Department of Transportation (DOT) Fiscal Year 2021 Agency Report

1. Please provide a summary of your agency’s activities undertaken to carry out the provisions of 

OMB Circular A-119, “Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus 

Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities” and the National Technology Transfer and 

Advance Act (NTTAA). The summary should contain a link to the agency’s standards-specific 

website(s) where information about your agency’s standards and conformity assessment related 

activities are available.

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and its Operating Administrations rely upon a transparent 

and collaborative regulatory and guidance program to support the Department's strategic goals: safety, 

economic strength and global competitiveness, equity, climate and sustainability, and transformation. 

We employ our infrastructure and safety grants, training programs, and enforcement authorities for 

automobiles, aviation, highways, railroads, trucks, motorcoaches, maritime operators, public transit, 

pipelines, and hazardous materials as effectively as possible to reduce transportation-related fatalities 

and serious injuries across the transportation system. DOT uses voluntary consensus standards activities 

as a potent tool in our regulatory, guidance, safety advisory, and international harmonization activities. 

In addition, DOT relies upon targeted standards development processes with domestic and international 

standards developing organizations (SDOs) to advance innovative transportation technologies -- such as 

automated driving systems (ADS) and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) -- and to advance the state of 

practice across all modes of transportation.

Over the past year, among other standards-related activities, DOT has taken the following actions:

• Through the Department’s Non-Traditional and Emerging Transportation Technology (NETT) Council, 

released the “Hyperloop Standards Desk Review” (https://www.transportation.gov/policyinitiatives/nett/hyperloop-standards-desk-review). This document assessed the status of hyperloop 

standard development; provided a preliminary mapping of existing standards and regulations to specific 

hyperloop systems components, including a standards gap analysis; and identified stakeholder 

perspectives on the applicability of existing standards to domestic testing and deployment.

• In response to petition, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a final rule of particular 

applicability (RPA) to establish safety standards for the Texas Central Railroad high-speed rail (HSR) 

system, applying Central Japan Railway Company’s Tokaido Shinkansen technology, and its associated 

design and engineering principles. These standards are not intended for general application in the 

railroad industry. FRA incorporated by reference six Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) and three ASTM 

International (ASTM) standards, along with ASTM test procedures.

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) took two actions related to child safety. 

NHTSA issued a Final Rule adding design and performance specifications for a test dummy representing 

a 3-year-old child, to improve side impact protection. This rule incorporated revised SAE Recommended 

Practice J211, “Instrumentation for Impact Tests—Part 1—Electronic Instrumentation”, and SAE J1733, 

“Sign Convention for Vehicle Crash Testing.’’ NHTSA issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend 

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 213, ‘‘Child restraint systems,’’ by updating the 

standard seat assembly on which child restraint systems are tested. The revision also updates SAE 

Recommended Practice J211.
• The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) completed a significant 

rulemaking in response to 24 petitions, to update, clarify, or provide relief from various regulatory 

requirements while increasing or maintaining hazardous materials transportation safety, and 

harmonizing regulatory standards internationally to support safe trade. As part of this rulemaking, 

PHMSA incorporated or updated nine voluntary consensus standards from the American Pyrotechnics 

Association, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Compressed Gas Association, Association of 

Energy Service Companies and Institute of Makers of Explosives; and recognized two European Union 

publications.

• The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to 

amend its Hazardous Materials Safety Permits regulations to incorporate by reference the updated 

consensus Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) handbook containing inspection procedures and 

Out-of-Service Criteria for inspections of shipments of transuranic waste and highway route-controlled 

quantities of radioactive material.

• The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking focused on 

revision to the design standards and standard specifications applicable to new construction, 

reconstruction, resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation projects on the National Highway System 

(NHS). The proposed rule would incorporate by reference the latest versions of design standards and 

standard specifications previously adopted and incorporated by reference and would remove the 

corresponding outdated or superseded versions of these standards and specifications.

• DOT provided significant input to the revision of the United States Standards Strategy by the American 

National Standards Institute (ANSI), affirming that the U.S. is committed to a sector-based approach to

voluntary standardization activities, both domestically and globally.

2. Please list the government-unique standards (GUS) your agency began using in lieu of voluntary 

consensus standards during FY 2021. Please note that GUS which are still in effect from previous years 

should continue to be listed, thus the total number in your agency's report will include all GUS 

currently in use (previous years and new as of this FY): 11

(1) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR 571.102, Transmission shift position sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect 

(2005) [Incorporated: 2016]

Voluntary Standard

SAE J915

Rationale

This regulation was issued on July 1, 2005. SAE J915, “Automatic Transmissions- Manual Control 

Sequence,” published on July 1, 1965, and updated on March 9, 2017. NHTSA has not incorporated this 

standard because its content currently relies on 49 CFR 571.102 and 571.114, and the SAE J915 abstract 

also states that some portions of the standard are unique and may not represent current common 
practices within the user community. NHTSA is evaluating industry standards to inform the next steps of 

any revisions to its regulations.

(2) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR 571.114, Theft protection and rollaway prevention (2006) [Incorporated: 2016]

Voluntary Standard

SAE J2948

Rationale

NHTSA published this regulation on April 7, 2006. SAE Recommended Practice, SAE J2948 "Keyless 

Ignition Control Design" was published on January 13, 2011. NHTSA reviewed and referenced SAE J2948 

in an NPRM it issued on December 12, 2011 and is considering whether to finalize this regulatory action.

(3) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR 571.123, Motorcycle controls and displays [Incorporated: 2016]

Voluntary Standard

ISO 2575

Rationale

NHTSA first published this regulation on April 12, 1977. ISO 2575, “Road vehicles -- Symbols for controls, 

indicators and tell-tales,” was published in 2004, and specifies symbols for use on vehicle controls and 

indicators. On November 26, 2014, NHTSA issued an NPRM proposing to allow the use of an ISO 2575 

warning label for ABS failure indication. NHTSA is considering whether to finalize this regulatory action.

