Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Glazing Materials; Low Speed Vehicles

This rule updates the Federal motor vehicle safety standard on glazing materials so that it incorporates by reference the 1996 version of the industry standard on motor vehicle glazing. Currently, the Federal standard references the 1977 version of the industry standard and the 1980 supplement to that standard. Today's final rule also simplifies understanding the Federal glazing performance requirements. The amendments of the past 20 years have resulted in a patchwork of requirements in the Federal standard that must be read alongside the industry standard in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the overall requirements of the Federal standard. The incorporation by reference of the 1996 version of the industry standard permits the deletion of most of the existing text of the Federal standard. This change to the Federal standard means that the industry standard will henceforth provide a single source of Federal glazing performance requirements for most purposes. In addition, this final rule addresses several issues not covered by the 1996 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard. For example, this action limits the size of the shade band that glazing manufacturers place at the top of windshields and clarifies the meaning of the phrase "the most difficult part or pattern" for the fracture test in the 1996 ANSI standard. This action also makes minor conforming amendments to the standard on low speed vehicles.