Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment, Adaptive Driving Beam Headlamps

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTANTION <SUBAGY>National Highway Traffic Safety Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>49 CFR Part 571</CFR> <DEPDOC>[[Docket No. NHTSA-2022-0013]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment, Adaptive Driving Beam Headlamps</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA or the Agency), Department of Transportation (DOT). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Denial of petitions for reconsideration. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> This document responds to the petitions for reconsideration of the February 22, 2022, final rule that amended Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, “Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment,” to enable certification of adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlighting systems on vehicles sold in the United States. This document denies all petitions for reconsideration received in response to the final rule. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> December 30, 2024. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For non-legal issues, you may contact Adam Lowery, Office of Crash Avoidance Standards, Telephone: (202) 366-1810, Email: <E T="03">Adam.Lowery@dot.gov;</E> For legal issues, you may contact Evita St. Andre, Office of Chief Counsel, Telephone: (202) 366-2992, Email: <E T="03">Evita.St.Andre@dot.gov.</E> The mailing address for these officials is: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington, DC 20590. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Final Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Petitions for Reconsideration</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Stimulus Headlamps Aiming</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Allow Representative Vehicles as Stimulus for Compliance Testing</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. ADB System Component-Level Photometric Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. ADB Photometry Requirements</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Transition Zone</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Other</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Petition of Reconsideration That is Out of Scope</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Clarification</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Conclusion</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> Beam switching technology was first introduced into vehicles sold in the United States in the 1950s and was limited simply to switching between upper and lower beams. An adaptive driving beam (ADB) is an advanced type of semiautomatic headlamp beam switching technology. It uses advanced sensing and computing technology to identify oncoming and preceding traffic and actively adapt the beam pattern to limit at lower beam levels any light shining toward those vehicles while continuing to direct high intensity light to other areas of the roadway. This dynamic beam pattern was not previously permitted by NHTSA's lighting standard. As such, in 2013, Toyota petitioned NHTSA to modify the standard to permit ADB headlighting systems. <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Notice of Proposed Rulemaking</HD> NHTSA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on October 12, 2018, proposing to amend NHTSA's lighting standard, FMVSS No. 108, “Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment,” in response to a petition that raised concerns that the standard's beam pattern (photometry) requirements would not permit the enhanced beam that ADB headlighting systems provide. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> ADB headlamp technology dynamically modifies headlamp photometry to provide more illumination in certain areas in and around the roadway while reducing glare towards oncoming and preceding motorists. This dynamism is facilitated by the headlamps changing the lower beam pattern and increasing the usage of the upper beam, the effect of which increases visibility, thereby improving safety. NHTSA assessed comments received in response to the NPRM and published a final rule on February 22, 2022. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  83 FR 51766, (Oct. 12, 2018). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. Final Rule</HD> On February 22, 2022, NHTSA published a final rule amending FMVSS No. 108, “Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment, adaptive driving beam headlamps,” to enable the certification of ADB headlighting systems on vehicles sold in the United States. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> Several industry comments to the NPRM advocated for stronger harmonization with regulatory alternatives when specifying performance requirements for ADB systems on vehicles. These alternatives included the regulation issued by the Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE R123), the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J3069 JUN2016, Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice; Adaptive Driving Beam standard, as well as the updated version of the SAE Practice published in March 2021. In addition, NHTSA conducted laboratory testing to establish appropriate performance allowances for ADB systems, driving scenarios, and any associated equipment. All information and feedback was reflected in the development of the final rule. <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  87 FR 9916, (Feb. 22, 2022). </FTNT> FMVSS No. 108 has two main components that ensure ADB systems operate safely: (1) vehicle-level track-test requirements specifically tailored to the performance of the ADB system in meeting the specified glare limits, and (2) component-level photometric requirements related to glare and visibility. This standard provides practicable, performance-based requirements and test procedures that appropriately balance visibility and glare. If vehicle manufacturers choose to equip their vehicles with ADB systems, manufacturers must certify that their ADB systems meet these requirements. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Petitions for Reconsideration</HD> In response to the February 22, 2022, Final Rule, NHTSA received twelve timely petitions from automotive manufacturers, lighting suppliers, trade organizations, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (Honda), <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> Volkswagen Group of America (Volkswagen), <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (Toyota), <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> Ford Motor Company (Ford), <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> Koito Manufacturing Co. LTD (Koito), <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> Stanley Electric Co. LTD (Stanley), <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> North American Lighting (NAL), <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> Valeo Lighting Systems (Valeo), Alliance for Automotive Innovation (Alliance), <SU>11</SU> <FTREF/> the Transportation Safety Equipment Institute (TSEI), <SU>12</SU> <FTREF/> SAE International—Lighting Systems Group (SAE), submitted petitions for reconsideration of the final rule. Several petitioners requested alignment with alternative ADB regulatory practices ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> SAE J3069) currently in place for systems on vehicles in foreign markets. Many of the petitions requested that NHTSA amend the standard to further advance the goal of the final rule. <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Docket No.2022-0013-0011. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  Volkswagen Group of America, Docket No.2022-0013-0012. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  Toyota Motor North American, Inc., Docket No.2022-0013-0015. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>  Ford Motor Company, Docket No.2022-0013-0016. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>  Koito Manufacturing Co. LTD, Docket No.2022-0013-0007. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>  Stanley Electric Co. LTD, Docket No.2022-0013-0008. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>  North American Lighting, Docket No.2022-0013-0009. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>10</SU>  Valeo Lighting Systems, Docket No.2022-0013-0010. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>  Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Docket No.2022-0013-0013. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>12</SU>  Transportation Safety Equipment Institute, Docket No.2022-0013-0014. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>13</SU>  SAE International—Lighting Systems Group, Docket No.2022-0013-0005. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>14</SU>  Insurance Institute of Highway Safety—Highway Loss Data Institute, Docket No.2022-0013-0017. </FTNT> The topics raised in the petitions can be generally classified into one of the following categories: (1) requests to address perceived complexities in technical scenarios; (2) claims that NHTSA imposed conflicting substantive requirements for testing; (3) requests to add alternative ADB headlamp testing procedures; and (4) requests to amend technical areas of the final rule to clarify requirements. This document addresses the petitioners' concerns. <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Stimulus Headlamps Aiming</HD> FMVSS No. 108 specifies three specific headlamps and rear combination lamps mounted on test fixtures as part of the track testing for ADB systems. Additionally, FMVSS No. 108 requires that all headlamps must be aimable. As such, the stimulus lamps specified in the ADB track test procedure, used to elicit ADB performance, are capable of being aimed. However, while the Final Rule stated that the stimulus headlamps will have the lower beam activated and aimed per the SAE Recommended Practice J599 Lighting Inspection Code (SAE J599) procedures, these SAEJ599 aiming instructions were not included and incorporated by reference in the regulatory text. <SU>15</SU> <FTREF/> Toyota stated that, to ensure repeatability of testing, NHTSA should specify how the stimulus headlamps on the ADB test fixture will be aimed, as the regulatory text from the final rule does not include stimulus headlamp aiming instructions. Toyota suggested the headlamps be aimed in accordance with manufacturer instructions, or alternatively, in accordance with SAE J599. However, regarding SAE J599, Toyota stated that this ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 70k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━