The following is a brief summary of the Final Rule published on July 25, 2003 in the Federal Register from the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which revises 49 CFR Part 571, FMVSS 205, "Glazing Materials; Low speed Vehicles."
This Final Rule updates the FMVSS requirements on glazing materials so that it incorporates by reference the 1996 version of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) requirement for glazing which is currently the industry standard on motor vehicle glazing. Currently the Federal Standard references the 1977 version of the industry standard and the 1980 supplement to that standard. These revisions simplify the understanding of FMVSS 205 due to a patchwork of amendments over the past 20 years that made proper understanding extremely difficult. The incorporation by reference of the 1996 version of the ANSI/SAE Z26.1 industry standard permits deletion of most of the existing text of the current FMVSS 205, allowing the ANSI industry standard to essentially provide a single source of Federal glazing performance requirements for most purposes.
In addition, this Final Rule addresses several issues not covered by the 1996 ANSI standard. For example, this action limits the size of the shade band that glazing manufacturers place at the top of windshields and also clarifies the meaning of the phrase "the most difficult part or pattern" for the fracture test in the 1996 ANSI standard. In addition, this action also makes minor conforming amendments to the standard on low speed vehicles.
These requirements become effective on September 23, 2003. If interested parties wish to submit a petition for reconsideration, it must be submitted by September 8, 2003.