Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 248 / Wednesday, December 27, 1995 / Proposed Rules 66953

the name of a geographic location other

than the true country of origin of the

article, the country of origin marking

always must appear in close proximity

to those words. The document solicited

public comments that were to be

received on or before January 16, 1996.

Customs has been requested to extend

the period of time for comments in

order to afford interested parties

additional time to study the proposed

regulatory changes and prepare

responsive comments. Customs believes

that it would be appropriate to grant the

request. Accordingly, the period of time

for the submission of comments is being

extended 30 days.

Dated: December 20, 1995.

Stuart P. Seidel,

Assistant Commissioner, Office of

Regulations and Rulings.

[FR Doc. 95–31326 Filed 12–26–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. 95–72, Notice 2]

RIN 2127–AF75

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety

Standards; Lamps, Reflective Devices

and Associated Equipment

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Extension of Comment Period

for a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

SUMMARY: This document grants three

requests to extend the comment period

on an agency proposal to amend the

geometric visibility requirements of

signal lamps and the rear side marker

color, both contained Standard No. 108,

Lamps, Reflective Devices and

Associated Equipment. The goal of the

proposed amendment is to assist

international efforts to harmonize the

lighting requirements of continental

Europe, the United Kingdom, Japan and

the United States. A lengthy extension

of the comment period is desirable

because a large number of governmental

and industry parties require time to

achieve internal consensus on the

usefulness of the NHTSA proposal. The

comment closing date is changed from

December 26, 1995 to May 16, 1996.

DATES: Comments on docket 95–72,

Notice 1 must be received on or before

May 16, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to

the Docket No. 95–72, Notice 1 and be

submitted to: Docket Section, room

5109, 400 Seventh Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20590 (Docket hours

are from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rich

Van Iderstine, Office of Safety

Performance Safety Standards, NHTSA,

telephone (202) 366–5280, FAX (202)

366- 4329. Please note that written

comments should be sent to the Docket

Section rather than faxed to the above

contact person.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA’s

proposal responded to a petition from

the Groupe Travail de Bruxelles 1952

(GTB). GTB is composed of vehicle and

lamp manufacturers from Europe, Japan

and the United States. GTB is an

advisory group for the two organizations

operating under the United Nations’

Economic Commission for Europe that

are involved in establishing motor

vehicle lighting standards: The Meeting

of Experts on Lighting and Light

Signaling (GRE) and the Working Party

on the Construction of Motor Vehicles

(WP29). GTB requested the extension of

the comment period, and an extension

was supported by similar requests from

the American Automobile

Manufacturers Association (AAMA) and

the Chairman of GRE, Mr. G.J.M.

Meekel.

In its comment period extension

request, GTB explained the process it

was pursuing in its quest for

harmonization. GTB submitted its

petition to NHTSA concurrently with its

proposal to GRE for amendments of the

European regulations. NHTSA proposed

some of the suggestions in the GTB

petition but not others. GTB believes

that NHTSA’s response has greatly

complicated its dealings with several

European countries and Japan.

Therefore, according to GTB, arriving at

a constructive response to NHTSA’s

NPRM will not be a trivial matter.

AAMA cited that a special meeting of

GTB to discuss these issues was not

scheduled until December 20, 1995 and

that any recommendations developed at

this meeting could not be acted upon by

GRE until its Spring meeting. Mr.

Meekel also mentioned GRE’s early

Spring meeting and the desire for

discussions there and submission of

comments resulting from that meeting.

It is NHTSA’s general policy to deny

requests for comment period extensions

based on the timing of formal meetings

of interested associations. Modern

communication technology provides

many rapid ways (e.g., fax,

teleconferencing, e- mail, etc.) for

associations to communicate with

members and reach consensus.

However, NHTSA believes that GTB’s

desire for an extension is motivated by

more than the mere mechanics of

international communication. NHTSA’s

proposal did not provide GTB with the

easiest path to harmonization. NHTSA

understands the difficulty of finding a

signal lamp harmonization solution that

would benefit U.S. and international

vehicle manufacturers while satisfying

the concerns of the various regulatory

bodies. NHTSA agrees that this first step

toward lighting harmonization may be

unusually time-consuming if it is to be

productive.

The agency wants to elevate

international harmonization among its

priorities. However, it views a seven

month comment period for this notice

as a special circumstance and not a

precedent for future rulemaking actions

regarding harmonization.

After reviewing the situation, NHTSA

agrees with the petitioners that

additional time is desirable so that GTB

may determine the level of flexibility on

the part of European authorities for

signal lighting harmonization.

Accordingly, the agency believes that

there is good cause for the extension

and that the extension is consistent with

the public interest. Based on the above

considerations, the agency has decided

to extend the comment period until May

16, 1996.

Issued on: December 19, 1995.

Barry Felrice,

Associate Administrator for Safety

Performance Standards.

[FR Doc. 95–31294 Filed 12–26–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–59–P

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. 95–98–No1]

Public Meeting With Manufacturers of

School Buses and School

Transportation Providers

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting;

request for comments.

SUMMARY: This document announces a

public meeting at which NHTSA will

seek information from school bus

manufacturers, school transportation

providers, and other members of the

public on issues related to the

transportation of school children.

NHTSA is also requesting suggestions

for actions with respect to NHTSA’s

regulations and Federal Motor Vehicle

Safety Standards (FMVSS) that govern

the manufacture of school buses. This

document also invites written

comments on the same subject.