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

Federal RegisterDec 4, 2007

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

49 CFR Parts 564 and 571

Docket No. NHTSA-2007-28322

RIN 2127-AJ75

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

AGENCY:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Department of Transportation.

ACTION:

Final Rule.

SUMMARY:

This document amends the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108 on lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment by reorganizing the regulatory text so that it provides a more straightforward and logical presentation of the applicable regulatory requirements, which includes the agency's interpretation of the existing requirements. It also greatly reduces the need to consult relevant third-party standards by including applicable requirements directly into the main body of Standard No. 108, rather than incorporating such provisions by reference. This final rule does not impose any new substantive requirements on manufacturers.

In addition, this document amends 49 CFR Part 564,

Replaceable Light Source Information,

by adding a newly created Appendix C, which relocates figures addressing sealed beam headlamps that currently reside in FMVSS No. 108 and a relevant Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard there. We believe few lighting manufacturers still produce sealed beam headlamps, and their diminishing use is unlikely to draw new manufacturers of this type of lamp. Accordingly, we see no drawbacks to consolidating the information regarding sealed beam light sources with other light source information currently located in 49 CFR Part 564.

DATES:

Effective date:

The final rule is effective September 1, 2008 with voluntary early compliance permitted immediately. The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of September 1, 2008.

Petitions for reconsideration:

Petitions for reconsideration of this final rule must be received not later than January 18, 2008.

ADDRESSES:

Any petitions for reconsideration should refer to the docket number of this document and be submitted to: Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building, Ground Floor, Docket Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For technical issues: David Hines, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards (NVS-121), NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone: (202) 493-0245) (Fax: (202) 366-7002).

For legal issues: Ari Scott, Office of the Chief Counsel (NCC-112), NHTSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., West Building, Washington, DC 20590 (Telephone: (202) 366-2992) (Fax: (202) 366-3820).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary

II. Background

A. Historical Overview of the Standard

B. The Need for an Administrative Rewrite of the Standard

III. December 2005 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Public Comments

A. The NPRM

B. Discussion of Public Comments Received in Response to the NPRM and Their Impact on the Final Rule

(a) 49 CFR Part 564

(b) 49 CFR Part 571.108

1. Administrative Considerations

2. Omissions, Typographical Errors, and Inconsistent Language

3. Organization of the Standard

4. Suggestions Beyond the Scope of the Rewrite

5. Suggestions Within the Scope of the Rewrite

IV. The Final Rule

A. 49 CFR Part 564

B. 49 CFR Part 571.108

V. Benefits and Costs

VI. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices

Appendix A: FMVSS No. 108 Rewrite Cross Reference

Appendix B: FMVSS No. 108 Rewrite Cross Reference

Appendix C: List of figures

I. Executive Summary

After carefully considering the public comments on its December 2005 proposal, the agency has decided to adopt a final rule amending Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108,

Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment,

by reorganizing the regulatory text and directly importing requirements from applicable SAE standards currently incorporated by reference into the regulatory text. In doing so, the agency has decided to make some changes from the NPRM, including modifying the organizational structure of the standard, relocating test procedures and performance requirements from attached tables to the regulatory text, and incorporating the substance of several additional interpretations into the standard. In addition, three SAE documents that the agency had proposed to continue to be incorporated by reference in the NPRM have now been integrated into the regulatory text, and the location of marking requirements within the standard has been further consolidated.

Consistent with the NPRM, the final rule also establishes an Appendix C in 49 CFR Part 564,

Replaceable Light Source Information,

as a repository for dimensional and electrical information associated with standardized sealed beam headlamps that currently resides in figures in FMVSS No. 108.

These modifications have furthered the objective of this rewrite by increasing clarity as follows: (1) Making requirements easier to find and comprehend; (2) presenting performance requirements and test procedures together through the inclusion of relevant provisions of third-party documents (previously incorporated by reference) directly into the regulatory text of the standard; and (3) updating Standard No. 108 to reflect significant letters of interpretation. The rewrite of FMVSS No. 108 is considered administrative in nature because the standard's existing requirements and obligations are not being increased, decreased, or substantively modified. Accordingly, costs associated with manufacturer compliance with Standard No. 108 are not expected to change as a result of this regulatory action.

II. Background

A. Historical Overview of the Standard

On December 30, 2005, NHTSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPRM) to amend FMVSS No. 108,

Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment,

by reorganizing the regulatory text so that it provides a more straight-forward and logical presentation of the applicable regulatory requirements. The initial version of FMVSS No. 108 was adopted almost 40 years ago to increase motor vehicle safety by establishing minimum requirements for vehicle lighting, reflective devices, and associated equipment. In developing the standard, NHTSA incorporated requirements from a number of industry consensus standards, in particular SAE standards. At that time, motor vehicle technologies were relatively simple, as compared to today's designs. For example, motor vehicle headlighting systems were limited to ones consisting of either two

7-inch or four 5

3/4

-inch round sealed beam units. During the ensuing years, a number of rectangular sealed beam units, replaceable bulb headlamps, and integral beam headlamps were developed, and FMVSS No. 108 was amended to permit the use of these new technologies. Later, the standard was further amended to add requirements for high-mounted stop lamps, side marker lamps, and side reflex reflectors, to allow for daytime running lamps, and to address the conspicuity needs of large vehicles.

70 Fr 77454, (Dec. 30, 2005) (Docket No. NHTSA-2006-23634-3).

However, such amendments were made on

an ad

hoc basis, which, over time, resulted in a patchwork organization for FMVSS No. 108. Furthermore, when regulated parties had questions regarding how FMVSS No. 108 should be interpreted (in many instances due to rapid advances in lighting technology not fully anticipated or addressed by the existing regulatory text), they submitted requests for interpretation to the agency on specific issues. Since its promulgation, a large number of interpretation letters have been issued pertaining to Standard No. 108. Thus, in its current state, FMVSS No. 108 has requirements that are located directly in its regulatory text, located in referenced and sub-referenced SAE standards, and elaborated upon in various agency interpretations. Since its inception, NHTSA has never completed a thorough reorganization of the entire standard.

B. The Need for an Administrative Rewrite of the Standard

Due to concerns about being able to locate requirements efficiently and the apparent lack of clarity associated with the standard (as demonstrated by an abundance of letters of interpretation), we decided to undertake an administrative rewrite of FMVSS No. 108. The agency has also received complaints that the current text of FMVSS No. 108 sometimes results in confusion, in part due to the way it is organized. Regulated parties have stated that the current organization of FMVSS No. 108 makes it difficult for them, at times, to be fully confident that all applicable requirements have been identified and satisfied prior to certification to the standard. Also, numerous interested parties have stated that the large number of interpretations that have been issued by the agency regarding Standard No. 108 make it difficult to locate and identify the agency's position on relevant issues. In addition, regulated parties have conveyed to the agency in recent years that some of the older versions of SAE standards incorporated by reference into FMVSS No. 108 are no longer readily available from SAE International.

Throughout the past few decades, SAE has published revised, successor versions, with differing requirements, for many of their standards incorporated by reference into FMVSS No. 108. This appears to sometimes cause confusion on the part of regulated parties who, mistakenly, may believe that the most recent version of a SAE standard represents the regulatory requirement. The agency believes that interested parties should have easy access to the requirements of the standard, and, therefore, we believe there is value in publishing, without substantive change, applicable requirements that are currently contained in third-party documents directly within FMVSS No. 108 itself. The same logic applies to our decision to include the results of relevant legal interpretations in the standard. Furthermore, several provisions currently in Standard No. 108 refer to regulatory inception dates that are several years in the past, so the agency is eliminating text citing such past dates.

