[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 56251-56253]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14546]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
49 CFR Part 572
[Docket No. NHTSA-2023-0031]
RIN 2127-AM20
Anthropomorphic Test Devices; THOR 50th Percentile Adult Male
Test Dummy; Incorporation by Reference
AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM).
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SUMMARY: This document announces the availability of documents
supplementing NHTSA's September 2023 notice of proposed rulemaking to
amend NHTSA's regulations to include an advanced crash test dummy, the
Test Device for Human Occupant Restraint 50th percentile adult male.
DATES: The documents referenced in this notification will be available
in the docket as of July 9, 2024.You should submit your comments early
enough to be received not later than August 8, 2024.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments electronically to the docket
identified in the heading of this document by visiting the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Alternatively, you can file comments using the following methods:
Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. To be sure someone is
there to help you, please call (202) 366-9826 before coming.
Fax: (202) 493-2251.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this
rulemaking. For detailed instructions on submitting comments and
additional information on the rulemaking process, see the Public
Participation heading of the Supplementary Information section of this
document. Note that all comments received will be posted without change
to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information
provided. Please see the Privacy Act heading below.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov. You may also
access the docket at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Room
W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal Holidays. Telephone: (202) 366-9826.
Confidential Business Information: If you claim that any of the
information in your comment (including any additional documents or
attachments) constitutes confidential business information within the
meaning of 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) or is protected from disclosure pursuant
to 18 U.S.C. 1905, please see the detailed instructions given under the
Public Participation heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
of this document.
Privacy Act: In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits
comments from the public to better inform its rulemaking process. DOT
posts these comments, without edit, to www.regulations.gov, as
described in the system of records notice, DOT/ALL-14 FDMS, accessible
through www.dot.gov/privacy. To facilitate comment tracking and
response, we encourage commenters to provide their name, or the name of
their organization; however, submission of names is completely
optional. Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 70; Pages 19477-78).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For non-legal issues, you may contact
Mr. Garry Brock, Office of Crashworthiness Standards, Telephone: (202)
366-1740; Email: [email protected]; Facsimile: (202) 493-2739. For
legal issues, you may contact Mr. John Piazza, Office of Chief Counsel,
Telephone: (202) 366-2992; Email: [email protected]; Facsimile: (202)
366-3820. The address of these officials is: the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington,
DC, 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 7, 2023, NHTSA published a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to amend NHTSA's regulations to
include an advanced crash test dummy, the Test Device for Human
Occupant Restraint (THOR) 50th percentile adult male (THOR-50M). The
dummy represents an adult male of roughly average height and weight and
is designed for use in frontal crash tests. The documentation for the
dummy, including detailed design information, engineering drawings,
qualification tests, and procedures for assembly and inspection, would
be incorporated by reference in 49 CFR part 572, Anthropomorphic Test
Devices.
This document notices the availability of additional research
reports and a memorandum of understanding that are being placed in the
research and rulemaking dockets, respectively. These documents are
briefly described below.
Research Reports
The NPRM referenced a variety of research NHTSA had conducted to
support the development of the THOR-50M dummy. Most of this research
was published or made available in the research docket before the NPRM
was published. However, the NPRM noted that research in several areas
was ongoing and that additional research reports would be docketed
after the NPRM was published.
That research has been completed and NHTSA is now docketing the
associated research reports. As we did for other research reports and
documentation referenced in the NPRM, these reports are being placed in
the research docket, Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0106, and not the docket for
this rulemaking.\1\ Nevertheless, NHTSA intends these documents to be
included as part of the rulemaking record for this rulemaking action.
The following documents are being docketed:
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\1\ As we explained in the NPRM, NHTSA did not place the dummy
documentation and related research reports in the docket for this
rulemaking action to avoid potential confusion from having identical
documents docketed at different times in different dockets. A
memorandum explaining this determination was docketed along with the
NPRM.
