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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 5 / Friday, January 8, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
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functionality is compromised while the overall brake system functionality is maintained. Motorcycle operators who are unfamiliar with the symbol may then look up its meaning in the instruction manual when they are able after seeing the notification on the display. Concerns about whether an ABS-related telltale is instantly recognizable might be of more concern in the context of telltales that illuminate because the ABS is activated, but the malfunction telltale, as explained, serves a different purpose. Currently, there is no requirement for motorcycles to have telltales that indicate when ABS
is activated, and drivers are usually notified of an ABS activation by the haptic feedback vibration or pulsing caused by the ABS cycling.
As stated in the NPRM, the agency has no reason to believe that using the ISO symbol in lieu of text labeling at a minimum height would affect the safety of motorcycles or the public. The types of failure indicated by the ABS
malfunction telltale are electronic failures that result in the loss of ABS
functionality, but do not cause loss of foundation braking ability. FMVSS No.
122 contains a performance requirement to ensure minimum braking capability in the event of an ABS system malfunction. Moreover, the agency has minimum performance requirements to ensure that a minimum level of braking capability is maintained even if there is a more severe system failure such as a brake fluid leak. Therefore, NHTSA is adopting the proposal in the NPRM to allow the ISO symbol as an alternative to the text ABS, Anti-lock, or Antilock.
B. Height Requirements of the ISO
Symbol or Letters Within the Symbol NHTSA solicited comments regarding whether there should be a minimum height for the ISO symbol or for the letters ABS that appear within the symbol. NHTSA received comments from the MIC, Harley-Davidson, Honda, and 10 individuals opposed to setting a minimum height requirement for the ISO symbol. The MIC, Harley-Davidson, and Honda opposed adding a height requirement for the letters within the ISO symbol, stating that there is no corresponding minimum height requirement in GTR No. 12 and emphasizing their desire for harmonization.
The agency agrees with the commenters that mandating a minimum height is unnecessary because NHTSA
does not believe that, in the absence of a minimum height requirement, original equipment manufacturers OEMs will create illegible ABS telltales. As Harley-

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Davidsons comment noted, GTR No. 12
has a qualitative visibility requirement for ABS telltales, specifying that the symbol must be located so that it is visible to the driver when seated in the driving position. Although NHTSA is not specifying such a requirement in FMVSS No. 123, NHTSA believes manufacturers will ensure that ABS ISO
symbols are large enough to be read by drivers. Additionally, OEMs have been using the symbol for years and, as far as NHTSA is aware, have done so without negative consequences. Moving forward with the proposal, the agency will not implement a height requirement for the ISO symbol which will ensure harmonization with GTR No. 3 and to some extent with GTR No. 12.
C. Height Requirements for the ABS, Anti-lock, or Antilock Lettering if the ISO Symbol Is Not Used Although the agency did not request comment on this issue in the NPRM, NHTSA received comments from the MIC and two individuals suggesting that the agency remove the lettering height requirement for ABS, Anti-lock, or Antilock when the ISO symbol is not used. The MIC states that it is unaware of any science that was relied on to establish or support the use of 3/32-inch letter height for this specific application. The MIC also states that the corresponding GTR does not reference any lettering heights or symbol dimensions.
The agency understands the inconsistency perceived by the MIC in NHTSA not including a lettering height requirement if the ISO symbol is used, but including a lettering height requirement if only text is used.
However, the agency is not prepared to implement any changes to the existing height requirement if only text is used and does not believe that there is an inconsistency.
This issue was not included in the NPRM, and there are factors the agency would need to consider and request public comment on should it decide to change or remove this requirement. As stated in the 2012 final rule implementing the requirement, use of a 3/32 inch 2.4 mm letter height is consistent with other FMVSS.11 The existing height requirement is also consistent with the requirement for the split service brake failure telltale, which 11 77 FR 51649. FMVSS No. 122 S5.1.9d and S5.1.10.1 require 3/32-inch lettering. FMVSS Nos.
120 and 110 also contain 3/32-inch lettering requirements. As a comparison, under FMVSS No.
135 the warning lamp for ABS in light vehicles must include the words Antilock, Anti-lock or the abbreviation ABS and must be at least 18 inch or 3.2 mm in height.

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has been present in FMVSS No. 122 for many years.12 Support for maintaining that particular height requirement also comes from a NHTSA research report, Specification of Control Illumination Limits DOTHS400864, 1974, which found that letters that were 0.09
inch or 2.3 mm could not be read by older drivers, regardless of letter brightness or background contrast. In addition, any change to the letter height when the ISO symbol is not used would not have any harmonization benefits.
That is, the minimum lettering height requirement for this option has no bearing on consistency with GTR No. 12
because the GTR only specifies use of the ISO symbol and does not provide the option of using the text ABS, Anti-lock, or Antilock. Thus, NHTSA is retaining, at this time, the existing height requirement for the text ABS, Anti-lock, or Antilock telltale when the ISO symbol is not used.
Further, NHTSA does not believe this is inconsistent with NHTSAs conclusion that a height requirement is unnecessary when the ISO symbol is used because recognition of the ISO
symbol comes not only from the letters ABS, but also from shape of the symbol as a whole. The ISO symbol is a graphic representation of a brake drum with letters inside of it, and the entire symbol is illuminated in the event of an ABS failure condition. Also, the symbol as a whole will likely be significantly larger than the 2.4-millimeter-high letters that can be used in lieu of the symbol. For example, as noted above, Honda informed NHTSA that the typical height of the ISO symbol on its production motorcycles equipped with ABS is 7 millimeters, and the letters ABS are approximately 2 millimeters high. This suggests that the typical height of the ISO symbol will be appreciably larger than the minimum height requirement for the ABS telltale if the ISO symbol is not used.
Accordingly, NHTSA concludes that it is appropriate to view the need for a height requirement for telltales that use the ISO symbol differently from telltales that rely exclusively on lettering to warn of ABS failure.
D. Technical Correction NHTSA received two comments that addressed a technical correction included in the NPRM, and those comments supported the correction. The agency is adopting the correction of the 12 The requirement for 3/32 inch letters for the split service brake failure has been in place since FMVSS No. 122 was issued in 1972. 37 FR 5034
March 9, 1972.

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