R.B. Stewart is the latest motor carrier to petition the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for an exemption to use Intellistop’s pulsating brake lamp module on its commercial vehicles.

In an application filed by Michele Garza, compliance supervisor for the Angleton, Texas-based fuel hauler, the company requested a five-year exemption from 49 CFR 393.25(e)—the federal regulation that requires all exterior lamps to be steady-burning. R.B. Stewart seeks to use the Intellistop electronic module to pulse its existing brake, clearance, and I.D. lamps upon brake activation to better alert inattentive motorists. In its letter to FMCSA, the fleet emphasized the financial and physical toll rear-end collisions exact on the industry, noting such crashes are the most frequently occurring accidents on the nation’s highways.

“The cost of rear impact crashes is significant to our bottom line,” Garza noted in the application. “This is not just a ‘statistically significant’ issue for motor carriers—crashes cost money, and rear impact crashes on our fleet cannot be addressed by improved driver training measures.”

The company added that the installation of the module would provide an “additional layer of protection” to reduce rear-end collisions. “It would provide early warning to other drivers, increase visibility, and improve recognition during emergency or unusual situations,” Garza stated.

FMCSA published the notice of R.B. Stewart’s application in the Federal Register on Oct. 26. The Intellistop module is designed to pulse the rear clearance, identification, and brake lamps from a low-level lighting intensity to a high-level intensity four times in two seconds when the brakes are applied. The lamps then return to a steady-burning state while the brakes remain engaged.

The agency says it will accept public comments on R.B. Stewart’s request through Nov. 25.

A growing list of Intellistop fleets

R.B. Stewart’s petition pushes the group of individual carriers applying for an Intellistop exemption into double digits.

FMCSA previously denied Intellistop’s application for an industry-wide exemption in a long-delayed October 2022 decision, ruling at the time the company had not proven the technology would achieve a level of safety equivalent to the steady-burning regulation. However, the agency left the door open for individual carriers to apply on a case-by-case basis, subject to reporting and monitoring conditions.

Since then, FMCSA has granted five-year exemptions to eight motor carriers, including Gemini Motor Transport, Meiborg Brothers, JM Bozeman Enterprises, DJS Fundraising, Brent Higgins Trucking, Encore Flooring and Building Products, Coffeyville Resources Crude Transportation, and Casey’s Services Company. In February, Liberty Bulk Transport applied to become the ninth.

As more individual fleets secure exemptions, Intellistop is renewing its push to circumvent the repetitive application process. Earlier this year, Intellistop President Michelle Hanby sent a letter to FMCSA asking the agency to reconsider its 2022 denial of an industry-wide exemption.

“Since the original denial, FMCSA has granted five-year exemptions to eight individual motor carriers authorizing installation of the Intellistop brake-lamp modulation technology on their vehicles,” Hanby wrote in her petition. “These approvals confirm that the agency has determined, on a carrier-by-carrier basis, that the technology is capable of achieving an equivalent or greater level of safety.

“Intellistop respectfully submits that the safety characteristics of the technology do not vary based on which motor carrier installs it.”