The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has opened a public comment period on an application for exemption from Groendyke Transport Inc to allow the use of a pulsating brake lamp in addition to the steady burning brake lamps required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) in its fleet operations.
The FMCSRs require all exterior lamps (both required lamps and any additional lamps) to be steady-burning, with the exception of turn signal lamps, hazard warning signal lamps, school bus warning lamps, amber warning lamps or flashing warning lamps on tow trucks and commercial motor vehicles (CMV) transporting oversized loads, and warning lamps on emergency and service vehicles authorized by State or local authorities.
Groendyke executives say they believe that operating a pulsating brake lamp on the rear of tank trailers on a fleet-wide basis would allow the company to operate its equipment more effectively, efficiently, and safely, and would maintain a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level that it would achieve without the requested exemption.
Specifically, Groendyke is requesting the exemption to allow it to install pulsating brake lamps in addition to the steady-burning brake lamps required by the FMCSRs.
Comments are due by August 29 and should be submitted with the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) Docket ID FMCSA-2018-0223. They can be posted at http://www.regulations.gov. Transmitted by Fax to 1-202-493-2251 or mailed to the Docket Management Facility, US Department of Transportation, Room W12-140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington DC 20590-0001.