For these reasons, we believe that the benefits of an administrative rewrite of FMVSS No. 108 (e.g., making the standard more navigable and thereby facilitating compliance with existing requirements) justify the necessary commitment of agency resources to accomplish this reorganization of the standard.

III. December 2005 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Public Comments

A. The NPRM

As noted above, NHTSA published a NPRM on December 30, 2005 that proposed to reorganize FMVSS No. 108 to improve the clarity of the standard's requirements, thereby increasing its utility for interested parties. This administrative rewrite attempted to make the standard more understandable by adopting a simplified numbering scheme, to improve organization by grouping related materials in a more logical and consistent sequence, and to reduce reliance on references to third-party documents. As proposed, the reorganized standard progressed from vehicle-level requirements to device-level requirements, beginning with the most common requirements and then proceeding to exceptions.

The NPRM also proposed to move figures addressing sealed beam headlamps that are currently included in FMVSS No. 108 and SAE J1383 APR85,

Performance Requirements for Motor Vehicle Headlamps,

into 49 CFR Part 564,

Replaceable Light Source Information,

as a newly created Appendix C. This modification would be consistent with the current practice of placing replaceable light source information in Part 564. The title of Part 564 would also be changed to “

Replaceable Light Source and Sealed Beam Headlamp Information

” to reflect the addition of the sealed beam headlamp content.

Whereas Standard No. 108 currently references approximately 35 different SAE documents in nearly 100 separate instances, the NPRM proposed reducing that number to eight documents, which were ones believed not to be routinely used by regulated parties. Accordingly, the NPRM proposed to incorporate the content of these frequently used SAE documents directly into the regulatory text and/or attached tables of Standard No. 108.

The proposed tables included Table I, which listed the required lamps and reflective devices for the various vehicles regulated by FMVSS No. 108. The number of required lamps and reflective devices, their color, their mounting locations and height above the road surface, and their manner of activation were included in Table I, which resembles an expanded version of Tables I through IV of the current FMVSS No. 108. Table II detailed the requirements for the four different kinds of headlighting systems permitted by the standard. Table III contained the conspicuity system requirements for large trucks and trailers, while Tables IV and V provided, respectively, effective projected luminous lens area requirements and visibility requirements. Tables VI through XII and XIV through XX listed photometric requirements for individual lamp types. Table XIII detailed the target locations for license plate lamp photometry. Table XXI contained test procedures and performance requirements for all associated devices. Finally Tables XXII and XXIII contained non-photometry test procedures and performance requirements for all lamps, reflective devices, replaceable light sources, and vehicle headlamp aiming devices (VHAD). In addition, several new figures were included to clarify some of the application requirements for conspicuity systems.

From a regulatory perspective, it was the agency's intention, as expressed in the NPRM, that the administrative rewrite of Standard No. 108 would neither result in any current obligation being diminished, nor any new obligation being imposed. In other words, the substantive requirements are identical to those of the current version

of FMVSS No. 108, including incorporated documents. Therefore, we do not believe that vehicle manufacturers and lighting manufacturers would have to make any changes to their respective products or production processes if the NPRM were made final.

B. Public Comments Received in Response to the NPRM

The agency received comments from twenty seven entities in response to the December 2005 NPRM, which were submitted by 11 lamp or lamp component manufacturers, 11 manufacturer or user associations, three vehicle manufacturers, and two test organizations. Commenters included: Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd., (Koito), Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA), General Electric Automotive Plastics (GE-Plastics), General Motors North America (GM), Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), Grote Industries, L.L.C., (Grote), Innovative Lighting, Inc., Calcoast Industrial Testing Laboratory (Calcoast), General Electric Automotive Lighting (GE), Valeo Sylvania, L.L.C. (VS), Guide Corporation (Guide), Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM), 3M Traffic Safety Systems (3M), Valeo Lighting Systems (Valeo), Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM), Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. (OOIDA), Atlas Material Testing Solutions (Atlas), American Trucking Associations, Inc. (ATA), Honda Motor Co., LTD. (Honda), Nissan North America, Inc., (Nissan), and Bayer Material Science, L.L.C., (Bayer). A joint response was submitted by Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), Transportation Safety Equipment Institute (TSEI), and Motor Vehicle Lighting Council (MVLC), collectively the Associations (ASSN). Several months after the comment closing date the Associations submitted a supplementary response which was shortly followed by another supplementary response in conjunction with the Alliance (AAM/ASSN). All comments are available in Docket No. NHTSA-2006-23634 and were considered in the promulgation of this final rule.

The comments about the NPRM that we received can be divided into five general categories: (1) Administrative Considerations; (2) Omissions, Typographical Errors, and Inconsistent Language; (3) Organizational Structure; (4) Suggestions Beyond the Scope of the Rewrite; and (5) Suggestions Within the Scope of the Rewrite. A summary and analysis of each issue identified is provided below.

(a) 49 CFR Part 564

We received only one substantive comment concerning the relocation of the sealed beam headlamp figures into a new Appendix C of Part 564 of this chapter. GE requested a separate NPRM for this purpose and that the drawings that would be filed in Appendix C be made available for review.

We stated in

Summary of the Proposal

in the NPRM that the final rule adopting the rewrite of Standard No. 108 would occur concurrently with the relocation of the sealed beam figures to Appendix C of Part 564. We also provided, at the end of that notice, a complete listing of all the figures and where they currently reside in FMVSS No. 108 or SAE J1383 APR85, which is incorporated by reference in the current version of FMVSS No. 108, but we did not provide specific regulatory text for Appendix C in the NPRM. Ample opportunity was provided for public comment on this issue, so we are making the establishment of Appendix C of Part 564 of this chapter and the transfer of the identified figures to it part of the final rule. We believe that it would be beneficial for the sealed beam drawings to be relocated as part of this reorganization so that applicable requirements are transferred in an accurate manner, thereby satisfying our commitment not to change the existing requirements of the standard.

(b) 49 CFR 571.108

1. Administrative Considerations

Some of the comments submitted in response to the NPRM were not focused upon the substance of the rewrite but rather addressed administrative concerns. Several commenters requested statements of reassurance that “* * * no substantive changes from existing requirements are intended,” and “* * * state that the existing body of interpretations is still valid.” On these points, we clarify as follows. First we reiterate that the administrative rewrite, as expressed in this final rule, does not make any substantive changes to the requirements of Standard No. 108. Furthermore, as stated in the NPRM, not all letters of interpretation were appropriate for inclusion into the regulatory language of FMVSS No. 108. Generally, we excluded those that we concluded did not add value to the regulatory text (i.e., one without broad applicability). However, all existing letters of interpretation, whether or not they are specifically integrated into the FMVSS No. 108 final rule, continue to reflect the legal opinion of the agency unless they contradict the explicit regulatory text of the standard or were overturned by subsequent interpretations.

AAM suggested that the final rule should not be mandatory until September 1st, one year after publication of the final rule. We have established September 1, 2008 as the mandatory compliance date, with voluntary early compliance permitted immediately.

ATA, OOIDA, and TMA all expressed concern about conflicts between FMVSS No. 108 and the regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). They requested that the rewrite of Standard No. 108 reconcile the differences that they perceive between it and the regulations of the FMCSA.

