Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, NOTICES—MOTOR VEHICLES—Daimler Trucks’ petition for inconsequential noncompliance decision granted by NHTSA for Freightliner Cascadia vehicles, (Apr 29, 2022)

By WK Editorial Staff

The illumination of stop lamps without the driver’s braking when the low air pressure warning indicator light illuminates was deemed inconsequential as related to motor vehicle safety because the driver likely would respond to the indicator light’s illumination by safely pulling over or attempting to slow/stop the truck, thereby intentionally activating the stop lamps.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) granted a petition for a determination of inconsequential noncompliance filed by Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) relating to approximately 74,675 model year (MY) 2017–2019 Freightliner Cascadia motor vehicles, manufactured between May 3, 2016, and December 17, 2018, that do not fully comply with paragraph S6.2.1 of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment. The noncompliance is that the vehicle’s stop lamps automatically illuminate when the low air pressure warning indicator light illuminates (NHTSA Notice, 87 FR 14325, March 14, 2022).

DTNA determined that certain MY 2017–2019 Freightliner Cascadia motor vehicles do not fully comply with paragraph S6.2.1 of FMVSS No. 108 and filed a noncompliance report dated January 16, 2019, and then subsequently petitioned NHTSA on February 8, 2019, for an exemption from the notification and remedy requirements of 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 on the basis that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. Notice of receipt of DTNA’s petition was published in the Federal Register [see Products Liability Law Daily’s March 2, 2020 analysis], and the agency received no comments. DTNA described the noncompliance as automatic illumination of the stop lamps when the low air pressure warning indicator light illuminates. Because low air pressure does not necessarily activate the brakes or result in braking without driver intervention, this activation of the stop lamps does not meet the requirements of S6.2.1 of FMVSS No. 108.

Rule requirements. Under paragraph S6.2.1 of FMVSS No. 108, no additional lamp, reflective device, or other motor vehicle equipment is permitted to be installed that impairs the effectiveness of lighting equipment required by FMVSS No. 108.

DTNA’s petition. DTNA asserted that the noncompliance is inconsequential as it relates to motor vehicle safety. The manufacturer explained how its air brake system affects the stop lamps. Its air brake system is comprised of two brake systems, primary and secondary. The primary system controls the service brakes on the drive axles and the secondary system controls the service brakes on the steer axle; and the higher pressure of these two controls the trailer service brakes. The two systems are isolated from each other so that if there is an air loss in one system, the other system still will be functional to control the vehicle service brakes. When either one of the systems drops below 70 psi, the low air warning indicator light on the dash turns ON and the stop lamps illuminate. However, if this occurs, it does not mean that the drive axle parking brakes are being applied, since the other brake system may still be functional and keeping the brake from applying. In such a situation, the air that holds off the drive axle parking brakes would be the higher pressure of either primary or secondary air brake. As such, if the primary air brake pressure falls below 70 psi, the indicator light and stop lamps illuminate, but the parking brakes do not start to drag since the secondary air (presumably unaffected) remains high and holds off the parking springs. In the same manner, the trailer parking brakes are held off by the higher of either the primary or the secondary air brake system. Only when both air systems drop below about 70 psi will the trailer parking brakes begin to apply.

With this background in mind, DTNA submitted a number of arguments in support of the petition, including:

• The normal operating air pressure of the vehicle is between 110 and 130 psi and there is a regulator that turns on the air compressor if the air pressure is below 110 psi and turns off the air compressor when the system pressure is above 130 psi. If the air pressure begins to drop and reaches approximately 70 psi, the air system pressure is not adequate to maintain optimum operation, so a warning indicator light illuminates on the dash and a buzzer activates to alert the driver to this condition. On these vehicles, the stop lamps illuminate when the warning indicator light illuminates on the dash. The events induced by a low air condition after initial vehicle startup are rare and are not expected in normal operation. If the condition were to occur during operation, the driver would be alerted to the circumstances with audible and visual low air warning signals and would be expected to apply the service brakes and pull over in a safe manner. Additionally, if the pressure in both air systems drops below 70 psi, the parking brakes will slowly begin to apply.

• The Freightliner Cascadia Driver’s Manual states, “If the low air pressure warning is activated, check the air pressure gauges to determine which system has low air pressure. Although the vehicle’s speed can be reduced using the foot brake control pedal, either the front or rear service brakes will not be operating at full capacity, causing a longer stopping distance. Bring the vehicle to a safe stop and have the air system repaired before continuing.”

