Notice2024-13953
Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition, DP22-004
Primary source
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Published
June 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Abstract
This notice sets forth the reasons for the denial of a petition submitted to NHTSA on August 18, 2022, requesting that the agency commence an investigation of collisions of passenger vehicles and vulnerable road users (pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists) with van-type (also known as box) semi-trailers that result in significant injuries or death due to a lack of effective rear impact guards. On January 17, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition DP22-004 to evaluate petitioners' request. After consideration of the petition and other information, NHTSA believes that the issues raised here are best addressed through its recent rulemaking and the ongoing actions under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Accordingly, the agency has denied the petition.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 123 (Wednesday, June 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53476-53477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13953]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA-2024-0027]
Denial of Motor Vehicle Defect Petition, DP22-004
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Denial of petition for a defect investigation.
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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the reasons for the denial of a
petition submitted to NHTSA on August 18, 2022, requesting that the
agency commence an investigation of collisions of passenger vehicles
and vulnerable road users (pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists)
with van-type (also known as box) semi-trailers that result in
significant injuries or death due to a lack of effective rear impact
guards. On January 17, 2023, NHTSA opened Defect Petition DP22-004 to
evaluate petitioners' request. After consideration of the petition and
other information, NHTSA believes that the issues raised here are best
addressed through its recent rulemaking and the ongoing actions under
the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Accordingly, the agency has
denied the petition.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Nate Seymour, Medium and Heavy
Duty Vehicle Division, Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), NHTSA,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590. Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cea0afbaabe0bdabb7a3a1bbbc8eaaa1bae0a9a1b8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b9d7d8cddc97cadcc0d4d6cccbf9ddd6cd97ded6cf">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI)
received a petition dated August 18, 2022, requesting an investigation
of collisions of passenger vehicles and vulnerable road users
(pedestrians, bicyclists, or motorcyclists) with van-type (also known
as box) semi-trailers that result in significant injuries or death due
to a lack of effective rear impact guards (RIGs).\1\ No specific
trailer manufacturer or equipment supplier was identified. The petition
acknowledges that the issues presented may be addressed by the actions
the agency is taking pursuant to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
(BIL).
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\1\ The petition is available at <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=11481272">https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=11481272</a>.
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The petitioners cite crashes exemplifying their concerns, including
those in NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), stating
that there are ``hundreds of underride deaths and serious injuries
annually from collisions with semitrailers.'' Petitioners observe that
from 1994 to 2015, FARS reports 1,803 rear underride deaths, and they
further assert that FARS is ``known to underreport these deaths.'' This
data, according to petitioners, ``indicate[s] that semitrailers without
effective [RIGs] contain a defect that presents an unreasonable risk.''
Petitioners also submitted to NHTSA, between January 30 and May 15,
2023, various materials--the vast majority of which were over 200 news
articles pertaining to fatal incidents involving a heavy vehicle. NHTSA
reviewed these materials. Of the news articles, over a third regarded
the same crash event, or regarded a non-crash event. Through extensive
additional research, ODI determined that twenty-two of the events
involved van-type (or ``box'') semitrailers. Of those twenty-two
events, ODI was able to identify the trailer manufacturer in nine;
however, none of the model years could be determined. There were no
crash reports of vulnerable road user fatalities or injuries included
in the materials received from the petitioners.
Approximately one month before submission of the petition, NHTSA
updated the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for RIGs
(FMVSS 223 and 224). See 87 FR 42339. FMVSS provide minimum safety
standards for vehicles or items of motor vehicle equipment sold in the
United States. Such rulemaking efforts involve extensive research and
analysis, including requirements to consider economic impacts. NHTSA
relied on a collection of crash databases and published research to
update these FMVSS. Among other sources, NHTSA used the University of
Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) study of Trucks
Involved in Fatal Accidents (TIFA) in updating the FMVSS for RIGs--not
the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data that petitioners
claim underreport deaths from collisions with semitrailers. See 87 FR
42354.
These updated standards replace the original standards released in
1996 and adopt requirements similar to the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 223 for RIG protection. They provide for upgraded
protection in crashes where the passenger motor vehicle hits the center
of the rear of the trailer or semitrailer, and crashes in which 50
percent of the width of the passenger motor vehicle overlaps the rear
of the trailer or semitrailer. The updated standards went into effect
on January 11, 2023, and have a compliance date of no later than July
15, 2024. The updated standards also satisfy BIL requirements. 87 FR
42342.
[[Page 53477]]
Further, pursuant to BIL, in July 2022, NHTSA published a notice
soliciting nominations for an advisory committee on Underride
Protection, to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary of
Transportation on safety regulations to reduce underride crashes and
fatalities relating to underride crashes. See 87 FR 40346. In April
2023, NHTSA announced 16 members of that committee, which include
petitioner Marianne Karth as well as another representative of
underride crash victims. The committee is further comprised of
representatives of truck safety organizations; motor vehicle crash
investigators; law enforcement; labor organizations; motor vehicle
engineers; the insurance industry; motor carriers, including
independent owner-operators; and truck and trailer manufacturers.
In addition to the advisory committee, NHTSA previously announced
several additional actions related to truck trailer underride safety,
including improving data collection of underride crashes by
recommending inclusion of underride data in state crash data systems
and by providing educational materials to state and local police
departments on identifying and recording underride crashes. NHTSA is
also conducting research on rear impact guard designs that better
protect occupants of passenger vehicles in even more rear underride
crash scenarios. NHTSA, with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Administration (FMCSA), published a pamphlet in August 2022--which was
also distributed to law enforcement through various channels--that
explains how to identify and record such crashes.\2\
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\2\ This pamphlet is available at <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2022-08/Underride-Crash-Pamphlet_071522_v6a-tag.pdf">https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2022-08/Underride-Crash-Pamphlet_071522_v6a-tag.pdf</a>.
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After consideration of the petition, including the reports provided
by the petitioners, NHTSA believes the issues raised are best addressed
through its recent rulemaking and the ongoing actions under BIL.
Accordingly, NHTSA has decided not to open a defect investigation and
the petition is denied. The denial of this petition does not foreclose
the agency from taking further action if warranted or making a future
finding that a safety-related defect exists based upon additional
information the agency may receive.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30162(d) and 49 CFR part 552; delegation of
authority at 49 CFR 1.95(a).\3\
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\3\ The authority to determine whether to approve or deny defect
petitions under 49 U.S.C. 30162(d) and 49 CFR part 552 has been
further delegated to the Associate Administrator for Enforcement.
Eileen Sullivan,
Associate Administrator, Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2024-13953 Filed 6-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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