The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants to know if warning devices on stopped commercial motor vehicles serve as a meaningful crash deterrent.
In a notice that was published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Jan. 8, FMCSA announced that it plans to conduct a “Study of Warning Devices for Stopped Commercial Motor Vehicles.”
“It is an experimental study that requires data collection for evaluating whether warning devices meaningfully influence crash-relevant aspects of human performance in the presence of a parked or disabled commercial motor vehicle, and if so, how and to what extent,” FMCSA wrote in the notice.
The study is expected to require the participation of 256 drivers.
Current regulations require specific warning devices to be carried on all commercial motor vehicles and, except in the case of necessary traffic stops, to be deployed near the vehicle whenever it is stopped on the road or shoulder. There are specific rules concerning how and where the devices must be placed based on a variety of factors, including whether the road is straight or on a curve.
“These requirements follow from the basic notion that increasing the conspicuity of a parked or disabled commercial motor vehicle makes it easier to see and recognize, thereby reducing the risk of a crash involving passing motorists,” FMCSA wrote.
However, the increased interest in autonomous vehicles is prompting the agency to take a closer look at the regulation.
In December 2024, FMCSA announced that it had denied a request from Waymo and Aurora to exempt autonomous trucks from the warning-device regulation.
Waymo and Aurora asked for their autonomous trucks to be allowed to be equipped with warning beacons mounted on the truck cab instead of traditional warning devices.
FMCSA called the exemption request too broad and hinted that the agency may accept a petition focused on a more specific area.
Now, FMCSA intends to study the merits of the current regulation regarding the devices. It said that new technology, including sensors and eye-tracking devices, can provide relevant data regarding how a driver reacts to a warning device.
“FMCSA plans to implement these modern tools in a controlled experiment at a closed-course, state-of-the-art driving research facility that will allow the most comprehensive examination of the effects of warning devices to date,” the agency wrote. “The results of the study may support future rulemaking related to warning devices and provide baseline data necessary to inform agency decisions on exemption applications for alternative warning device products.” LL
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