• Brakes are commonly applied, causing the stop lamps to illuminate, when a driver sees a vehicle display warning or senses that the vehicle is experiencing a problem. Reducing vehicle speed in relation to a vehicle operational problem increases safety, providing following drivers the opportunity to increase the following distance. A low air warning indicator light would likely cause the vehicle driver to engage the brake system immediately and bring the vehicle to a safe stop. Stop lamp illumination for a brake system low air event would help provide early warning to following drivers to slow down.

• DTNA said that it is not aware of any accidents, injuries, owner complaints, or field reports related to this condition on the subject vehicles.

• DTNA also stated that NHTSA has previously granted petitions for decisions of inconsequential noncompliance for lighting requirements where technical noncompliance exists but does not create a negative impact on safety.

• DTNA stated that it believes that a technical noncompliance exists but does not create a negative impact on safety when the brake lamps illuminate during a brake system low air warning event. The stop lamp illumination serves to emphasize the message to following drivers that the vehicle is experiencing trouble and they should pay close attention. The Brake Air warning indicator light, on the driver’s display panel, shows the driver that there is an issue with the air brake system. This would result in the driver bringing the vehicle to a safe stop and having the air system repaired before continuing.

NHTSA’s analysis. NHTSA noted that an important consideration in determining inconsequentiality is the safety risk to individuals who experience the type of event against which a recall would otherwise protect, and that the issue to consider is the consequence to an occupant who is exposed to the consequence of that noncompliance. The agency explained that the noncompliance in this case is that the stop lamp illuminates when a braking system low air pressure warning indicator light is illuminated, regardless of whether the service brakes are applied. As the subject trucks have two air brake systems, which split the trailer brakes from the steer axle brakes, low air pressure will cause a brake application only if air pressure is lost in both systems. Should only one of the two air brake systems report low air pressure, the parking brakes would not engage but the stop lamps would illuminate in addition to the low air warning indicator light, which includes an audible alarm. NHTSA stated that it believes that an alert would prompt the operator to safely pull over and/or attempt to slow/stop the truck soon after the warnings appear. In that case, the noncompliance would only result in a momentary illumination of the stop lamps without the brakes being applied. If the driver of a subject vehicle did not apply the brakes immediately after receiving a low air pressure warning, following drivers would be presented with a false indication that the subject truck was braking. Further, should there be an air leak, application of the service brakes will cause the air pressure to further drop, braking performance may be impacted, and it is also possible that the system will no longer be able to achieve proper pressure, which subsequently may cause the parking brakes to engage. Because the function of a stop lamp is to notify other road users that a vehicle is stopping and/or slowing down, a vehicle equipped with an air braking system where the low air pressure warning on the instrument cluster along with an audible warning has been activated will likely prompt the driver to immediately pull over and/or attempt to slow/stop the vehicle.

A previous NHTSA interpretation concerning trailer stop lamp illumination, requested by Wabash National Corporation, explained that the stop lamps were permitted to be illuminated in the event that the emergency braking system was activated when significant deceleration could occur. NHTSA said that it does not agree with DTNA’s argument that the activation of the stop lamps when the low air pressure warning occurs would be helpful for a warning to other drivers of the brake malfunction. Nonetheless, NHTSA still found that this noncompliance would be inconsequential to safety. The agency reasoned that when a vehicle with air brakes experiences a low-air event and notifies the driver of a brake system malfunction, in NHTSA’s assessment, the driver likely would respond by pulling over to the side of the road and taking the vehicle out of service until the brake system could be repaired. Because the act of pulling over to the side of the road would result in the intentional activation of the stop lamps and this sequence of events likely would occur only once before the vehicle is repaired, NHTSA said that it believes that the activation of the brake lamps due to the low air pressure event would be inconsequential to safety.

Decision. Therefore, NHTSA concluded that DTNA met its burden of persuasion that the subject FMVSS No. 108 noncompliance in the affected trucks is inconsequential to motor vehicle safety. Accordingly, DTNA’s petition was granted and DTNA was exempted from the obligation of providing notification of, and a free remedy for, that noncompliance under 49 U.S.C. 30118 and 30120. The agency noted that the decision only applied to the subject trucks that DTNA no longer controlled at the time it determined that the noncompliance existed. The grant of the petition did not relieve truck distributors and dealers of the prohibitions on the sale, offer for sale, or introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of the noncompliant trucks under their control after DTNA notified them that the subject noncompliance existed.

Companies: Daimler Trucks North America

RegulatoryActivity: NoticesFR MotorVehiclesNews