Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Rear Impact Guard Labels; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; Grant in Part, Denial in Part of Petition for Rulemaking

摘要

This document responds to petitions for rulemaking from the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association, American Trucking Associations, and Compass Transportation, Inc. Petitioners asked the agency to amend the Federal motor vehicle safety standard on rear impact guards by eliminating the labeling requirement. Under that requirement, rear impact guards must be permanently labeled with the guard manufacturer's name and address, the month and year in which the guard was manufactured, and the letters "DOT." The petitioners asked that if NHTSA declined to eliminate the labeling requirement, the agency instead amend the labeling requirement by eliminating the requirement that the label be permanent, and allowing manufacturers to place the label where it may be the least exposed to damage. This document denies petitioners' requests to eliminate the labeling requirement and the requirement that rear impact guards be permanently labeled, but grants petitioners' request to allow manufacturers to place the label on the rear impact guard where it may be least exposed to damage.