FMCSA Grants Bendix Video Camera Permanent Exemption
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems announced the video camera component of its Wingman Fusion collision mitigation technology and AutoVue lane departure warning system will remain compliant with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules, following an exemption that was recently made permanent.
Effective Oct. 24, the rule change allows certain devices that use vehicle safety technology to be placed on the interior of commercial vehicle windshields within the area that is swept by the windshield wipers.
“This ruling marks an important step in the continuation of the commercial vehicle industry’s highway safety efforts by ensuring that the development of these technologies can continue without fleets and drivers having to worry about violating windshield clearance rules,” Fred Andersky, Bendix director of government and industry affairs, said in a statement.
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The Elyria, Ohio-based company had previously received a two-year exemption and several subsequent two-year extensions for its windshield-mounted camera.
“What’s important to keep in mind,” Andersky added, “is that the ruling expects a level of common sense be applied. Too many devices, or the wrong devices in the sweep area, can still warrant a possible citation.”
Under FMCSA prohibitions on obstructions to a driver’s field of view, devices such as antennas or transponders that are mounted at the top of a windshield must be located outside the area swept by the windshield wipers, Bendix said.
The regulatory change affecting its camera component states that motor carriers using approved safety technologies such as lane departure warning systems and collision mitigation systems can mount devices within that area, though not more than four inches below its upper edge, or seven inches above its lower edge, Bendix said.
Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems is a member of the Munich-based Knorr-Bremse Group.
