By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has withdrawn a 2012 proposal to revise Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 205, “Glazing Materials” by incorporating Global Technical Regulation (GTR) No. 6, “Safety Glazing Materials for Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment.” After reviewing public comments, NHTSA has decided not to pursue a harmonized vehicle equipment regulation at this time pending additional research and information.
FMVSS No. 205 sets performance requirements for all types of glazing that may be installed in passenger cars, MPVs, trucks, buses and motorcycles. The procedures for testing tempered glass, laminated glass, and glass-plastic glazing used in front windshields and rear and side windows would have been modified if GTR No. 6 was adopted. Specific upgrades would have included changes to the fragmentation test for curved tempered glass and a new procedure for testing an optical property of the windshield at the angle of installation to more accurately reflect real-world driving conditions.
NHTSA was unable to determine whether the proposed changes would improve or decrease safety, so it will monitor any new research and developments, including the Society of Automotive Engineers efforts to publish a new Glazing Standard, SAE Standard J3097 “Standard for Safety Glazing Materials for Glazing Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle Equipment Operating on Land Highways.”
For more incorporation, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.