The FMCSA has established regulations for lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment for commercial vehicles in use and a few specialized types of commercial vehicles at time of manufacture. The FMCSA made significant revisions to its lighting regulations in 2005

and some substantive differences do exist between the lighting regulations of FMCSA and FMVSS No. 108. These differences may have the potential to cause manufacturers of lamps and reflective devices that fall under the jurisdiction of both NHTSA and FMCSA to pursue different design, manufacturing, and compliance processes to satisfy the regulations of both agencies. However, any attempt at reconciliation here would be outside the scope of the rewrite process. Recently, FMCSA issued a final rule

in response to a petition for reconsideration to its August 15, 2005 final rule, which resolved the differences between its regulations and FMVSS No. 108, as interpreted in NHTSA's July 28, 2005 interpretation to Mr. Clarke,

concerning auxiliary lamps mounted near identification lamps. Regulated parties may want to consider other approaches to address the remaining differences between FMVSS No. 108 and 49 CFR Part 393. One such approach could be to submit rulemaking petitions to NHTSA and FMSCA requesting reconciliation of the differences between FMVSS No. 108 and 49 CFR Part 393.

See 49 CFR Part 393, as last revised by 70 FR 48008 August 15, 2005 (Docket No. FMCSA-1997-2364-44).

72 CFR 32011 (June 11, 2007) (Docket No. FMCSA 1997-2364).

http://isearch.nhtsa.gov/files/GF002551.3.html.

2. Omissions, Typographical Errors, and Inconsistent Language

Given the complexity of the proposed administrative rewrite of FMVSS No. 108, including the integration of the content of numerous SAE standards incorporated by reference into the regulatory text, some omissions and typographical errors occurred. Numerous comments were received identifying such occurrences. Accordingly, we have amended the regulatory text of the final rule to correct these errors.

Some respondents have noted instances where they believe that the language of the regulatory text used in the NPRM was not faithful to the language and intent of the current FMVSS No. 108. In many instances where a claim of unfaithful language was made in the comments, the agency adopted a conservative approach, choosing to revise the language of the NPRM back to that of the original document in the final rule. Where such a revision was not made, we have stated our reasons for that decision.

Two rather significant instances where contradictory regulatory language was found to exist in the current version of FMVSS No. 108 and its incorporated documents are discussed here. One has to do with the appropriate photometric requirement for a specific type of replaceable bulb headlamp and is discussed in detail in the section devoted to Table II. The other concerns the ratio between the stop lamp function and the taillamp function in a lamp where those functions are optically combined. The discussion related to Table IX contains an explanation of this issue. Both instances bolster our opinion that regulatory requirements should be stated once and only once in a document. Neither instance has ever generated an interpretation request nor did many respondents raise either issue in their comments to the docket. This reinforces our belief that, notwithstanding the existence of ambiguous regulatory language, the intent of the specific requirements was clear.

Because correction of either situation would require a substantive change to FMVSS No. 108, we have decided to refrain from addressing these examples now. However, we may issue a notice of correction in the near future to address what we believe are mistakes and inconsistencies that have existed for some time in Standard No. 108.

3. Organization of the Standard

The organizational structure of the reorganized standard, as presented in the NPRM, progressed from vehicle-level requirements to device-level requirements, beginning with the most common requirements and then proceeding to exceptions. Requirements in the rewrite of FMVSS No. 108 are consolidated into dedicated paragraphs. Paragraphs S1 through S4 were organized in the same manner as the present standard. S4,

Definitions

, was expanded to incorporate relevant definitions from the applicable SAE standards previously incorporated as part of Standard No. 108. Paragraph S5 addressed the remaining references to SAE standards. Vehicle-level requirements were located in paragraph S6, including requirements by vehicle type. Following that, requirements were organized with dedicated sections for each type of lamp and reflective device, beginning with signal lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment under paragraph S7, and headlamp and headlighting requirements under paragraphs S8 through S13, and S16 through S18. Paragraph S14 addressed aimability performance requirements, while paragraph S15 contained requirements for replaceable light sources (including references to Part 564). In order to make requirements easier to find, a Table of Contents was added as an appendix to the standard.

The most detailed comments about the organizational structure of the standard were those in the supplementary response from the ASSN/AAM, which recommended a significantly different organizational structure that would divide the content of FMVSS No. 108 into four sections. Under the ASSN/AAM structure, the first section would contain general and specific lamp requirements, and the second section would consist of Tables I, II, III, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIV, XV, XVI (split into three separate tables), XVII, XVIII, XIX, and XX. However, there would be some format changes to lamp photometry tables and the addition of graphical illustrations of photometric test points. These commenters similarly suggested three new tables that would graphically illustrate the required photometric test points, lines, and areas associated with upper beam headlamps, lower beam mechanically aimed headlamps, and lower beam visually/optically aimed headlamps. The third section would contain all the figures of the NPRM as well as Table XIII,

License Plate Lamp Target Locations

, redesigned as Figure 19. The fourth section would be subdivided into five annexes which would contain photometric test procedures and the physical test procedures of Tables XXI, XXII, and XXIII.

ASSN/AAM also suggested dividing Table I into five separate tables: one for vehicles less than 80 in (2032 mm) in overall width, another for vehicles 80 in (2032 mm) or more in overall width, one for trailers, one for motorcycles, and one for school buses. The activation requirements would be removed from these tables and located in a new paragraph titled “

Electrical

.” Tables IV and V covering projected luminous lens area and visibility would be eliminated and their requirements dispersed to the applicable individual lamp sections. These individual lamp sections would have a common format divided into 14 subsections representing specific requirements. An additional table would be created that would contain all marking requirements.

In consideration of the comments submitted by ASSN/AAM, we have decided to make significant changes to the structure of the standard presented in the NPRM. These structural changes include: (1) Relocating test procedures and performance requirements that were primarily contained in paragraph S6.8 and Tables XXI, XXII, and XXIII of the proposal, to paragraph S14 of the final rule; (2) expanding and standardizing the presentation of requirements in individual lamp and reflective device sections of the final rule beyond that of the proposal; (3) including the provisions from additional SAE documents, incorporated by reference in the proposal, in the regulatory text of the final rule; and (4) further consolidating the location of marking requirements in the final rule beyond that of the proposal.

We believe there is value in adopting a structure in the final rule that is easy for regulated parties to navigate. There were some aspects of the ASSN/AAM recommended structure that we did not adopt due to our effort to avoid redundancies, streamline the standard, and avoid adding new material not currently contained in Standard No. 108, including graphs, which could cause confusion. We believe that our approach in modifying the structure of the NPRM will collectively provide the most value to all end-users.

We have decided to adopt the ASSN/AAM recommendation regarding reorganization of the layout of several photometry requirement tables for reasons that follow. Standard No. 108 provides two alternative methods for demonstrating the photometric compliance of turn signal lamps, taillamps, stop lamps, backup lamps, parking lamps, and high-mounted stop lamps. For these lamps compliance can

be demonstrated by achieving a minimum photometric intensity at each of 18 to 22 discrete test points distributed within a pattern about 20° high and 40° wide centered about the H-V axis.

Alternatively, FMVSS No. 108 also permits these specific lamps to demonstrate compliance by meeting a minimum photometric intensity for groups of these test points. Individual test points in proximity to each other are organized into groups consisting of from two to six points. The minimum photometric intensity requirement of each group is approximately (but not always exactly) the arithmetic sum of the minimum photometric intensities of all included points. This allows a lamp where one or more test point(s) in a group do not meet their individual minimum values to be compliant provided the remaining test points in the group exceed their minimum values by enough to allow the group total to exceed the group requirement.

