[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 225 (Thursday, November 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64405-64406]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25217]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0102]
RIN 2127-ZRIN


Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Draft Research Test Procedures

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Request for comments (RFC).

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SUMMARY: NHTSA seeks public comment on a series of nine draft research 
test procedures developed by the agency to assess the performance of 
certain types of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) available to 
consumers. NHTSA is specifically requesting comment on whether these 
draft research test procedures adequately, objectively, and practically 
assess the system performance of the underlying ADAS in a test track 
environment. NHTSA intends to use these draft research test procedures 
to further its research goals by using the output from clearly defined 
test methods to help better understand system operation, performance, 
and potential limitations.

DATES: Comments must be received no later than January 21, 2020.

ADDRESSES: 
    Documents: The draft research test procedures described in this RFC 
are available for viewing in PDF format in Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0102.
    Comments: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. NHTSA-
2019-0102, by any of the following methods:
     Internet: To submit comments electronically, go to the 
U.S. Government regulations website at http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: Written comments may be faxed to 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Send comments to 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: If you submit written comments by hand or 
courier, please do so at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building 
Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. 
Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
     You may call Docket Management at 1-800-647-5527.
    Instructions: For detailed instructions on submitting comments and 
additional information, 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.
    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 https://www.transportation.gov/privacy. To facilitate tracking 
and response, we encourage commenters to provide their name, or the 
name of their organization; however, submission of names is completely 
optional. All timely comments will be fully considered, regardless of 
whether commenters directly identify themselves. If you wish to provide 
comments containing proprietary or confidential information, please 
contact the agency for alternate submission instructions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For research issues: Mr. Garrick 
Forkenbrock, Research Engineer, Vehicle Research and Test Center, 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 10820 SR 347, Bldg. 60, 
East Liberty, OH 43319. Telephone: 937-666-4511. Email: 
garrick.forkenbrock@dot.gov. For legal issues: Ms. Sara Bennett, 
Attorney-Advisor, Office of Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. 
Telephone: 202-366-2992. Email: sara.bennett@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NHTSA seeks comment on the draft research 
test procedures listed below, which assess nine different ADAS 
technologies. As background, the agency develops different test 
procedures for different purposes. Most commonly, those test procedures 
are for rulemaking, New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), or research 
purposes. This RFC includes test procedures that have been developed 
for research purposes only. Research test procedures are used by the 
agency to evaluate a technology of interest and, when presented 
publicly, provide a basis from which gaps in test methodology or other 
specific deficiencies may be identified and resolved. In contrast, 
rulemaking test procedures are developed to support identified 
rulemaking efforts and, if a regulation is adopted, focus on ensuring 
that a technology meets the level of performance defined in the 
regulation and are used by the agency to determine compliance. Thus, 
the fact that NHTSA is researching a specific technology is not an 
indication that it will now or at any time initiate a rulemaking 
related to that technology or include that technology as part of NCAP. 
To the extent that research does inform future rulemaking efforts or 
revisions to NCAP, the agency will appropriately engage the public 
through public comment and other means during those processes.
    NHTSA developed the draft test procedures made available today to 
research ways to objectively and practically assess the performance of 
ADAS technologies presently available to consumers on certain vehicles 
sold in the United States. NHTSA highlights that some of the research 
test procedures included in this RFC are in the early stages of 
development, while others are closer to being fully developed.
    For light vehicles, these include:
     Active Parking Assist (APA) \1\
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    \1\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019, 
August). Active park assist system confirmation test (DOT HS 812 
714). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration.
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     Blind Spot Detection (BSD) \2\
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    \2\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2018, June). 
Blind spot detection system confirmation test (working draft). 
Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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     Blind Spot Intervention (BSI) \3\
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    \3\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019, July). 
Blind spot intervention system confirmation test (working draft). 
Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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     Intersection Safety Assist (ISA) \4\
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    \4\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019, 
September). Intersection safety assist system confirmation test 
(working draft). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration
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     Opposing Traffic Safety Assist (OTSA) \5\
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    \5\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019, 
September). Opposing traffic safety assist system confirmation test 
(working draft). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration.
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     Pedestrian Automatic Emergency Braking (PAEB) \6\
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    \6\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019, 
April). Pedestrian automatic emergency brake system confirmation 
test (working draft). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration.