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``Comparison of the THOR-50M IR-TRACC Measurement Device
to an Alternative S-Track Measurement Device''
``Analysis of THOR-50M Alternate Configurations in Gold
Standard Sled Testing''
``Development of an Alternative Shoulder for the THOR-
50M''
``THOR-50M In-dummy Data Acquisition System Evaluation''
Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Intellectual Property of
Humanetics
NHTSA is also placing in the rulemaking docket a memorandum of
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understanding between NHTSA and Humanetics concerning the use of
Humanetics proprietary information in NHTSA rulemaking activities.
Humanetics is a global industrial technology group (including Human
Solutions, Avalution, mg-sensors, ADT-LabTech, Fibercore, HITEC Sensor
Development, and OpTek Systems) that, among other things, develops and
manufacturers crash test dummies and components used in those dummies.
As NHTSA explained in the NPRM, portions of the shoulder assembly
specified in the 2018 drawing package (referred to as the SD-3
shoulder) are covered by a patent issued to Humanetics. NHTSA has
generally avoided specifying in part 572 patented components or
copyrighted designs without either securing agreement from the rights-
holder for the free use of (or reasonable license to) the item or
developing an alternative unencumbered by any rights claims. In the
NPRM, NHTSA explained the reasons for taking this position. Among other
things, proprietary components may be modified by the proprietary
source such that the original is no longer available, and the new part
no longer fits. The proprietary source also may alter the part in ways
that change the response of the dummy, such that dummies with the newer
part do not provide the same response as dummies with the older
part.\2\
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\2\ See Section VIII of the NPRM.
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NHTSA therefore designed, built, and tested an alternative design
for a part of the shoulder assembly referred to as the shoulder pivot
assembly that is not subject to any intellectual property claims. The
proposed drawing package (the 2023 drawing package) included
specifications for the SD-3 shoulder pivot assembly as well as the
alternate shoulder pivot assembly so that NHTSA could use either one.
In the NPRM, NHTSA specifically solicited comment on whether the final
drawing package should include the SD-3 shoulder, the alternate
shoulder, or both.
After the NPRM was published, NHTSA staff discussed with Humanetics
the disposition of its intellectual property claims on various
anthropomorphic test devices, including the THOR-50M.\3\ Humanetics'
designs and drawings may include information that is subject to patent
rights and/or copyrights. Based on these discussions, NHTSA and
Humanetics reached the following understanding with respect to
Humanetics proprietary information used either in an NPRM or final
rule. (Below we briefly summarize this understanding; the full terms
can be found in the Memorandum of Understanding.)
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\3\ These discussions were a continuation of discussions NHTSA
and Humanetics have had over the past several years regarding the
use of its proprietary information in NHTSA rulemaking activities.
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Under the Memorandum of Understanding, for proprietary information
used as part of a NHTSA proposed rulemaking under part 572, NHTSA may
use such information as long as the information includes language
notifying the public that the design and/or drawings are property of
Humanetics and are being provided by Humanetics to support evaluation
and comment related to NHTSA's rulemaking process. Under the proposed
rulemaking, design drawings may not be copied or used for any other
purposes without the written consent of Humanetics and no license would
be granted to any patented designs.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding, for proprietary information
used in a final rule issued under part 572, no restrictions will apply
to copyrighted design and drawings upon the effective date of the final
rule, and all restrictive notices used in a proposal document will be
removed in the final rule. Similarly, no restrictions will apply to the
patented design upon the effective date of the final rule if the final
rule does not specify the use of another design as an alternative to
the patented design. Specifically, Humanetics will provide to NHTSA for
each applicable patent either a notice of abandonment of that patent to
the United States Patent and Trademark Office or a letter stating that
that patent will not be enforced against any third-party use. Likewise,
if no alternative design is specified, all restrictive notices used in
the proposal document associated with the use of the patented design
will be removed as part of the publication of the final rule. In that
circumstance, Humanetics will provide NHTSA a notice confirming that no
restrictions on patented designs will apply.
Based on the comments received to date, NHTSA notes a general
preference for a single open-source shoulder design over a single
proprietary shoulder or alternative designs. In line with these
comments, and subject to the understanding reached with Humanetics,
NHTSA has tentatively concluded that it would be preferable if the
final rule specifies only the SD-3 shoulder. In addition, specifying
only one shoulder design will help make the dummy responses more
uniform. NHTSA seeks comment on this tentative conclusion.
