[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 51 (Friday, March 14, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 13825-13826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-1025]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. NHTSA-2008-0015]
RIN 2127-AG51


Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Roof Crush Resistance

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period.

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[[Page 13826]]

SUMMARY: In January 2008, NHTSA published a supplemental notice of 
proposed rulemaking in connection with its ongoing rulemaking to 
upgrade the Federal motor vehicle safety standard on roof crush 
resistance. That rulemaking is part of a comprehensive plan for 
reducing the serious risk of rollover crashes and the risk of death and 
serious injury in those crashes.
    We received a petition from Public Citizen and Advocates for 
Highway and Auto Safety requesting an extension of the comment period. 
After considering the petition, we are extending the comment period by 
10 days, from March 17, 2008, to March 27, 2008.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 27, 2008.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments to the docket number identified in 
the heading of this document by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
    <bullet> Mail: Docket Management Facility, M-30, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, West Building, Ground Floor, Rm. W12-140, 1200 New 
Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20590.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room 
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., between 9 am and 5 pm Eastern 
Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    <bullet> Fax: (202) 493-2251.
    Regardless of how you submit your comments, you should mention the 
docket number of this document.
    You may call the Docket Management Facility at 202-366-9826.
    Note that all comments received will be posted without change to 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    For technical issues: Mr. Christopher Wiacek, Office of Rulemaking, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-4801.
    For legal issues: Mr. Edward Glancy, Office of the Chief Counsel, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, 
SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2992.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 23, 2005, NHTSA published in the 
Federal Register (70 FR 49223) a notice of proposed rulemaking 
(NPRM)\1\ to upgrade Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 
216, Roof Crush Resistance. As discussed in the NPRM, this rulemaking 
is part of a comprehensive plan for reducing the serious risk of 
rollover crashes and the risk of death and serious injury in those 
crashes. In addition to roof crush, other strategies in the 
comprehensive approach include crash-avoidance initiatives such as 
electronic stability control, which will significantly reduce the 
number of rollovers, as well as crashworthiness efforts such as 
ejection mitigation and improved door lock strength, which will lower 
the probability of ejection when rollovers do occur.
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    \1\ Docket No. NHTSA-2005-22143.
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    On January 30, 2008, NHTSA published in the Federal Register (73 FR 
5484) a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) \2\ for its 
ongoing rulemaking on roof crush resistance. We asked for public 
comment on a number of issues that may affect the content of the final 
rule, including possible variations in the proposed requirements. We 
also announced the release of the results of various vehicle tests 
conducted since the proposal and invited comments on how the agency 
should factor this new information into its decisions regarding the 
final rule. We noted that, in developing a final rule, the agency would 
consider the comments submitted on both the August 2005 NPRM and the 
SNPRM. Thus, there is no need for persons to re-submit the comments 
they provided for the NPRM.
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    \2\ Docket No. NHTSA-2008-0015.
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    We provided a 45-day comment period for the SNPRM. We stated we 
believed this was appropriate given that the SNPRM has a more limited 
focus than the NPRM, and given the need to comply with a statutory 
deadline. The statutory deadline for issuing a final rule is July 1, 
2008.
    In a petition dated February 25, 2008, Public Citizen and Advocates 
for Highway and Auto Safety (Advocates) requested a 30-day extension of 
the comment period. The petitioners stated that a 45-day period ``is a 
relatively short time period that does not provide safety organizations 
adequate opportunity to review the newly proposed regulatory 
alternative, evaluate the additional test data * * * or consider the 
policy implications of the changes and prepare comments * * *.'' They 
did not provide detailed information concerning why a longer comment 
period is needed or what additional information would result from the 
extension.
    After considering the petition from Public Citizen and Advocates, 
we have decided to extend the comment period by 10 days. In considering 
the extension request, we weighed the statutory deadline, the 
complexity of this rulemaking, and the basis for the request. We 
recognize that there are a number of complex issues involved with this 
rulemaking, and wish to facilitate the efforts of the petitioners and 
other interested persons to provide complete comments. However, we also 
note, as indicated above, that the SNPRM has a more limited focus than 
the NPRM, and the July 1, 2008 statutory deadline. After weighing these 
considerations and the specific information provided by the 
petitioners, we believe it is appropriate to provide a 10-day 
extension, but not a 30-day extension.
    Finally, we note that given the 10-day extension and the July 1, 
2008 statutory deadline, our ability to consider late comments is 
likely to be limited. Therefore, while we will consider late comments 
to the extent possible, we encourage interested persons to submit their 
comments by the new comment closing date.

    Issued: March 10, 2008.
Ronald L. Medford,
Senior Associate Administrator for Vehicle Safety.
[FR Doc. 08-1025 Filed 3-10-08; 4:34 pm]
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