FMCSA receives exemption request to allow company to lower cameras

A company is asking Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to allow its advanced driver assistance system cameras to be mounted lower in the windshield than the regulations permit.

J.J. Keller and Associates, a Neenah, Wis.-based company that provides products and services to help businesses remain compliant with regulations, submitted an application for exemption in July. On Aug. 12, FMCSA’s notice of the request was published in the Federal Register. The agency will receive comments on the request until Sept. 14. ‘

Current regulations require such devices to be mounted not more than 4 inches below the upper edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers, or not more than 7 inches above the lower edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers and outside the driver’s sightlines to the road and highway signs and signals.

“This exemption will accommodate the camera device, which will not exceed 3.6 inches tall by 4.86 inches wide,” Robert Larsen, J.J. Keller’s senior director of research and development, wrote in the exemption application. “The camera will be mounted in the approximate center of the windshield with the bottom edge of the camera approximately 8 inches below the upper edge of the area swept by the windshield wipers. The camera will be mounted outside the driver’s normal sightlines to the road ahead, signs, signals and mirrors. This location will allow for the optimal functionality of the safety features supported by the camera.”

The company said the FMCSA regulation’s restrictions on the location of the camera can limit the system’s ability “to perform all of its safety functions.”

“J.J. Keller believes that the impact of the exemption will be to improve safety since it enables the use of safety features, such as following distance warnings, lane departure warnings, monitoring of posted speed limit and stop sign abidance, detection of driver drowsiness and use of cellphones and seat belts,” the application stated.

Through pilot testing, the company said it has determined “there is no significant obstruction of driver visibility of the road ahead, highway signs, signals or any mirrors from the camera device.”

If approved by the FMCSA, the company said it expects the device would be used by more than 150,000 vehicles and drivers nationwide. Without the five-year exemption, J.J. Keller said it will be unable to offer the product.

Comments may be made at the Regulations.gov website by using Docket ID FMCSA-2020-0169.