Turn signal lamps, taillamps, stop lamps, and parking lamps have five groups of test points; while backup lamps have six groups, and high-mounted stop lamps have four groups.

The pattern is wider for backup lamps and tighter for high mounted stop lamps.

No individual test point photometric intensity can fall below 60% of the point requirement when the group photometric method is used. In addition, photometric values between adjacent test points are regulated.

Tables VI, VII, VIII, IX, XII, XV, which detail photometry requirements for those lamps permitted to use both the individual test point and the grouped test point compliance methods, are formatted such that test points are organized in group order. Progressing from left to right horizontally, each test point group is identified by number, and then the individual test points included within that group are identified by their vertical and horizontal positions. Next, the minimum photometric intensity for each individual test point is shown, and finally, at the right end, the group minimum photometric intensity is shown.

In contrast, the photometry requirements tables suggested by the ASSN/AAM, and endorsed by Calcoast, organize the lamp test points in a vertical, then horizontal, manner that requires the user to search for each point to include in a group and then consult a sub-table to find out the minimum photometric requirement for that group. We find this suggested approach unnecessarily complex and prone to increasing, not decreasing, the possibility of error in determining photometric requirements. Therefore, we have decided to retain the format of the photometric tables as presented in the NPRM with one simplification, which was to locate the horizontal and vertical test point positions in the same relative positions in each table.

Calcoast suggested, and we agree, that the horizontal test point positions and the vertical test point positions should always appear in the same columns. In our earlier proposal, this was not the case, and we have made modifications consistent with Calcoast's suggestion. The final rule designates the horizontal test point positions in a column to the left of a column that designates the corresponding vertical test point positions.

Nissan suggested that those lamps that are permitted to demonstrate photometric compliance by either the individual test point method or the grouped test point method have the required photometric intensity values for each individual test point reduced to 60 percent of the current requirement and only allow use of the grouped test point method. We did not adopt this suggestion because it would have reduced the number of compliance methods available to manufacturers, a substantive change beyond the scope of this administrative rewrite.

The original response from the ASSN, as well as the comments from Guide, suggested abandoning Tables XVIII and XIX and incorporating headlamp photometry requirements in a series of tables similar to the current FMVSS No. 108. We were not persuaded that more headlamp photometric tables would add value to the standard. Upper beam headlamp requirements are not related to whether a headlamp is mechanically or visually/optically aimed and six beam patterns adequately cover all headlamps. Many photometric test points are common to all lower beam headlamps. Tables XVIII and XIX present all required beam patterns (except for certain motorcycle headlamps) in a clear and concise format. Table II directs the user to the appropriate beam pattern in Tables XVIII and XIX. We retained this format for headlamp photometry requirements in the final rule.

Several commenters mentioned inconsistent use of a “no requirement” indicator where a test point appears in a photometry requirements table but there is no value required at that point. Our proposal used both a blank space and a N.R. notation. In the final rule, we have adopted a consistent indicator that there is no requirement for a test point. A dashed line (-) is used exclusively for this purpose in photometry requirements tables.

Commenters generally favored the use of tables in the NPRM for presenting performance requirements. However, Nissan, Grote, and TTMA all commented that Table I was too lengthy and should be separated into several sections based on common content. The Alliance suggested splitting Table XXIII into three separate tables because it contains tests for three distinctive items: (1) Headlamps, (2) vehicle headlamp aiming devices (VHAD), and (3) replaceable light sources. The differentiation of content in Table II of the NPRM was mentioned as being a particularly appropriate method of providing distinction.

Several commenters, including ASSN/AAM and Grote, noted that tables containing significant amounts of text, such as the test requirements in Tables XXI, XXII, and XXIII, would be difficult to use because of lengthy passages that contain several sentences and express several unique test conditions or requirements. We agree with these comments. The tabular format is best suited to displaying quantitative values or short textual requirements. In the final rule, we moved virtually all test procedures and performance requirements to S14, the last section of the standard. Specifically, the content of Table XXI of the NPRM has been moved to S14.9,

Associated Equipment Physical Test Procedures and Performance Requirements

, the content of Table XXII of the NPRM has been moved to S14.3,

Motorcycle Headlamp Out of Focus Test Procedures and Performance Requirements

, S14.4,

General Test Procedures and Performance Requirements

(consisting of the color test and plastic optical materials test), and S14.5,

Signal Lamp and Reflective Device Test Procedures and Performance Requirements.

In addition, the content of Table XXIII of the NPRM has been moved to S14.6,

Headlamp Physical Test Procedures and Performance Requirements

, S14.7,

Replaceable Light Source Physical Test Procedures and Performance Requirements

, and S14.8,

Vehicle Headlamp Aiming Devices (VHAD) Physical Test Procedures and Performance Requirements.

General test procedures and performance requirements that were located in S6.8 of the NPRM have been placed in S14.1 of the final rule. Similarly, the photometric test procedures of S6.8 of the NPRM are now in S14.2 of the final rule.

In the final rule, we decided to split several of the tables into shorter, more distinctive, sections and we completely revised the content of Table III and Table XIII. Table I,

Required Lamps and

Reflective Devices

, is divided into three parts: (1) Table I-a for passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses of all widths; (2) Table I-b for trailers, and (3) Table I-c for motorcycles. We decided upon sectioning Table I in this manner for several reasons. One is user diversity. Organizations that manufacture vehicles such as passenger cars, multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, and buses typically do not also manufacture trailers or motorcycles. Likewise, organizations that manufacture trailers typically do not manufacture self propelled vehicles, and those that manufacture motorcycles do not produce cars, trucks, or trailers. Some commenters suggested separate sections for narrow vehicles (less than 2032 mm in width) and wide vehicles (those 2032 mm or wider). However, several manufacturers produce both narrow and wide vehicles, sometimes as different optional versions of the same vehicle, such as pickup trucks.

Another consideration was commonality. Both narrow and wide vehicles are required to be equipped with a headlighting system, turn signal lamps, taillamps, stop lamps, side marker lamps, side and rear reflex reflectors, backup lamps and license plate lamps. Narrow vehicles are required to have parking lamps and high-mounted stop lamps while wide vehicles are not. Similarly, wide vehicles must have clearance and identification lamps which are not required on narrow vehicles. This same distinction occurs between narrow and wide trailers, for which common content significantly surpasses differentiated content. Therefore, we have concluded that it is unnecessary to section Table I by vehicle width.

We are retaining the title of the three sections of Table I as

Required Lamps and Reflective Devices,

even though one of the lamps listed in Table I-a, Daytime Running Lamp (DRL), is not a required lamp. The heading above the DRL listing clearly describes it as being permitted but not required. However, because the DRL, when installed, is regulated in all attributes listed in Table I,

Number and Color, Mounting Location, Mounting Height, and Device Activation

(unlike other non-required lamps), the agency decided that Table I is the appropriate location for it.

The three sections of Table IV,

Effective Projected Luminous Lens Area Requirements,

are now identified as: (1) Table IV-a covering turn signal and stop lamps; (2) Table IV-b for high-mounted stop lamps; and (3) Table IV-c for school bus signal lamps. The four sections of Table V,

Visibility Requirements of Installed Lighting Devices,

now include: (1) Table V-a for backup lamps, high-mounted stop lamps, and school bus signal lamps; (2) Table V-b which contains the lens area option for turn signal lamps, stop lamps, taillamps, and parking lamps; (3) Table V-c which has the luminous intensity option for turn signal lamps, stop lamps, taillamps, and parking lamps; and (4) Table V-d that has older alternative requirements for turn signal lamps, stop lamps, and taillamps.

