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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 126 / Tuesday, July 6, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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NEPA National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
NPRM Notice of Proposed Rulemaking OMB Office of Management and Budget PIA Privacy Impact Assessment PII Personally Identifiable Information Secretary Secretary of Transportation U.S.C. United States Code
IV. Legal Basis for the Rulemaking This NPRM is based on the authority of the Motor Carrier Act, 1935 1935
Act, the Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1984 1984 Act, and the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation FAST Act.
The 1935 Act, as amended, provides that the Secretary of Transportation may prescribe requirements for1
qualifications and maximum hours of service of employees of, and safety of operation and equipment of, a motor carrier; and 2 qualifications and maximum hours-of-service of employees of, and standards of equipment of, a motor private carrier, when needed to promote safety of operation. 49 U.S.C.
31502b.
The 1984 Act provides concurrent authority to regulate drivers, motor carriers, and vehicle equipment. It requires the Secretary to prescribe regulations on commercial motor vehicle safety. The regulations shall prescribe minimum safety standards for commercial motor vehicles. At a minimum, the regulations shall ensure that1 commercial motor vehicles are maintained, equipped, loaded, and operated safely; 2 the responsibilities imposed on operators of commercial motor vehicles do not impair their ability to operate the vehicles safely; 3
the physical condition of operators of commercial motor vehicles is adequate to enable them to operate vehicles safely . . . ; 4 the operation of commercial motor vehicles does not have a deleterious effect on the physical condition of the operators; and 5 an operator of a commercial motor vehicle is not coerced by a motor carrier, shipper, receiver, or transportation intermediary to operate a commercial motor vehicle in violation of a regulation promulgated under this section, or chapter 51 or chapter 313 of this title. 49 U.S.C. 31136a.
Section 5301 of the FAST Act directs FMCSA to exempt voluntary mounting of a vehicle safety technology on a windshield if that technology is likely to achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that would be achieved without the exemption Pub. L. 11494, 129 Stat.
1312, 1543, Dec. 4, 2015. Section 5301c also specifies that any regulatory exemption for windshieldmounted technologies in effect on the
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date of enactment of the FAST Act shall be considered likely to achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to or greater than the level of safety that would be achieved absent an exemption . . . .
This NPRM is based in part on the 1935 Act, which allows the Agency to regulate the safety of operation and equipment of a motor carrier and the standards of equipment of a motor private carrier. The requirements of 49
U.S.C. 31136 a1, 2, and 4 of the 1984 Act are also applicable to this rulemaking action. The Agency proposes to amend 49 CFR part 393 to allow certain safety equipment to be mounted within the area of the windshield swept by the windshield wipers. The Agency believes that these changes will be welcomed by motor carriers and drivers alike and that coercion to violate these revised provisions, which is prohibited by 31136a5, will not be an issue. The NPRM does not involve the physical condition of drivers under 31136a3.
This NPRM rests in part on the intent of Congress expressed in section 5301 of the FAST Act to exempt safety equipment mounted within the swept area of windshields, provided such devices do not degrade operational safety.
FMCSA must consider the costs and benefits of any proposal before promulgating regulations 49 U.S.C.
31136c2A, 31502d.
V. Background The fundamental purpose of 49 CFR
part 393, Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation, is to ensure that no employer shall operate a CMV, or cause or permit it to be operated, unless it is equipped in accordance with the requirements and specifications of this part. However, nothing contained in part 393 shall be construed to prohibit the use of additional equipment and accessories, not inconsistent with or prohibited by part 393, provided such equipment and accessories do not decrease the safety of operation of the CMVs on which they are used 393.3.
Section 5301 of the FAST Act directed the Agency to amend the FMCSRs to allow devices to be mounted on the windshield that utilize vehicle safety technology, as defined in the Act. In addition, section 5301 stated that all windshield-mounted devices/
technologies with a limited 2-year exemption in effect on the date of enactment were considered to meet the safety standard required for the initial exemption, i.e., achieving a level of safety equivalent to, or greater than, the
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level that would be achieved absent the exemption. On September 23, 2016, FMCSA published a final rule titled Parts and Accessories Necessary for Safe Operation; Windshield-Mounted Technologies, 81 FR 65568, which amended the FMCSRs to allow the voluntary mounting of certain devices on the interior of the windshields of CMVs, including placement within the area that is swept by the windshield wipers 49 CFR 393.60e1.
A. Temporary Exemptions Since the Agency amended 393.60
in 2016, FMCSA has granted a number of temporary exemptions for the placement of safety technologies and devices that require a clear forwardfacing visual field for proper operation.
These devices either need to be mounted within the swept area of the windshield, or should be mounted on the windshield so that the driver does not have to take his/her eyes off the road to look at the device, such as Global Positioning System GPS displays.
On August 3, 2017 82 FR 36182, FMCSA granted Hino Motors a 5-year exemption from 49 CFR 393.60e1 on behalf of motor carriers to operate CMVs manufactured by Hino equipped with Automated Emergency Braking/Lane Departure Warning system cameras mounted in the approximate center of the windshield such that the bottom edge of the camera is not more than 7
inches below the upper edge of the windshield and outside the drivers sight lines to all mirrors, highway signs, signals, and view of the road ahead.
On January 31, 2018 83 FR 4543, FMCSA granted DTNA a 5-year exemption from 49 CFR 393.60e1 on behalf of CMVs manufactured by DTNA
equipped with the Attention Assist and Lane Departure Warning system camera mounted in the approximate center of the windshield such that the bottom edge of the camera is not more than 8.5
inches below the top of the area swept by the windshield wipers and outside the drivers sight lines to all mirrors, highway signs, signals, and view of the road ahead.
On August 22, 2018 83 FR 42552, FMCSA granted Traditional Trucking Corporation a 5-year exemption from 49
CFR 393.60e1 on behalf of motor carriers to operate CMVs equipped with GPS devices mounted 1 not more than 100 mm 4 inches below the upper edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers; or 2 not more than 175 mm 7
inches above the lower edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers; and 3
outside the drivers sight lines to the road and highway signs and signals.

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