A flashing brake light system has gotten the green light from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
In a notice that was published in the Federal Register on Monday, Sept. 23, FMCSA announced its decision to allow Encore Flooring & Building Products’ commercial motor vehicles to operate with a system manufactured by Intellistop. The exemption will remain in effect until Sept. 24, 2029.
The Intellistop module is designed to pulse the required rear clearance, identification and brake lamps from a lower-level lighting intensity to a higher-level lighting intensity four times in two seconds when the brakes are applied and then return the lights to a steady-burning state while the brakes remain engaged.
FMCSA denied Intellistop’s application for an industry-wide exemption in 2022, saying the request was “too broad.”
Instead, the agency has approved several individual motor carrier exemptions. FMCSA also granted an exemption to Gemini Motor Transport in May and another to DJS Fundraising in June.
According to the notice, FMCSA said that exemptions more limited in scope will allow the agency to ensure compliance with all relevant regulations because the individual carrier would be easily identifiable.
As part of Encore’s application, the Arkansas-based company stated that previous research demonstrated that the use of pulsating brake-activated lamps increases the visibility of vehicles and should lead to a significant decrease in rear-end crashes. In support of its application, Encore submitted several reports of research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the issues of rear-end crashes, distracted driving and braking signals.
Encore operates a nationwide fleet of about 220 commercial motor vehicles.
“FMCSA has evaluated Encore’s exemption application and the comments received,” the agency wrote. “The agency believes that granting (the exemptions) to allow Encore to operate a limited number of commercial motor vehicles equipped with Intellistop’s pulsating-brake module will likely achieve a level of safety that is equivalent to, or greater than, the level of safety achieved without the exemption.” LL
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