Table VI,

Front Turn Signal Lamp Photometry Requirements,

was split into two sections in the final rule. Table VI-a contains the base front turn signal lamp photometry requirements and also the values for 2

1/2

times the base photometry requirements while Table IV-b contains values for 2 times the base photometry requirements and 1 the base photometry requirements

New Table XIII consisting of: (1) Table XIII-a,

Motorcycle Turn Signal Lamp Alternative Photometry Requirements,

and (2) Table XIII-b,

Motor Driven Cycle Alternative Photometry Requirements,

includes the stop lamp requirements for certain motor driven cycles previously part of Table IX in the NPRM, as well as alternative turn signal requirements for motorcycles noted in paragraph S7.1.1.1 and S7.1.2.1 of the NPRM but not previously tabularized. The three sections of Table XVI are now: (1) Table XVI-a,

Reflex Reflector Photometry Requirements,

(2) Table XVI-b,

Additional Photometry Requirements for Conspicuity Reflex Reflectors,

and (3) Table XVI-c,

Retroreflective Sheeting Photometry Requirements.

Table XIX has been split into Tables XIX-a, containing photometric requirements for lower beam patterns LB1M, LB1V, LB2M, and LB2V. Table XIX-b contains requirements for lower beam patterns LB3M, LB3V, LB4M, and LB5M while Table XIX-c contains requirements for lower beam pattern LB4V.

As mentioned previously, the ASSN/AAM response proposed a common, templated organizational format for the individual lamp sections and expansion of their content to include 14 subsections representing specific requirements. The requirements that they suggested be included in each section include: (1) Number, (2) color of light, (3) arrangement, (4) position, (5) geometric visibility, (6) orientation, (7) effective projected luminous lens area, (8) electrical, (9) tell tale, (10) marking requirements, (11) other provisions, (12) plastic materials, (13) photometry, and (14) physical tests. Implementing this request presents a dilemma for several reasons. First, most of the requirements suggested to be listed in individual lamp sections are already stated in parts of Table I, Table IV, and Table V. Table I of the NPRM is an expansion of Tables I, II, III, and IV of the current version of Standard No. 108, tables which have been part of the standard for decades. The agency rarely receives questions or complaints about regulatory content contained in Tables I through IV, but instead, they are often considered the most useful feature of the current version. We received no comments, including the ASSN/AAM submission, which suggested elimination of Table I.

We also believe that the suggestion of ASSN/AAM to remove the activation requirements from Table I and place them all in a new section titled “Electrical” was without merit. The activation requirements of the various types of lamps, like the other categories listed in Table I, are primarily vehicle-level requirements rather than device-level requirements, and are best presented along with those other requirements.

Table V of the NPRM is a restatement of Figures 19 and 20 of the current version of Standard No. 108, which were added in a final rule

published on August 11, 2004 which promulgated the current visibility requirements. The agency decided that it would not be appropriate to disperse the visibility requirements of Table V (and likewise the effective projected luminous lens area requirements of Table IV) into individual lamp sections. The primary reason was that in real world situations, many lamp functions are combined with other lamp functions, very often optically combined. It is not unusual for a vehicle to have a combination rear lamp where the taillamp, stop lamp, and rear turn signal lamp functions are optically combined. The same holds true for front turn signal lamps and parking lamps. The presentation of visibility requirements for all regulated lamp functions together in Table IV allows regulated parties to quickly determine the appropriate requirements for such combination lamps and perhaps aid the decision about which visibility alternative to use for certification.

69 FR 48805 (Aug. 11, 2004) (Docket No. 2004-18794-1).

The decision to leave Tables I, IV, and V intact in the final rule means that adopting the ASSN/AAM template for individual lamp sections would result in large scale duplication of requirements in Standard No. 108. Duplication of the same requirement in more than one location in a regulatory document has the potential for

unintended consequences. We intended to avoid those consequences by having each discrete requirement only stated once in Standard No. 108.

See the discussions of Table II and Table IX for explanations of existing duplicated requirements in the current version of FMVSS No. 108.

Therefore, to be responsive to the request of ASSN/AAM concerning the format of individual lamp sections while still maintaining the integrity of the standard by having only a single statement of each requirement, we have adopted the use of pointing statements. These pointing statements appear in those subsections of each lamp section where a requirement does exist but is stated in another location of the standard. For instance, in paragraph S7.4 pertaining to side marker lamps, subsections 7.4.1

Number,

7.4.2

Color of light,

7.4.3

Mounting location,

7.4.4

Mounting height,

and 7.4.5

Activation,

all conclude with the pointing statement “See Tables I-a, I-b, and I-c.” Similarly, S7.4.9

Markings

points to S6.5 for details of the applicable marking requirements. S7.4.6

Effective projected luminous lens area,

S7.4.7

Visibility,

S7.4.8

Indicator,

S7.4.10

Spacing to other lamps,

S7.4.11

Multiple compartment and multiple lamps,

and S7.4.12

Ratio

all conclude with the term “No requirement” indicating a requirement for those specific items of lamp performance does not exist in Standard No. 108.

The entire content of Table III of the NPRM, dealing with conspicuity systems, was moved to paragraph S8.2 of the final rule. A new Table III was created to serve as a compilation of pointing statements directed to the locations within the final rule where marking requirements reside. While some headlamp marking requirements were relocated to paragraph S6.5 in the final rule, a number of other marking requirements continue to be dispersed within the document. In these cases, we have decided that the marking requirements are best located near the specific items to which they apply. However, these locations are all identified in Table III and consultation with this table should lead the user to all applicable marking requirements.

Grote suggested that lengthy paragraphs of regulatory text be simplified by splitting them into separately numbered sub-paragraphs, particularly where the requirements were diverse. In a number of instances, we have been able to create such separation. Regulatory provisions (including renumbered paragraphs) where this has been done include: S6.1.3, S6.1.4.2, S6.1.5.2, S6.2.6, S6.5.3.3, S6.5.3.4, S6.6, S7.1.1.11, S7.1.1.12, S7.1.2.11, S7.1.2.12, S7.1.3, S7.2.11, S7.3.11, S7.3.12, S7.3.15, S7.7.13, S7.7.15, S7.9.14, S8.2.1, S8.2.2.3, S9.3.4, S9.8, S10.14.2, S10.17.1.1, S10.17.1.2, S10.17.1.3, S13, S14.1.4, S14.2.1, S14.2.3, S14.2.4, S14.2.5, S14.4.1, S14.4.2, S14.5, S14.6, S14.7, and S14.9. We have included the term “split for clarity” or similar language, often parenthetically, numerous places in the discussion of revisions to note where a section of text from the NPRM was divided into several smaller sub-sections in the final rule but not otherwise revised.

Guide submitted numerous suggestions for reorganizing the NPRM by the reassignment of certain paragraphs within the organizational framework of the NPRM. In several instances, the agency concluded that the Guide suggestion proved to be a more appropriate location for a paragraph than the location proposed in the NPRM. We have noted these reassignments in our discussion (but without attribution to a Guide suggestion in some cases). This has caused numerous changes in the paragraph numbers throughout the regulatory text. Where a requirement in the final rule was identified differently in the NPRM, we have indicated the previous paragraph number in the revision summary.

