In a December 15, 2008 letter from the Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters to Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce it was announced that the Department of Transportation continues to prepare the regulatory analysis for issuing a final rule revising FMVSS 216 - Roof Crush Resistance. The new target date for a final rule is April 30, 2009.
On January 30, 2008 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published a supplementary notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) releasing additional test data and requesting comments to further the progress of amending FMVSS 216 Roof Crush Resistance as proposed in the August 23, 2005 notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM). The NPRM proposed to require vehicles up to 10,000 pounds GVWR to be able to withstand a load equal to 2.5 times the vehicle weight. The current requirement of withstanding a load of 1.5 times the vehicle weight applies to vehicles up to 6,000 pounds.
Congress directed NHTSA in 2005 to rewrite FMVSS 216 and issue a final rule by July 1, 2008. Following issuance of the SNPRM and filed comments, the timetable for the final rule has slid to October 1st, then December 15th and now April 30, 2009.
This latest postponement means that the final rule will occur under the Obama administration which could alter the final outcome. NHTSA has considered many changes to FMVSS 216 since the 1973 initial effective date, the manufacturers and safety advocates now wait another 4 months for the final rule.