Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Proposed Rules 57549 

1 Docket No. NHTSA–2002–12347. 

2 Docket No. NHTSA–2002–12347–1. 

3We note that the comments in the docket also 

address another petition involving a request from 

AM General Corporation to permit vehicles with a 

GVWR of more than 4,536 kg and with an overall 

length that is less than 508 centimeters to have the 

option of being equipped with a passenger-side 

convex mirror instead of the required passengerside mirror of unit magnification. 

pipeline found to be in satisfactory 

condition, considering its operating and 

maintenance history, at the highest 

actual operating pressure to which the 

segment was subjected during the 5 

years preceding the applicable date in 

the second column of the table in 

paragraph (a)(3) of this section. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

23, 2005. 

Stacey L. Gerard, 

Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety. 

[FR Doc. 05–19455 Filed 9–28–05; 8:51 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

49 CFR Part 571 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2002–12347] 

RIN 2127–AI52 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standards; Rearview Mirrors 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Notice of withdrawal of 

rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: In response to a petition for 

rulemaking submitted by Ms. Barbara 

Sanford, NHTSA published a Request 

for Comments (RFC) in the Federal 

Register on January 22, 2003 that 

included several questions regarding 

convex mirrors on commercial trucks. 

The Sanford petition asked the agency 

to amend our Federal Motor Vehicle 

Safety Standard (FMVSS) for rearview 

mirrors to require that all commercial 

trucks traveling on interstate highways 

have convex mirrors affixed to their 

front right and left fenders in order to 

provide drivers of these vehicles an 

increased field-of-view during lane 

change maneuvers, which the petitioner 

stated is necessary to eliminate a blind 

spot caused by the elevated position of 

commercial truck drivers relative to 

passenger cars. Prior to receiving the 

Sanford petition, the agency had 

decided to conduct research on heavy 

truck mirror systems, including fendermounted mirrors. For reasons discussed 

in this document, the agency is 

withdrawing the RFC and is terminating 

this rulemaking, because additional 

research is necessary to assess the 

potential safety benefits of convex 

mirrors in this application. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

non-legal issues: Mr. David M. Hines, 

Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, 

Telephone number: (202) 493–0245, 

FAX number: (202) 366–7002. For legal 

issues: Mr. Eric Stas, Office of the Chief 

Counsel, Telephone number: (202) 366–

2992, FAX number: (202) 366–3820. 

You may send mail to either of these 

officials at NHTSA, 400 Seventh Street, 

S.W., Washington, DC 20590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 

Standard No. 111, Rearview mirrors, 

does not require, nor restrict, the use of 

convex mirrors on heavy trucks such as 

the ones identified in the Sanford 

petition.1 Instead, multipurpose 

passenger vehicles and trucks with a 

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 

more than 4,536 kg (10,000 lbs.) are 

required to have outside mirrors of unit 

magnification with stable supports on 

both sides of the vehicle; these mirrors 

must be located to provide the driver a 

view to the rear along both sides of the 

vehicle and be adjustable in both the 

horizontal and vertical directions. 

Regarding the use of convex mirrors on 

heavy trucks in the fleet, the agency 

previously noted that they are being 

used extensively by the heavy trucking 

industry, and that informal surveys by 

NHTSA staff suggested that 

approximately two-thirds of large trucks 

(excluding cab over designs) were 

equipped with convex mirrors on only 

the right front fender and approximately 

half were equipped with convex mirrors 

on both front fenders. 

As noted above, NHTSA published a 

RFC on January 22, 2003 regarding 

convex mirrors on commercial trucks 

(68 FR 2993).2 The agency received 24 

comments in response to our published 

RFC from automobile and automobile 

equipment manufacturers, trade 

associations, public interest groups, and 

individuals. These comments may be 

viewed at: http://dms.dot.gov/search/ 

searchFormSimple.cfm (Docket No. 

12347).3 Several of the comments 

provided insight on convex mirrors 

generally. However, none of the 

responses included data demonstrating 

safety benefits associated with requiring 

convex mirrors on the front right and 

left fenders of commercial trucks. 

The agency has contracted with 

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute 

(VTTI) to conduct research on heavy 

truck mirror systems. The agency 

identified the objective of the study as 

assessing side and rearward visibility of 

heavy trucks, documenting current 

mirror design and aiming, developing a 

method to evaluate mirror fields of 

view, and recommending enhanced 

mirror design and aiming. Results of 

that research will be posted on our Web 

site (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov) when it 

is completed. 

II. Reason for Termination 

After careful consideration, NHTSA 

has decided to withdraw this 

rulemaking. The agency believes further 

research on front fender-mounted 

convex mirrors is needed in order to 

draw appropriate conclusions as to the 

efficacy of these devices, and we are 

currently in the process of conducting 

such research. If this research indicates 

a need for future rulemaking, the agency 

will act accordingly. 

The agency arrived at this decision to 

terminate after reviewing the comments 

received and identifying the need for 

additional research data upon which to 

propose any rulemaking. While no 

reference to available data regarding 

demonstrated safety benefits of front 

fender-mounted convex mirrors was 

submitted, some responses did address 

the prevalence and cost of these mirrors 

on heavy trucks. 

For example, Mr. Roger Brock, an 

individual, referred to an informal 

interstate survey of tractor-trailer 

combinations involving 336 units that 

found approximately 64% of the subject 

trucks had a front fender-mounted 

convex mirror on at least one side and 

approximately 46% had them on both 

sides. The Truck Manufacturers 

Association (TMA) responded that sales 

data from six manufacturers from the 

prior 2–3 years demonstrated a range 

from 7% to 72%, varying by 

manufacturer, of trucks sold were 

equipped with hood/fender-mounted 

convex mirrors. TMA also estimated the 

list prices for such mirrors to vary from 

$65 to $225 per mirror. The American 

Trucking Associations agreed that a 

significant portion of commercial motor 

vehicles currently use fender-mounted 

mirrors but stated that some 

configurations of trucks or truck tractors 

will not permit the use of such mirrors 

due to those vehicles’ specialized 

applications. 

In light of the absence of available 

safety data, the currently high rate of 

voluntary installation of convex mirrors 

on commercial trucks, and our as-yet 

incomplete research program, the 

agency has decided to withdraw this 

rulemaking. Nevertheless, the agency 

57550 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 190 / Monday, October 3, 2005 / Proposed Rules 

remains interested in reducing truck 

mirror blind spots and will thoroughly 

review the VTTI research results in its 

efforts to understand the relevant safety 

issues associated with front fendermounted convex mirrors. 

Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 

30117, and 30166; delegations of authority at 

49 CFR 1.50 and 501.8. 

Issued on: September 20, 2005. 

Stephen R. Kratzke, 

Associate Administrator for Rulemaking. 

[FR Doc. 05–19666 Filed 9–30–05; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P