Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 9, 2016 / Notices 6927 

FMCSA as a curbside bus operator 

requiring an annual safety assessment? 

9. Is there any additional criteria we 

should consider to identify which motor 

carrier of passenger should be defined 

as a curbside bus operator requiring an 

annual safety assessment? 

Issued under the authority delegated in 49 

CFR 1.87 on: January 29, 2016. 

T.F. Scott Darling, III, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2016–02510 Filed 2–8–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. FMCSA–2015–0238] 

Parts and Accessories Necessary for 

Safe Operation; TowMate, LLC 

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 

TowMate, LLC’s (TowMate) application 

for a limited two-year exemption to 

allow motor carriers to operate 

rechargeable wireless temporary stop, 

turn, and tail lighting systems during 

temporary towing operations. Under the 

Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Regulations (FMCSRs), all required 

lamps, with the exception of batterypowered lamps used on projecting 

loads, must be powered by the electrical 

system of the motor vehicle. The 

Agency has determined that use of 

rechargeable wireless temporary stop, 

turn, and tail lighting systems during 

temporary towing operations would not 

have an adverse impact on safety, and 

use of these systems under 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. This decision is 

consistent with an August 2005 

amendment to the FMCSRs to allow 

battery powered lamps on the rear of 

projecting loads. 

DATES: This exemption is effective 

February 9, 2016 and ending February 9, 

2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Luke Loy, Vehicle and Roadside 

Operations Division, Office of Carrier, 

Driver, and Vehicle Safety, MC–PSV, 

(202) 366–0676, 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)). 

TowMate’s Application for Exemption 

TowMate applied for an exemption 

from 49 CFR 393.23 to allow motor 

carriers to operate rechargeable wireless 

temporary stop, turn, and tail lighting 

systems during temporary towing 

operations. A copy of the application is 

included in the docket referenced at the 

beginning of this notice. 

Section 393.23, ‘‘Power Supply for 

Lamps,’’ provides that ‘‘All required 

lamps must be powered by the electrical 

system of the motor vehicle with the 

exception of battery powered lamps 

used on projecting loads.’’ 

The application stated: 

TowMate is making this request because 

the use of conventional hard wired 

temporary stop, turn, and tail lights has many 

drawbacks that wireless tow lights solve. 

These include broken connections, frayed 

wires, burnt out incandescent bulbs, and the 

potential to be snagged or pulled from the 

tow light receptacle due to improper running 

of wires, and road hazards, along with the 

safety hazard of increasing the amount of 

time spent on the roadside or the scene of an 

accident by stringing wired lighting systems 

between vehicles and securing the wires. 

With the advent of LED technology coupled 

with advancements in battery technologies, 

wireless tow lights are more reliable and 

better equipped for the rigors of daily 

temporary use. 

Temporary wireless stop, turn, tail lighting 

systems can operate for 10+ hours of 

continuous use on a full charge, and in-cab 

wire-less monitoring systems give the driver 

constant information on the functioning of 

the system, displaying state of charge of the 

battery inside the unit, displaying the 

functioning of the system during operation, 

and warning the driver if the unit is no 

longer functioning. In this sense, wireless 

tow lights provide a level of safety and 

redundancy that is not currently required on 

wired temporary lighting systems. In an 

emergency situation with a drained battery, 

power can be directly connected to the 

temporary wireless stop, turn, and tail 

lighting system from a standard 4 pin or 7 

pin electrical connection. 

Without the proposed temporary 

exemption, tow and haul away operators will 

be forced to continue to use cumbersome 

wired temporary towing light systems, 

placing an unnecessary burden on their daily 

operations. The current temporary lighting 

requirements for stop, tail, and turn lamps 

require that the lamps receive their power 

from a direct wired connection to the towing 

vehicle with no ascertainable benefit from 

doing such. Wireless tow lights afford 

benefits that wired systems are unable to, 

such as redundancies like monitoring the 

status of the unit in real time, thus assuring 

their proper operation at all times. 

Comments 

On August 6, 2015, FMCSA published 

notice of the TowMate application and 

requested public comment (80 FR 

47031). The Agency received thirteen 

comments, all in support of TowMate’s 

application. 

The Towing and Recovery 

Association of America, Inc., and the 

Wisconsin Towing Association 

commented that hard-wired temporary 

stop, tail and turn signal lighting 

systems take additional time to install 

on the side of the road or highway as 

compared to wireless systems, leaving 

tow operators vulnerable and at greater 

risk of being struck and injured by 

passing motorists These commenters 

stated that use of rechargeable wireless 

temporary stop, turn, and tail lighting 

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6928 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 9, 2016 / Notices 

systems would help eliminate this 

hazard, and provide a safer working 

environment. 

Seven commenters identified 

themselves as owners of small towing 

companies that use rechargeable 

wireless temporary stop, turn, and tail 

lighting systems when conducting 

temporary emergency tows. These 

commenters echoed the comments 

above, noting that use of the wireless 

systems allows operators to clear 

accident scenes from roadways faster 

and thereby increases tow operator 

safety. 

Four additional commenters 

supported TowMate’s application, 

noting the same benefits as the other 

commenters. 

