Rule2024-18714
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Denial of Petition for Rulemaking
Primary source
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Published
August 22, 2024
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Abstract
This document denies a February 12, 2019 petition for rulemaking submitted by Mr. Stevan Panin ("petitioner") requesting that NHTSA amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 104 or create a new FMVSS to require the year-round use of a standardized winter specification windshield washer fluid to prevent accidents allegedly caused by obstructed visibility from frozen windshield washer fluid. NHTSA is denying this petition for rulemaking because the agency does not believe the petitioner has demonstrated there is an unmet safety need related to windshield washer fluid, or that a mandated standardized winter-specification windshield washer fluid would effectively decrease or prevent crashes and injuries or fatalities.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2024)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 67867-67869]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18714]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 571
[Docket No. NHTSA-2023-0025]
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Denial of Petition for
Rulemaking
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Denial of petition for rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: This document denies a February 12, 2019 petition for
rulemaking submitted by Mr. Stevan Panin (``petitioner'') requesting
that NHTSA amend Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 104
or create a new FMVSS to require the year-round use of a standardized
winter specification windshield washer fluid to prevent accidents
allegedly caused by obstructed visibility from frozen windshield washer
fluid. NHTSA is denying this petition for rulemaking because the agency
does not believe the petitioner has demonstrated there is an unmet
safety need related to windshield washer fluid, or that a mandated
standardized winter-specification windshield washer fluid would
effectively decrease or prevent crashes and injuries or fatalities.
DATES: August 22, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cynthia Collado, Safety Standards
Engineer, Office of Rulemaking, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590,
Telephone: 202-366-6294; or Natasha Reed, Office of Chief Counsel,
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New
[[Page 67868]]
Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590, Telephone: 202-366-2992.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Table of Contents
I. Background
II. Petition for Rulemaking
III. NHTSA's Analysis and Decision
A. The Petitioner Fails To Present Evidence of an Unmet Motor
Vehicle Safety Need
B. The Petitioner Fails To Demonstrate That a Standardized
Winter-Specification Windshield Washer Fluid Would Effectively
Address an Unmet Motor Vehicle Safety Need
IV. Conclusion
I. Background
Under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act (the Safety
Act), 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301, as amended, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA) has the authority to issue Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for new motor vehicles and motor
vehicle equipment. Each FMVSS must be practicable, meet the need for
motor vehicle safety, and be stated in objective terms.
Petitions for rulemaking are governed by 49 CFR part 552. Pursuant
to section 552.6, the agency conducts a technical review of the
petition, which may consist of an analysis of the material submitted
together with information already in possession of the agency. In
deciding whether to grant or deny a petition, the agency considers this
technical review as well as appropriate factors, which include, among
others, allocation of agency resources and agency priorities.\1\
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\1\ 49 CFR 552.8.
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II. Petition for Rulemaking
The petitioner, Mr. Stevan Panin, submitted a letter and rulemaking
petition dated February 12, 2019, regarding 49 CFR 571.104,
``Windshield wiping and washing systems,'' expressing concern that the
use of summer and non-standardized winter-specification windshield
washer fluid during colder temperatures causes vehicular injuries and
fatalities because of reduced or zero visibility. The petitioner
explained that summer-specification windshield washer fluid, if left in
a vehicle during colder temperatures, freezes at around 32 degrees
Fahrenheit, leading to frozen fluid smeared on windshields and reduced
or eliminated visibility. The petitioner also stated that summer-
specification windshield washer fluid may freeze the windshield washer
system in colder temperatures (including the lines, pump, and
reservoir), resulting in a potentially damaged windshield washer
system, smeared road grime across the windshield, and reduced or no
visibility due to the wipers actuating with no spraying washer fluid.
Finally, the petitioner stated that there have been manufacturing
problems at winter-specification fluid production plants, resulting in
winter-specification windshield washer fluid that does not meet the
manufacturer's internal requirements and freezes at much higher
temperatures than specified.
To address these concerns the petitioner requested that NHTSA
eliminate summer-specification windshield washer fluid and mandate the
use of standardized winter-specification windshield washer fluid
throughout the entire year by modifying FMVSS No. 104 or creating a new
FMVSS. The petitioner stated that standardized winter-specification
windshield washer fluid should be designed with a low enough freezing
point to function properly in the coldest winter temperatures
encountered in the U.S., down to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, to
eliminate the issue of reduced or zero visibility caused by frozen
washer fluid on the windshield and/or the freezing of the entire
windshield washer system.
Finally, the petitioner suggested that ethanol should be used as a
windshield washer fluid additive in lieu of methanol to lower the
freezing point for winter use and to address the potential hazards
associated with the current use of methanol in windshield washer
solvents. The petitioner explained that unlike methanol, a poisonous
substance with potentially severe health consequences if ingested or
inhaled, ethanol is not poisonous if ingested, does not cause
blindness, and poses reduced harm when inhaled as vapor. Additionally,
the petitioner suggested that ethanol may offer cost-effectiveness
compared to methanol.
III. NHTSA's Analysis and Decision
After thorough review of the petition requesting implementation of
a revised or new FMVSS mandating the year-round use of winter washer
fluid, NHTSA is denying the petition based on the lack of sufficient
data necessary to proceed under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The
following reasons detail the rationale for the agency's decision.
