Denial of Petition for Rulemaking; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards

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This document denies petitions, submitted jointly by the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AAMA) and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) to amend two Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSSs), one on windshield defrosting and defogging and one on windshield wiping and washing, by accepting a European Union (EU) Directive as an optional ``functionally equivalent'' alternative to each safety standard. NHTSA has determined that both EU Directives require windshield minimum cleared areas which are smaller by up to 20 percent than those required by the counterpart Federal motor vehicle safety standards. The agency has concluded that the requirements of the European regulations provide less driving visibility and cannot assure equivalent safety performance. However, the agency believes that harmonization of windshield wiping, washing, defrosting and defogging regulations is possible using worldwide best practices in the context of a Global Technical Regulation developed under the UN/ECE Working Party 29, and it is pursuing such an approach.