The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is planning a public technical workshop, a public hearing and a reopening of the public comment period regarding its Dec. 7 notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the agency’s federal motor vehicle safety standard on rearview mirrors to improve the ability of a driver of a vehicle to detect pedestrians in the area immediately behind the vehicle and thereby minimize the likelihood of the vehicle striking a pedestrian while the vehicle is moving backward.
The proposed rule would expand the required field of view for all passenger cars, trucks, multipurpose passenger vehicles, buses and low-speed vehicles rated at 10,000 pounds GVWR or less as specified in the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of
2007. NHTSA’s proposal would specify an area immediately behind each vehicle and require that the driver must be able to see that area when the vehicle’s transmission is in reverse, thereby minimizing the likelihood of a vehicle striking a pedestrian while performing a backing maneuver.
NHTSA is announcing two separate public events relating to the proposal. The first event, a public technical workshop, will be held on March 11 to discuss technical
issues relevant to the test procedure described in the proposed rule. The second event, a public hearing, will be held on March 23 provide an opportunity for the public to present oral testimony regarding the proposal. In order to facilitate the submission of written comments in connection with these two events, the comment period for the proposed rule will be reopened for a period of 45 days.
NHTSA will hold the public technical workshop on March 11 beginning at
9 a.m. and continuing until 12 p.m. at its Vehicle and Research Test Center, 10820 State Route 347, Building 60, East Liberty, OH 43319. The public hearing will be held on March 23 beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing until 3 p.m. at in the media center at the Department of Transportation West Building, 1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. 20590.
To present oral testimony at either of these events, contact Markus Price of DOT’s Office of Crash Avoidance, Visibility and Injury Prevention Division at (202) 366-0098 or e-mail [email protected] and provide the following information: the event at which you would like to speak; the time you wish to speak (morning or afternoon) at the hearing; your name and affiliation and the number of the individuals from your affiliation who are planning to attend; your address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers; and any accommodations you may need, such as a sign language interpreter.
