Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Lamps, Reflective Devices and Associated Equipment

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This document proposes amendments to Standard No. 108, the Federal motor vehicle safety standard on lighting, which are intended to harmonize the geometric visibility requirements of the United States for signal lamps and reflectors with those of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE). Harmonization of motor vehicle safety regulations worldwide, without reducing safety, would allow manufacturers to produce products in compliance with a single world vehicle standard rather than several, thus reducing costs and improving the flow of trade. The amendments proposed would adopt either the ECE geometric visibility specifications or those of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), as an option to the present requirements. One of these specifications would be chosen for inclusion in the final rule. Mandatory compliance with the chosen specification would be required approximately five years after issuance of the final rule. This action responds to comments to a notice of proposed rulemaking published on this subject in 1995, which implemented the grant of a petition for rulemaking submitted by the Groupe de Travail Bruxelles 1952.