A number of Guide's suggested reassignments were not adopted, because we decided that the applicable textual provisions were already situated in the most appropriate location. Again, we did not mention every such rejection of Guide's suggested ordering or our reasoning for such decisions. While we believe that the final rule's organizational structure is the optimal choice, we recognize that it is not the only choice. Often, some of the requirements of Standard No. 108 intermix several attributes of lamps. Such an example is paragraph S7.11.2.1 which contains requirements for a DRL spaced near a turn signal lamp (

e.g.,

considerations for the actual separation distance, the luminous intensity of both the DRL and the turn signal lamp, whether the DRL is optically combined with a lower beam headlamp, and the activation properties of both the DRL and turn signal lamp). Requirements such as these do not fit neatly into a

Mounting Location

section or an

Activation

section, and their essence would not survive dispersion of the component requirements into these sections because of their interdependence on several diverse attributes.

Another such situation involves the presentation of the requirements for conspicuity systems. The content of Table III of the NPRM was moved to paragraph S8.2 of the regulatory text to provide a more comprehensible presentation format. An argument could be made that this content should be split into two portions, one portion describing how conspicuity material is spaced and arranged and another portion describing where conspicuity material is to be placed on applicable vehicles. If this apportionment were made, the first portion could be considered a device-level requirement and the second portion a vehicle-level requirement. Dispersing conspicuity system content in this way may seem correct from an organizational perspective, but would be in conflict with the goals of the rewrite of Standard No. 108 to present the requirements in a straight forward and logical manner.

Our guiding principle in organizing the structure of the FMVSS No. 108 final rule was to attempt to locate each requirement in the place where a user would be most likely to look for it. Accordingly, the final rule has been organized with the following major sections:

Scope.

Purpose.

Application.

Definitions.

References to SAE publications.

Vehicle requirements.

Signal lamp requirements.

Reflective device requirements.

Associated equipment requirements.

S10

Headlighting system requirements.

S11

Replaceable light source requirements.

S12

Headlamp concealment device requirements.

S13

Replaceable headlamp lens requirements.

S14

Physical and photometry test procedures and performance requirements.

Tables

Table I

Required Lamps and Reflective Devices.

Table II

Headlighting Systems.

Table III

Marking Requirements Location.

Table IV

Effective Projected Luminous Lens Area Requirements.

Table V

Visibility Requirements of Installed Lighting Devices.

Table VI

Front Turn Signal Lamps Photometry Requirements.

Table VII

Rear Turn Signal Lamps Photometry Requirements.

Table VIII

Taillamp Photometry Requirements.

Table IX

Stop Lamp Photometry Requirements.

Table X

Side Marker Lamp Photometry Requirements.

Table XI

Clearance and Identification Lamps Photometry Requirements.

Table XII

Backup Lamp Photometry Requirements.

Table XIII-a

Motorcycle Turn Signal Lamp Alternative Photometry Requirements.

Table XIII-b

Motor Driven Cycle Stop Lamp Alternative Photometry Requirements.

Table XIV

Parking Lamp Photometry Requirements.

Table XV

High-Mounted Stop Lamp Photometry Requirements.

Table XVI

Reflex Reflector and Retroreflective Sheeting Photometry Requirements.

Table XVII

School Bus Signal Lamp Photometry Requirements.

Table XVIII

Headlamp Upper Beam Photometry Requirements.

Table XIX

Headlamp Lower Beam Photometry Requirements.

Table XX

Motorcycle Headlamp Photometry Requirements.

Figures

Figure 1

Chromaticity Diagram.

Figure 2

Flasher Performance Chart.

Figure 3

Replaceable Bulb Headlamp Aim Pads.

Figure 4

Headlamp Connector Setup.

Figure 5

Headlamp Abrasion Test Fixture.

Figure 6

Thermal Cycle Test Profile.

Figure 7

Dirt/Ambient Test Setup.

Figure 8

Replaceable Light Source Deflection Test Setup.

Figure 9

Environmental Test Profile.

Figure 10

Headlamp Replaceable Light Source Pressure Test Setup.

Figure 11

Trailer Conspicuity Treatment Examples.

Figure 12-1

Trailer Conspicuity Detail I.

Figure 12-2

Trailer Conspicuity Detail II.

Figure 13

Tractor Conspicuity Examples.

Figure 14

92x150 Headlamp Aim Deflection Test Setup.

Figure 15

Types G and H Headlamp Aim Deflection Test Setup.

Figure 16

Types A and E Headlamp Aim Deflection Test Setup.

Figure 17

Type B Headlamp Aim Deflection Test Setup.

Figure 18

Types C and D Headlamp Aim Deflection Test Setup.

Figure 19

License Plate Lamp Target Locations.

Figure 20

License Plate Lamp Measurement of Incident Light Angle.

Figure 21

Vibration Test Machine.

Figure 22

Flasher Test Standard Circuit.

4. Suggestions Beyond the Scope of the Rewrite

Units of Measurements

Several comments were received concerning the way quantities in the NPRM were measured, in terms of units. In some cases, measurements were only in metric units, others in only English units, and still others dual-dimensioned with both metric and English units. We note that this situation currently exists within Standard No. 108 and the SAE standards and Recommended Practices incorporated by reference. Such perceived inconsistencies in the final rule are the result of the agency's decision to make no substantive changes to Standard No. 108 during the rewrite process. This means stating measurements in their original form consistent with their original source documents, instead of attempting to convert and standardize the units.

ASSN preferred dual English/metric measurements for every quantity and requested that both be provided in the final rule. The commenter also preferred that linear measurements be expressed in both inches and centimeters. AAM requested dual units with metric units followed by English units and the use of direct conversions to establish those measurements that were only stated in one unit in the NPRM. Nissan argued that in recent rulemakings, the agency has consistently listed measurements using metric units with English units referenced parenthetically. Nissan preferred linear measurements that were in millimeters, except for photometric test distances which should remain dimensioned in meters. Conversely, Grote recommended that measurements be expressed in inches followed by centimeters in parentheses, believing that the vast majority of current users continue to use English measurements. SEMA also supported dual units of measurements with a preference for centimeters rather than millimeters. In supplemental comments, AAM/ASSN requested all quantities in FMVSS No. 108 that are not now metric be converted to metric pursuant to Executive Order 12770 (

Metric Usage in Federal Government Programs

The FMVSS No. 108 rewrite is considered an administrative action because existing requirements and obligations are not being increased, decreased, or substantively modified. The agency has decided that converting values and providing dual-dimensions is outside the scope of this final rule. The conversion process, in some cases, would result in substantive change in the current requirements of the standard. This is because such conversions rarely result in a whole number equivalent, but more likely in an unwieldy value with more digits than the value it was converted from. The converted unit may have a non-exact value requiring it to be truncated after several digits. Such rounding may have little effect on some attributes but significant effect on others. An additional complication is that some currently dual-dimensioned values in FMVSS No. 108 are not exact equivalents. For instance, the air pressure required to be applied to the replaceable light source in the replaceable light source pressure test is expressed as 70 KPa (10 psig). However, the English equivalent of 70 KPa is 10.152641661 psig and the metric equivalent of 10 psig is 68.9475728 KPa. Thus, a user may conclude that a replaceable light source may be compliant with the standard if it withstands a pressure of 68.9475728 KPa and not 70 KPa.

Additionally, the comments received in response to the NPRM show that users of FMVSS No. 108 do not have a consistent preference for a particular approach regarding units of measurement. In consideration of our principle not to change any existing requirements, as well as the wide range of opinions on the best approach for dual-dimensioning, the agency decided to present values consistent with the current standard instead of choosing one of the suggested options.

