Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Compressed Natural Gas Fuel Container Integrity

Resumen

This rule establishes a new Federal motor vehicle safety standard, Standard No. 304, Compressed Natural Gas Fuel Containers, that specifies performance requirements applicable to compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel containers: a pressure cycling test evaluates a container's durability; a burst test evaluates a container's initial strength; and a bonfire test evaluates a container's pressure relief characteristics. In addition, the final rule specifies labeling requirements for CNG containers. The purpose of this new standard is to reduce deaths and injuries occurring from fires that result from fuel leakage from CNG containers.