(4) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR 571.129 New non-pneumatic tires for passenger cars (1990) [Incorporated: 2016]

Voluntary Standard

SAE J918c

Rationale

This regulation was published on July 20, 1990. Although not incorporated by reference, the 

performance and test requirements are based upon SAE recommended practice, “Passenger Car Tire 

Performance,” J918c, last updated on May 1, 1970. NHTSA is evaluating industry standards to inform the 

next steps of any revisions to its regulations.

(5) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR 571.138, Tire pressure monitoring systems (2005) [Incorporated: 2016]

Voluntary Standard

SAE J2657

Rationale

NHTSA published this regulation on April 8, 2005. SAE J2657, Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems for Light 

Duty Highway Vehicles, was published on December 16, 2004. While SAE J2657 was not incorporated in 

the final rule, the regulation has many commonalities. However, SAE J2657 does not contain 

requirements or test procedures for a malfunction indicator and requires different levels of 
rigorousness. NHTSA is evaluating industry standards to inform the next steps of any revisions to its 

regulations.

(6) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR 571.207, Seating Systems [Incorporated: 2016]

Voluntary Standard

SAE J879

SAE J879B

Rationale

This regulation was published on April 8, 2005. Although not incorporated by reference, the test 

procedures and performance requirements are based on SAE J879, “Passenger Car Front Seat and Seat 

Adjuster,” published on November 1, 1963, and SAE J879B, “Motor Vehicle Seating Systems,” published 

on July 1, 1968. NHTSA is evaluating industry standards to inform the next steps of any revisions to its 

regulations.

(7) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR 571.226, Ejection Mitigation [Incorporated: 2010]

Voluntary Standard

SAE J2568—Intrusion Resistance of Safety Glazing Systems for Road Vehicles

BSI AU 209—Vehicle Security

Rationale

This regulation was published on January 19, 2011. SAE J2568 - Intrusion Resistance of Safety Glazing 

Systems for Road Vehicles was published on April 24, 2001 and BSI AU 209 - Vehicle Security was 

published in August 1995. NHTSA studied the test procedures and performance requirements in these 

standards but did not adopt them because they did not meet NHTSA's safety objectives and in some 

cases, were costlier. NHTSA is evaluating industry standards to inform the next steps of any revisions to 

this regulation.

(8) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR 571.302 Flammability of Interior Materials (1971) [Incorporated: 2016]

Voluntary Standard

ASTM D5132

SAE J369

Rationale

This regulation was published on December 2, 1971. Although not incorporated by reference, these 

standards are technically equivalent to the regulation: ASTM D5132, “Standard Test Method for 

Horizontal Burning Rate of Polymeric Materials Used in Occupant Compartments of Motor Vehicles,” 

published in 1994 and SAE J 369, “Flammability of Polymeric Interior Materials - Horizontal Test 

Method,” published on March 1, 1969. NHTSA initiated a research program in 2016 to evaluate the test 

procedures of the industry standards to inform the next steps of any revision to this regulation.
(9) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR 571.305, Electric-powered vehicles: electrolyte spillage and electrical shock protection (2000) 

[Incorporated: 2016]

Voluntary Standard

SAE J1766

Rationale

The standard was issued on September 27, 2000, and was based on SAE J1766, “Recommended practice 

for electric and hybrid electric vehicle battery systems crash integrity testing,” published on February 1, 

1996. NHTSA reviewed the 2016 revision of SAE J1766 and other industry standards for electric vehicles 

in an NPRM it issued on March 10, 2016 and is considering whether to finalize this regulatory action.

(10) Government Unique Standard

49 CFR Part 563, Event Data Recorders (2006) [Incorporated: 2016]

Voluntary Standard

SAE J1698–1

IEEE P1616

Rationale

This regulation was issued on August 28, 2006. NHTSA did not incorporate either the SAE Vehicle Event 

Data Interface (J1698–1) Committee or the IEEE Motor Vehicle Event Data Recorder (MVDER) working 

group (P1616) because both standards were developed and issued during the rulemaking process.

NHTSA is evaluating industry standards to inform the next steps of any revisions to its regulations.

(11) Government Unique Standard

Brake Performance, 49 CFR 393.52 - FMCSA's Performance-Based Brake Testers (PBBTs) Requirement 

[Incorporated: 2002]

Voluntary Standard

SAE J667 - Brake Test Code Inertia Dynamometer (cancelled February 2002)

SAE J1854 - Brake Force Distribution Performance Guide - Trucks and Buses

Rationale

FMCSA used government-unique standards in lieu of voluntary consensus standards when it 

implemented its final rule to allow inspectors to use performance-based brake testers (PBBTs) to check 

the brakes on large trucks and buses for compliance with federal safety standards and to issue citations 

when these vehicles fail (67 FR 51770, August 9, 2002). The FMCSA evaluated several PBBTs during a 

round robin test series to assess their functional performance and potential use in law enforcement. The 

standard, a specific configuration of brake forces and wheel loads on a heavy-duty vehicle, was used to 

evaluate the candidate PBBTs and their operating protocols. The agency’s rationale for use of the 

government-unique standards was to verify that these measurements and new technology could be 

used by law enforcement as an alternative to stopping distance tests or on-road deceleration tests. 

PBBTs are expected to save time and their use could increase the number of commercial motor vehicles 

that can be inspected in a given time. Only PBBTs that meet specifications developed by the FMCSA can 

be used to determine compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. The final rule 

represents a culmination of agency research that began in the early 1990s.