

impact on safety. 

This action is also consistent with 

previous Agency actions permitting the 

similar placement of lane departure 

warning system sensors on CMVs, 

within the swept area of the windshield 

wipers. FMCSA initially granted 

temporary exemptions to Con-way 

Freight, TK Holdings, Inc., and Iteris, 

Inc. regarding the use of lane departure 

warning systems to increase safety by 

alerting drivers who unintentionally 

drift out of their lane of travel. The 

Agency renewed the exemptions for an 

additional 2-year period, and while the 

original exemptions granted relief to 

motor carriers using only the Takata and 

Iteris lane departure warning systems, 

the Agency determined—given that it 

has not been made aware of any 

reduction in the level of safety 

associated with the use of those 

systems—that it was appropriate to 

extend the scope of the exemption to 

encompass motor carriers using any 

lane departure warning system, 

provided that such sensors (1) are the 

same size or smaller than the Takata and 

Iteris (now Bendix) sensors, and (2) 

mounted in the windshield in 

accordance with the provisions of the 

original exemption. 

FMCSA continues to believe that the 

potential safety gains from the use of 

video event recorders and lane 

departure waning systems to improve 

driver behavior and performance will 

improve the overall level of safety to the 

motoring public. The Agency believes 

the same is true regarding the use of the 

Mobileye CAS. 

Terms and Conditions for the 

Exemption 

The Agency hereby grants the 

exemption for a two-year period, 

beginning March 18, 2015 and ending 

March 20, 2017. During the temporary 

exemption period, motor carriers using 

the Mobileye CAS must ensure that the 

sensor is mounted not more than 100 

mm (4 inches) below the upper edge, or 

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 and/or commercial motor 

vehicles 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 using the Mobileye 

CAS 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 12, 2015. 

T.F. Scott Darling, III, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2015–06180 Filed 3–17–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2014–0304] 

Qualification of Drivers; Exemption 

Applications; Vision 

AGENCY: Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration (FMCSA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of applications for 

exemptions, request for comments. 

SUMMARY: FMCSA announces receipt of 

applications from 28 individuals for 

exemption from the vision requirement 

in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations. They are unable to meet 

the vision requirement in one eye for 

various reasons. The exemptions will 

enable these individuals to operate 

commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) in 

interstate commerce without meeting 

the prescribed vision requirement in 

one eye. If granted, the exemptions 

would enable these individuals to 

qualify as drivers of commercial motor 

vehicles (CMVs) in interstate commerce. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before April 17, 2015. All comments 

will be investigated by FMCSA. The 

exemptions will be issued the day after 

the comment period closes. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

bearing the Federal Docket Management 

System (FDMS) Docket No. FMCSA– 

2014–0304 using any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

on-line instructions for submitting 

comments. 

• 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., Monday 

through Friday, except Federal 

Holidays. 

• Fax: 1–202–493–2251. 

Instructions: Each submission must 

include the Agency name and the 

docket numbers for this notice. Note 

that all comments received will be 

posted without change to http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. Please 

see the Privacy Act heading below for 

further information. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments, go to http://

www.regulations.gov at any time or 

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