Photometric Maps

As previously mentioned, the AAM/ASSN supplementary comments, the ASSN initial comments, and the NAL comments recommend inclusion of a number of new graphical maps that would show details of the requirements for the various photometric test patterns. The signal lamp maps would show the position of each individual test point and how those points are combined into groups. The headlamp maps would show individual test points, linear test elements, and zonal test elements.

In reviewing the suggested graphical maps, it was unclear which test points were part of which zone. Furthermore, such maps are beyond the scope of the administrative rewrite. In addition, there were no compelling arguments presented addressing how their inclusion would advance the goals of the rewrite. Adding such graphical maps would provide redundant information, significantly increasing the risk of potentially conflicting requirements, and likely generate numerous interpretation requests, especially if users were confused by the new graphs.

That is not to say that these types of illustrations have no value. They seem particularly well suited for use by design and manufacturing organizations use in their internal design standards or photometric test procedures documents. Standard No. 108, like all Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, strives to present regulatory requirements in the clearest way possible. It is not intended to serve as an all-inclusive working guide for designing, testing, or manufacturing lamps, reflective devices, or associated equipment. NHTSA

anticipates that user organizations will carefully incorporate the requirements of FMVSS No. 108 into their internal working documents.

Requests for New or Revised Definitions

Commenters requested inclusion in the final rule of numerous definitions for specific terms. These include: “center (of item),” “fixed body panel,” “four lamp type headlamp,” “hazard warning lamps,” “obstruction,” “rigid part of vehicle,” “separately lighted areas,” “two lamp type headlamp,” “special tools,” “tools ordinarily available,” “supplemental lamp,” and “auxiliary lamp.” There was also a suggestion for a revised definition for the term “color bleeding,” alleging it could be mistaken for the term “light bleed.” A suggestion was also submitted for addition of definitions of all lamp types mentioned in the current version of FMVSS No. 108, with the specific example of fog lamp.

In its initial submission, AAM suggested the final rule use the term “* * * light source optical centers * * *” in place of the term “* * * light sources * * *” and the term “* * * optical centers * * *” in place of the term “* * * optical axes * * *” as revisions that would be technology-neutral in the specific case of a series wired array of LEDs being considered a single light source per the January 5, 2006 letter of interpretation to AMECA.

There were also suggestions that the term “lighted section” be used exclusively and in place of “multiple compartment” and “multiple lighted area.” Adopting any of these suggestions would have been a substantive action which would be beyond the defined scope of this rewrite. For this reason we have not adopted any of these suggested modifications in the final rule.

http://isearch.nhtsa.gov/files/Wolford.2.html.

5. Suggestions Within the Scope of the Rewrite

SAE Documents

A significant initiative of the FMVSS No. 108 rewrite was the incorporation of requirements contained in SAE Standards and Recommended Practices (currently incorporated by reference or sub-reference) directly into the body of the standard. The current version of Standard No. 108 relies heavily on the content of numerous SAE documents. It contains over 100 references to some 35 different SAE documents, many of which were issued in the 1960s. Some of these documents are incorporated in their entirety, whereas only portions of others are cited. The NPRM integrated much of the content of these SAE document directly into the regulatory language, resulting in only eight SAE documents continuing to be incorporated by reference.

Generally commenters supported this action. SEMA requested that all referenced and sub-referenced SAE documents be included in the regulatory text of the final rule. While total elimination of documents incorporated by reference proved to be impractical, we did eliminate references to three additional SAE documents in the final rule as discussed below. We also restored a reference to SAE J567b,

Bulb Sockets,

in S14.2.1.6.2 of the final rule based upon comments by Calcoast. This reference exists in Footnotes 2 and 3, which follow Table IV, of the current version of FMVSS No. 108, but was eliminated in the NPRM. We agree with Calcoast that the exemption permitted in these footnotes stating that bulbs not listed in SAE J573d,

Lamp Bulbs and Sealed Units,

December 1968, are not required to use a socket that conforms to the requirements of SAE J567b,

Bulb Sockets,

April 1964, is needed in the final rule.

SAE J577,

Vibration Test Machine,

April 1964, has been replicated as Figure 21, and all references to SAE J577 have been removed from the final rule. SAE J823b,

Flasher Test Equipment,

April 1968, describes a standard test circuit to be used in the performance testing of vehicular hazard warning signal flashers and turn signal flashers. This SAE standard also has specifications for power supplies used in these tests and describes the circuit adjustments necessary to perform valid tests. We have chosen to incorporate the content of SAE J823b into the final rule. New Figure 22,

Flasher Standard Test Circuit,

provides the test circuit schematic diagram from Figure 1 of SAE J823b. Paragraph S14.9.3.1 of the final rule states requirements for circuit adjustments applicable to flasher tests, and paragraph S14.9.3.2 provides separate power supply specifications for the various flasher performance tests. With the inclusion of paragraph S14.9.3 and Figure 22 in the final rule, all references to SAE J823b have been deleted.

SAE J588e,

Turn Signal Lamps,

September 1970, incorporated by reference in FMVSS No. 108, is referenced in paragraph S5.1.1.1 of the current version of the standard solely to establish requirements for double-sided turn signal lamps installed on truck tractors. It was eliminated from the final rule by incorporating the content of paragraph 3.4 and a portion of paragraph 3.9.1 of SAE J588e into paragraph S6.1.1.3 of the NPRM. The remaining portion of paragraph 3.9.1 was incorporated in Table VII,

Rear Turn Signal Lamp Photometry Requirements,

of the NPRM by revision to Footnote 6.

The revised paragraph S6.1.1.3 now reads, “ * * * A truck tractor need not be equipped with turn signal lamps mounted on the rear if the turn signal lamps at or near the front are of double-face construction and are located such that they meet the photometric requirements for double-faced turn signal lamps specified in Footnote 6 of Table VII.” Continuing, paragraph S6.1.1.3.1 states, “The flashing signal from a double-faced signal lamp must not be obliterated when subjected to external light rays from either in front or behind, at any and all angles.” The revised Footnote 6 to Table VII now states, “A double-faced turn signal lamp installed as described in paragraph S6.1.1.3 on a truck tractor need only meet the photometric requirements for a left side lamp where the lamp is mounted on the left side of the vehicle, and for a right side lamp where the lamp is mounted on the right side of the vehicle.”

This same SAE standard, J588e,

Turn Signal Lamps,

September 1970, is cited in the current version of FMVSS No. 108 as containing the requirements for the illuminated pilot indicator for turn signal lamp failure. The NPRM had erroneously stated the requirements from SAE J588 NOV84,

Turn Signal Lamps.

Paragraph S9.3 of the final rule now correctly states the illuminated area of the indicator and the acceptable modes of indication. Consistent with these changes, all references to SAE J588e have been removed from the standard.

We undertook the effort to eliminate these additional SAE references in the final rule in part because the nature of some comments suggested that the relationship between FMVSS No. 108 and its incorporated SAE documents causes significant confusion.

One example of such confusion is found in the comments of Grote and Koito in reference to the limitations in applying reduced photometric requirements to adjacent front and rear side marker lamps. This section is based upon paragraph S5.1.1.8 of the current version of Standard No. 108 which states, “For each motor vehicle less than 30 feet in overall length, the photometric minimum candlepower

requirements for side marker lamps specified in SAE Standard J592e,

Clearance, Side Marker, and Identification Lamps,

July 1972, may be met for all inboard test points at a distance of 15 feet from the vehicle and on a vertical plane that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and located midway between the front and rear side marker lamps.” In this case, the limitation of vehicles less than 30 feet in overall length recognizes that those vehicles are ones where intermediate side marker lamps (and intermediate side reflex reflectors) are not required to be installed. Table 1 of SAE J592e, detailing the photometric requirements of side marker lamps, also contains a footnote “b” further limiting the vehicles where reduced photometric requirements can be applied. Footnote “b” states that, “The requirements for side markers used on vehicles less than 80 inches (2 meters) wide may be met for inboard test points * * * ” This vehicle width limitation is reflected in Footnote 1 of Table X. This is an example where the text of an incorporated SAE document applies limitations beyond those contained in the text of FMVSS No. 108.