How do I prepare and submit comments?
Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the agency
name and the docket number or RIN in your comments.
Your comments must not be more than 15 pages long. (49 CFR 553.21).
We established this limit to encourage you to write your primary
comments in a concise fashion. However, you may attach necessary
additional documents to your comments. There is no limit on the length
of the attachments.
If you are submitting comments electronically as a PDF (Adobe)
file, NHTSA asks that the documents be submitted using the Optical
Character Recognition process, thus allowing NHTSA to search and copy
certain portions of your submissions.
Please note that pursuant to the Data Quality Act, for substantive
data to be relied upon and used by the agency, it must meet the
information quality standards set forth in the OMB and DOT Data Quality
Act guidelines. Accordingly, we encourage you to consult the guidelines
in preparing your comments. OMB's guidelines may be accessed at https://www.transportation.gov/regulations/dot-information-dissemination-quality-guidelines.
How can I be sure that my comments were received?
If you wish the Docket to notify you upon its receipt of your
comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the envelope
containing your comments. Upon receiving your comments, the Docket will
return the postcard by mail.
How do I submit confidential business information?
You should submit a redacted ``public version'' of your comment
(including redacted versions of any additional documents or
attachments) to the docket using any of the methods identified under
ADDRESSES. This ``public version'' of your comment should contain only
the portions for which no claim of confidential treatment is made and
from which those portions for which confidential treatment is claimed
have been redacted. See below for further instructions on how to do
this.
You also need to submit a request for confidential treatment
directly to the Office of Chief Counsel. Requests for confidential
treatment are governed by 49 CFR part 512. Your request must set forth
the information specified in part
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512. This includes the materials for which confidentiality is being
requested (as explained in more detail below); supporting information,
pursuant to part 512.8; and a certificate, pursuant to part 512.4(b)
and part 512, appendix A.
You are required to submit to the Office of Chief Counsel one
unredacted ``confidential version'' of the information for which you
are seeking confidential treatment. Pursuant to part 512.6, the words
``ENTIRE PAGE CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION'' or ``CONFIDENTIAL
BUSINESS INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN BRACKETS'' (as applicable) must
appear at the top of each page containing information claimed to be
confidential. In the latter situation, where not all information on the
page is claimed to be confidential, identify each item of information
for which confidentiality is requested within brackets: ``[ ].''
You are also required to submit to the Office of Chief Counsel one
redacted ``public version'' of the information for which you are
seeking confidential treatment. Pursuant to part 512.5(a)(2), the
redacted ``public version'' should include redactions of any
information for which you are seeking confidential treatment (i.e., the
only information that should be unredacted is information for which you
are not seeking confidential treatment).
NHTSA is currently treating electronic submission as an acceptable
method for submitting confidential business information to the agency
under part 512. Please do not send a hardcopy of a request for
confidential treatment to NHTSA's headquarters. The request should be
sent to Dan Rabinovitz in the Office of the Chief Counsel at
[email protected]. You may either submit your request via email
or request a secure file transfer link. If you are submitting the
request via email, please also email a courtesy copy of the request to
John Piazza at [email protected].
Will the Agency consider late comments?
We will consider all comments received before the close of business
on the comment closing date indicated above under DATES. To the extent
possible, we will also consider comments that the docket receives after
that date. If the docket receives a comment too late for us to consider
in developing a final rule (assuming that one is issued), we will
consider that comment as an informal suggestion for future rulemaking
action.
How can I read the comments submitted by other people?
You may read the comments received by the docket at the address
given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the docket are indicated
above in the same location. You may also see the comments on the
internet. To read the comments on the internet, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for accessing the
dockets.
Please note that even after the comment closing date, we will
continue to file relevant information in the docket as it becomes
available. Further, some people may submit late comments. Accordingly,
we recommend that you periodically check the Docket for new material.
You can arrange with the docket to be notified when others file
comments in the docket. See www.regulations.gov for more information.
Issued under authority delegated in 49 CFR 1.95 and 501.5.
Sophie Shulman,
Deputy Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2024-14546 Filed 7-8-24; 8:45 am]
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