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[[Page 64406]]

     Rear Automatic Braking \7\
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    \7\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2015, 
December). Rear automatic braking feature confirmation test 
procedure). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration. www.regulations.gov, Docket No. NHTSA-2015-0119-
0030.
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     Traffic Jam Assist (TJA) \8\
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    \8\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019, June). 
Traffic jam assist system confirmation test (working draft). 
Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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    For heavy vehicles, this includes:
     Forward Collision Warning (FCW) \9\
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    \9\ National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2019, 
March). Test track procedures for heavy vehicle forward collision 
warning and automatic emergency braking systems. Washington, DC: 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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     Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) \9\
    Each draft procedure includes test scenarios designed to emulate 
real-world crash-imminent situations, all performed within the 
controlled confines of a test track. To ensure these tests are 
objective (i.e., clear about exactly how they should be executed), and 
can be accurately and repeatedly performed, each draft procedure 
contains detailed specifications pertaining to test conduct including, 
but not limited to, the equipment, facilities, instructions, and 
tolerances needed to perform them in the most objective and consistent 
manner possible. While the procedures include draft evaluation 
criteria, there are no pass/fail assessments provided because they have 
been assembled for research purposes only.
    NHTSA invites public comment on each of its draft research ADAS 
test procedures. Specifically, the agency seeks information related to 
the following areas of interest. In your responses, please clearly 
specify to which test procedure(s) your comments apply.
    1. Can the test procedures be expected to assess adequately for the 
purposes of research, within practical limitations, the performance of 
the underlying ADAS technologies? If not, please provide specific 
reasons why, and suggestions for how they may be improved.
    2. Do any of the draft research test procedures contain elements 
that may potentially confound the system operation and/or test results 
(e.g., regarding test conduct)? If so, please indicate what those 
elements are and how they might be addressed and/or mitigated?
    3. Are the draft research test procedures clearly written, 
understandable, and executable? If not, please provide specific areas 
for which clarification is necessary, and suggestions for how they may 
be improved.
    4. Are the ranges of test speeds, speed combinations, and/or speed 
increments specified within each draft research test procedure 
reasonable? If not, please provide any data or evidence to support any 
claim of unreasonableness from a research perspective.
    5. To reduce test burden for the assessment of some technologies 
for research purposes, the number of repeated trials per test condition 
is proposed to be less than or equal to seven based on our experience 
from past test procedure design work. Is this adequate, or should 
another number of repeated trials be performed for all technology/
condition combinations to support an assessment of whether differences 
in the test results, for a given condition, are statistically 
significant?
    6. Are there additional ADAS technologies NHTSA should be 
evaluating for research purposes? If so, please indicate what they are.
    7. Are there existing, alternative test procedures for the ADAS 
technologies identified in this notice that NHTSA should consider? If 
so, please identify them and provide any comparisons/contrasts that 
might be useful to the agency.

Public Participation

How can I be sure that my comments were received?

    If you submit comments by hard copy and wish Docket Management 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, Docket Management will return the postcard by 
mail. If you submit comments electronically, your comments should 
appear automatically in Docket No. NHTSA-2019-0102 on 
www.regulations.gov. If they do not appear within two weeks of posting, 
NHTSA suggested that you call the Docket Management Facility at (202) 
366-9826.

How do I submit confidential business information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete 
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Office of Chief Counsel, NHTSA, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 
20590. In addition, you should submit a copy, from which you have 
deleted the claimed confidential business information, to Docket 
Management at the address given above under ADDRESSES. When you send a 
comment containing information claimed to be confidential business 
information, you should include a cover letter setting forth the 
information specified in our confidential business information 
regulation. (49 CFR part 512)

Will the agency consider late comments?

    In our response, we will consider all comments that Docket 
Management receives before the close of business on the comment closing 
date indicated above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also 
consider comments that Docket Management receives after that date.

How can I read the comments submitted by other people?

    You may read the comments received by Docket Management 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, at www.regulations.gov, identified by the docket number 
at the heading of this notice. Please note that, even after the comment 
closing date, NHTSA will continue to file relevant information in the 
docket as it becomes available. Further, some people may submit late 
comments. Accordingly, NHTSA recommends that you periodically check the 
docket for new material.

    Issued in Washington, DC, under authority delegated in 49 CFR 
1.95 and 501.4.
James Clayton Owens,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-25217 Filed 11-20-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-59-P