A. The Petitioner Fails To Present Evidence of an Unmet Motor Vehicle
Safety Need
The Safety Act requires that prescribed motor vehicle safety
standards meet a motor vehicle safety need.\2\ According to the
petitioner, there is an unmet safety need for vehicles that use summer-
specification windshield washer fluid during cold temperatures and for
vehicles that use winter-specification windshield washer fluid that
does not meet temperature freezing requirements. However, the
petitioner fails to provide any evidence to quantify the extent and
scale of the alleged safety issue, such as the nature, cause, size, and
potential severity of the alleged hazard. Instead, after asserting that
the use of summer-specification and non-compliant winter-specification
windshield washer fluid causes increased injuries and fatalities, the
petitioner provides only anecdotal information about such incidents,
with no data demonstrating their frequency or severity.
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\2\ 49 U.S.C. 30111.
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Additionally, although the petitioner raises concerns that colder
temperatures may cause windshield washer fluid to freeze on the
windshield or within the windshield washer system, the petitioner does
not acknowledge FMVSS No. 103, ``Windshield defrosting and defogging
systems,'' which requires vehicles to have adequate defroster systems
meeting minimum performance requirements for windshield clearance in
below-freezing conditions, down to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit. NHTSA
notes that a properly functioning and compliant defroster is
specifically designed to prevent accumulation of frost and frozen
precipitation on the windshield by actively raising the windshield's
temperature. FMVSS No. 103 also requires that the washer system not
fail permanently if it does freeze. Further, for internal combustion
engines, as the vehicle's engine reaches operating temperature, the
heat generated under the hood helps to maintain the windshield washer
system at an elevated temperature during travel, minimizing the risk of
washer fluid freezing in the system and preventing the system from
operating (this may not be the case for electric vehicles, which may or
may not have a heating element to prevent fluid from freezing).
Finally, NHTSA acknowledges that the petitioner suggested as a
``side note'' that methanol should be substituted for ethanol in
winter-specification windshield washer fluid because of methanol's
potentially dangerous effects on humans. To the extent that the
petitioner is suggesting that ethanol should be required under FMVSS
No. 104 or under a new FMVSS, the petitioner does not relate that
suggestion
[[Page 67869]]
to an unmet vehicle safety need, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30111(a).
Based on the above reasons, NHTSA believes that the petitioner has
failed to demonstrate a clear need for safety attributable to summer-
specification or allegedly non-compliant winter-specification
windshield washer fluid. While we agree that failure of the windshield
washing system could result in reduced windshield visibility, the
petitioner did not provide evidence demonstrating the scope of this
potential safety problem or whether such a problem could be
attributable to winter-specification windshield washer fluid, nor is it
clearly established by available safety data. Accordingly, NHTSA has
concluded that the petitioner has not shown an unmet safety need that
would justify the mandate to use of year-round standardized winter-
specific windshield washer fluid, as required by 49 U.S.C. 30111(a).
NHTSA notes that it will not hesitate to exercise its defect and recall
authority should any windshield washing system fail and create an
unreasonable risk to safety.\3\
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\3\ 49 U.S.C. 30118.
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B. The Petitioner Fails To Demonstrate That a Standardized Winter-
Specification Windshield Washer Fluid Would Effectively Address an
Unmet Motor Vehicle Safety Need
Even if an unmet motor vehicle safety need exists, the Safety Act
requires that an FMVSS meet the motor vehicle safety need.\4\ The
petitioner states that reduced or zero windshield visibility can cause
accidents resulting in bodily injury and fatalities. The petitioner
then suggests that an easily implemented solution to solve this problem
is the elimination of summer-specification windshield washer fluid and
standardization of winter-specification windshield washer fluid.
However, the petitioner's primary support for this suggestion is a
personal anecdotal description of an incident in which the petitioner
states his windshield washer fluid froze in cold temperatures,
obscuring his windshield's visibility and requiring him to pull over
and wait for his windshield defroster system to thaw the frozen washer
fluid. The petitioner states his belief that this incident occurred
because summer-specification windshield washer fluid was added to his
car's washer fluid reservoir in a warmer state and froze after he
returned to a colder climate. Other than this personal anecdote, the
petitioner provides no supporting data or research linking frozen
windshield washer fluid to crashes or fatalities to demonstrate that
banning summer-specification windshield washer fluid and mandating
standardized winter-specification windshield washer fluid would
effectively prevent fatalities or injuries. Further, the petitioner
provides no supporting data substantiating the scope of the alleged
safety issue, nor any evidence that the proposed solution would remedy
the alleged safety issue. Absent such supporting data or evidence,
NHTSA cannot find that requiring year-round standardized winter-
specification windshield fluid would effectively prevent fatalities and
injuries.
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\4\ Id.
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IV. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons NHTSA is denying the petition based on
the lack of sufficient information and evidence discussed above. The
petitioner has not demonstrated a safety need and a solution that would
justify NHTSA reallocating its limited resources from rulemakings that
are mandated by Congress and others that have a demonstrated safety
need with solutions available to resolve those needs.
Authority: 49 U.S.C. 322, 30111, 30115, 30117 and 30166;
delegation of authority at 49 CFR 1.95.
Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR
1.95, 501.5, and 501.8.
Raymond R. Posten,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2024-18714 Filed 8-21-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 22, 2024.
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