Discussion 

Prior to August 2005, section 393.23 

of the FMCSRs was titled ‘‘Lighting 

devices to be electric,’’ and stated 

‘‘Lighting devices shall be electric, 

except that red liquid-burning lanterns 

may be used on the end of loads in the 

nature of poles, pipes, and ladders 

projecting to the rear of the motor 

vehicle.’’ In a final rule published on 

August 15, 2005, FMCSA amended 

section 393.23 of the FMCSRs to 

incorporate terminology which is more 

consistent with current industry 

standards and practices (70 FR 48008). 

Specifically, the title of section 393.23 

was revised to read ‘‘Power supply for 

lamps,’’ the reference to red liquidburning lanterns was removed as 

obsolete, and—as it relates to the subject 

exemption application—the rule was 

amended to permit the use of battery 

powered lamps on projecting loads. 

With respect to the use of battery 

powered lamps, the August 2005 rule 

states ‘‘With the exception of temporary 

lamps used on projecting loads, lamps 

are required to be powered through the 

electrical system of the commercial 

motor vehicle.’’ [Emphasis added]. 

Motor vehicles transporting loads 

which extend more than 4 feet beyond 

the rear of the motor vehicle, or which 

have tailboards or tailgates extending 

more than 4 feet beyond the body, are 

required to mark those projections when 

the vehicle is operated during the hours 

when headlamps are required. 

Specifically, each side of the projecting 

load is required to be marked with one 

red side marker lamp, visible from the 

side, located to indicate the maximum 

overhang, and the rear of the projecting 

load is required to be marked with two 

red lamps, visible from the rear, one at 

each side, and two red reflectors visible 

from the rear, one at each side, located 

so as to indicate the maximum width of 

the projection. By expressly permitting 

battery powered lamps on projecting 

loads via the August 2005 final rule, the 

Agency has directly acknowledged the 

viability of lighting systems powered by 

sources other than the vehicle’s 

electrical system in limited applications 

where the lamps required by the 

regulations are temporary in nature due 

to the specific vehicle operation. 

Section 393.17 of the FMCSRs 

prescribes the lighting requirements for 

vehicles engaged in driveaway-towaway 

operations. A vehicle combination 

consisting of a tow vehicle pulling a 

wrecked or disabled vehicle is 

considered a driveaway-towaway 

operation, and the combination needs to 

be equipped with the lighting devices 

specified in section 393.17. Specifically 

with respect to the rear of the rearmost 

towed vehicle in such a combination, 

section 393.17(b)(2) requires at least two 

tail lamps, two stop lamps, two turn 

signals, two clearance lamps, and two 

reflectors, one of each type at each side. 

In addition, if any vehicle in the 

combination is 80 inches or more in 

overall width, there must be three 

identification lamps on the rear. Similar 

to the temporary lamps required on the 

rear of projecting loads, the required 

lamps on the rear of a wrecked or 

disabled vehicle being transported to a 

motor carrier’s terminal or facility for 

repairs are temporary in nature. 

FMCSA Decision 

FMCSA has evaluated the comments 

received in support of TowMate’s 

application. The Agency agrees that 

permitting the use of rechargeable 

wireless temporary stop, turn, and tail 

lighting systems during temporary 

towing operations will reduce the time 

tow operators spend at the side of the 

road connecting wired lighting systems 

between vehicles, thereby reducing their 

risk of injury and increasing safety. The 

Agency believes that use of the 

rechargeable wireless lighting systems 

will maintain a level of safety that is 

equivalent to, or greater than, the level 

of safety achieved without the 

exemption. This decision is consistent 

with the amendment made in the 

August 2005 final rule to allow battery 

powered lamps on the rear of projecting 

loads. 

Terms and Conditions for the 

Exemption 

The Agency hereby grants the 

exemption for a two-year period, 

beginning February 9, 2016 and ending 

February 9, 2018. During the temporary 

exemption period, motor carriers will be 

allowed to use rechargeable wireless 

temporary stop, turn, and tail lighting 

systems that do not meet the lighting 

power supply requirements of 49 CFR 

393.23 during temporary towing 

operations, provided the requirements 

of 49 CFR 393.17(b)(2) are met. 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 rechargeable 

wireless temporary stop, turn, and tail 

lighting systems during temporary 

towing operations 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 

In accordance with 49 U.S.C. 

31313(d), as implemented by 49 CFR 

381.600, during the period this 

exemption is in effect, no State shall 

enforce any law or regulation applicable 

to interstate commerce that conflicts 

with or is inconsistent with this 

exemption with respect to a firm or 

person operating under the exemption. 

States may, but are not required to, 

adopt the same exemption with respect 

to operations in intrastate commerce. 

Issued on: January 29, 2016. 

T.F. Scott Darling, III, 

Acting Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2016–02511 Filed 2–8–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–EX–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration 

[Docket No. NHTSA–2013–0134; Notice 2] 

General Motors LLC, Grant of Petition 

for Decision of Inconsequential 

Noncompliance 

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic 

Safety Administration (NHTSA), 

Department of Transportation (DOT). 

ACTION: Grant of petition. 

SUMMARY: General Motors LLC, (GM) has 

determined that certain model year 2014 

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