The term “candlepower” used in this context means the contemporary unit of measurement used to express the luminous intensity attribute.

Another example is illustrated in the comments by AAM and Koito about the spatial relationship between front turn signal lamps and certain other front-mounted lamps and the photometric requirements the relationship imposes on the front turn signal lamp as stated in paragraph S7.1.1.2 of the NPRM (S7.1.1.10 of the final rule). Current FMVSS No. 108, at paragraph S5.3.1.7, imposes a multiplier of 2.5 on minimum photometric intensity requirements for a front turn signal lamp mounted less than 100 mm from the lighted edge of a lower beam headlamp. Turn signal lamps are also required to be designed to conform to referenced standards SAE J588 NOV84 for vehicles less than 2032 mm in overall width and SAE J1395 APR85 for vehicles 2032 mm or more in overall width. These documents provide, in paragraph 5.1.5.4 of SAE J588 and paragraphs 5.1.5.4, 5.1.5.5, and 5.1.5.6 of SAE J1395, additional photometric requirements for turn signal lamps based upon their construction. The method the turn signal lamp uses to project light (i.e., whether it primarily uses a reflector to direct light or not) determines how the relationship is measured between the turn signal lamp and the lower beam headlamp, or a surrogate lower beam headlamp such as an auxiliary lower beam headlamp or a fog lamp. Based upon this measurement, the turn signal lamp may be required to have a multiplier of 1.5, 2.0, or 2.5 times the minimum photometric intensity. Thus, it is possible for a turn signal lamp not to be required to have increased intensity based upon paragraph S5.3.1.7 of current FMVSS No. 108 but still be required to have increased intensity because of its construction or proximity to another front lamp, such as a fog lamp. This is an example where an incorporated SAE document imposes requirements beyond those explicitly stated in the regulatory text of Standard No. 108.

The subject of turn signal lamp photometric requirements based upon spacing to other front lamps is discussed in several interpretations such as Matsui (9/20/95).

In its comments, AAM stated that FMVSS No. 108 has never contained a requirement for a vehicular hazard warning signal pilot indicator as contained in paragraph S6.6 of the NPRM (paragraph S9.8 of the final rule). We note that this requirement came from SAE J910,

Vehicular Hazard Warning Signal Operating Unit,

January 1966, and SAE J945,

Vehicular Hazard Warning Flasher,

February 1966, both incorporated by reference in Tables I and III of the current version of FMVSS No. 108. The requirements from SAE J910 contained in paragraph 5 detail how the pilot indicator is to operate, how it can be combined with the turn signal indicator, and the size and color of a dedicated vehicular hazard warning signal pilot indicator. The requirements from SAE J945 describe how the means of providing the indication can be incorporated into the flasher if it functions under all test conditions applied to the flasher and how an audible indication can be used in conjunction with the visible indication. This is an example where incorporated SAE documents contain a requirement that is not expressly stated in the text of FMVSS No. 108.

AAM also stated in its comments that only the lighting equipment requirements of SAE J587 OCT81,

License Plate Lamps (Rear Registration Plate Lamps),

are incorporated by reference in Standard No. 108 (i.e., in paragraph S5.1.1 of the current version). AAM argued that a license plate holder is not an item of lighting equipment and that requirements for the holder would also apply to a front license plate holder. In response, we note that SAE J587 OCT81 does contain specific requirements for a license plate holder and its relationship with the license plate, the surface the vehicle stands on, and the license plate lamp. The performance of a license plate lamp is dependent upon its physical relationship with the license plate. The license plate must be secured in position to evaluate this performance. To alleviate AAM's concern with application of the requirement to a front license plate holder, we have revised the text of paragraph S6.6.3 of the final rule (paragraph S6.1.1 of the NPRM) to state, “Each

rear

license plate holder must be designed and constructed to provide a substantial plane surface on which to mount the plate. The plane of the license plate mounting surface and the plane on which the vehicle stands must be perpendicular within ± 15° ” (emphasis added).

Grote commented that lamps designed to conform to SAE J1395 APR85,

Turn Signal Lamps for use on Motor Vehicles 2032 mm or more in Overall Width,

and SAE J1398 MAY85,

Stop Lamps for use on Motor Vehicles 2032 mm or more in Overall Width,

incorporated by reference in Table I of the current version of FMVSS No. 108 for use on multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, trailers, and buses, of 80 or more inches in overall width, could also be used on vehicles less than 80 inches (2032 mm) overall width, without meeting the requirements listed in Table III for these lamps. Grote based its comment on a statement in the

Scope

of SAE J1395 stating that, “Turn signal lamps conforming to this report may also be used on vehicles less than 2032 mm in overall width.” The

Scope

of SAE J1398 has a similar statement concerning stop lamps. This assertion is simply not correct. Table III of the existing version of Standard No. 108 applies to all passenger cars and motorcycles, and multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, buses and trailers of less than 80 inches (2032 mm) in overall width. Table III clearly requires turn signal lamps to comply with SAE J588 NOV84 and stop lamps to comply with SAE J586 FEB84. Therefore, manufacturers may choose to design their lamps to also comply, respectively, with SAE J1395 APR85 and SAE J1398 MAY85, but they also must be designed to comply, respectively, with SAE J588 NOV84 and SAE J586 FEB84. We do not agree with the argument that compliance with only SAE J1395 APR85 and SAE J1398 MAY85, respectively, is permitted, because this clearly contradicts the language in the existing regulatory text.

Table III of the current version of FMVSS No. 108 requires that all passenger cars and motorcycles, and multipurpose passenger vehicles, trucks, trailers, and buses, of less than 80 inches (2032 mm) in overall width must be equipped with lamps designed to conform to the requirements of SAE J588 NOV84,

Turn Signal Lamps for use on Motor Vehicles Less Than 2032 mm

in Overall Width,

and SAE J586 FEB84,

Stop Lamps for use on Motor Vehicles Less Than 2032 mm in Overall Width.

Thus, if a turn signal lamp or stop lamp is not designed to conform with SAE J588 NOV84 or SAE J586 FEB84 respectively, it cannot be used on any passenger car or motorcycle or on any multipurpose passenger vehicle, truck, trailer, or bus of less than 80 inches in overall width, no matter whether it also is designed to conform to SAE J1395 APR85 or SAE J1398 MAY85. The explicit requirements of FMVSS No. 108 prevail over any seemingly contradictory language of an incorporated third-party document.

Observing the confusion that exists because the current version of Standard No. 108 relies so heavily upon reference to third-party documents, we are convinced that our action to remove those references to the maximum extent possible was a correct decision. Remaining references to SAE documents in the final rule include:

S6.4.5 SAE J602,

Headlamp Aiming Device for Mechanically Aimable Sealed Beam Headlamp Units,

August 1963

S9.3.5 SAE J941b,

Motor Vehicle Driver's Eye Range,

February 1969

S10.14.7.7 SAE J602 OCT80,